Abusable dualband router?

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Brad Harris

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Mar 1, 2011
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For the past year, I've been using a DLink DIR 815 (or 825, can't remember off the top of my head), and it's been working flawlessly for my purposes.

Until this weekend ..... Where it drops all wired and wireless ports, requires a few power cyclings to get it back working again. It's never used in mission critical applications, mainly convienient console control.

Storage wise, it gets tossed into my pelican case, along with other smaller pelicans, tools and generally harder objects.

Is there a dual band router with a beefier housing on the market? Everythig I see now in prosumer land look and feel like they can flex in half by just picking them up.

Smaller footprint would be ideal as well.

BRad
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

I use the Apple Airport Extreme, which is almost a bit too beefy, but works really well for my purposes (lives in my carry bag w/ my iPad for walk-on work). I see a lot of local guys carrying the AirPort Express in their bags along with their iPad for similar use and they seem to have equally good results, I just already had an extra Extreme laying around.
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

I'd go for a seperate switch & wireless AP arrangement.

I never use DHCP for this kind of application, only static IPs. With everything on the same network, no routing required.

The Ubiquiti wireless stuff is amazing and very robust. Many of their units are weatherproof. I have a Bullet M5HP and I love it

Personally, I prefer 5Ghz because its a lot less crowded as a spectrum, particularly when the punters turn up with their smartphones... Line of sight does become more important, but with the bullet, I just locate it in the right spot and away I go. Network cable back to the switch & PoE supply...
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

The old Airport expresses weren't much to brag about, but the new model that just came out is a pretty decent unit. Yes, it's plastic, but fairly solid in construction. Better than some of the sheet metal crap out there.

5GHz is better for performance, and less crowded, but range can become an issue, especially when bodies start to get in the way.
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

Kirby Yarbrough said:
What's the susceptibility to dropouts with the Airport Extreme? Do you run it at 2.4GHz or 5 Ghz?
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I've run mine both ways... right now it's set to only operate @ 5GHz, which has worked fine for me (range wise). I have yet to have any issue with drop-outs, but that doesn't say anything about it's susceptibility, just that I've been fortunate in that department.

FWIW, in the pre- iPad days, I routinely ran a dirt cheap, plastic, POS looking Belkin Router @ 2.4 for connecting my Motion Computing tablet ... never had a problem unless I REALLY got far away from the unit. Frankly, the Airport Extreme that I have is a bit too heavy, runs a bit too hot and includes a power cable (adaptor) that is a bit too clunky for my liking... but like I said before, I had an extra sitting around here at the house and pressed it into use.

Steve
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

I use an Airport Extreme in dual band at home. Performance seems fine and especially quick with a 3x3 client but 2.4GHz wireless strength is typically 9dB lower than that of a Netgear router I use concurrently and 5GHz signal strength is typically another 9dB below that of the Apples 2.4Ghz radio. I'm ASSuming that would equate to smaller range in a live environment.
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

I have a TrendNet TEW-639GR in the back of one of my amp racks. It always works, even a couple hundred feet away, even if the venue has 2000 people in it, etc etc. I'm certainly not going through any effort to get it mounted in an ideal location, it's usually buried stage left or stage right. It's 2.4GHz only and I wanted it that way.
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

Rob Spence said:
I use a NETGEAR N600 series unit and it lives in the doghouse wired to the 3 ports on my LS9 (2 Dante cards) . Seems to do ok. I only have the 5gHz radio enabled.
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Same here, really cheap used:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160818872676
Whatever you get make sure it is MIMO (Dual diversity transmit and receive :cool:).
Any gear you toss in a bag with other stuff is going to get beat up. At a minimum I like to have stuff separated by being in its own cloth bag (plastic shopping bags work in a pinch).
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

Bennett Prescott said:
Cisco Aironet.
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Ditto.

I use a very old Cisco Aironet 350 WAP. It's bulletproof, wireless B only and has no router - not what the OP originally requested - but in non-scientific tests done years ago with the Lake Controller, it handled much longer distances than other B & G WAPs.... One annoyance, it has to reprogrammed using a serial cable. I've not changed it's configuration in years, and I'm not sure I remember how to...
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

FYI, I have had excellent luck using DD-WRT custom firmware on a variety of wireless routers. If you have a compatible router, it will give you a very high quality feature set and IMHO greatly improved performance and relability.
 
Re: Abusable dualband router?

Jeff Babcock said:
FYI, I have had excellent luck using DD-WRT custom firmware on a variety of wireless routers. If you have a compatible router, it will give you a very high quality feature set and IMHO greatly improved performance and reliability
Click to expand...
The WNDR3700 I use will run DD-WRT but I read that the stock firmware was actually done by the DD-WRT folks so I left it alone. I don't need all the extra features anyways...
 
Update:

While I loved the 825 and everything that it did for me, I realized I never utilized the simultanious dual band broadcast, which opened up my selection greatly. In my search for a metal (or rugged plastic) enclosure (I even thought about putting the DIR 825 into a hammond mfg enclosure 1590DD), and holding a few products in my hand, I decided on a pair of refurbished airport Expresses (A1264 2nd version).

For a few reasons:
-I have way too many wall warts in my tool box, this one is built in.
-Quite often I have a 2nd wireless world on the other side of a 60-80' stage, ethernet to wireless bridge is a handy feature rather than running cat5 across the stage.
-I have my tuning playlist on my iPad and iPhone, AirTunes is a handy feature walking a venue to advance to the next track or repeat a section.
- Small size, its about 1/2 the size of the 1590 case I was looking at mounting the DR825 in without a wall wart.
-I also found a cheap, small, metal, with a very small wallwart unmanaged network switch made by Rosewill (RC415)
-With AirTunes, the event producer can control bgm as they please from thier own library
-5GHz, I mainly use Yamaha and AVID digitals, the extra bandwidth is great between the surfaces and my tablets (Motion and iPad).
-Hard plastic, like how things used to be made.

I just now need to loom a cat5 and TRS adapter together and the rig is complete (for now................)

The Cisco 1550 I picked up cheap off ebay is a great workhorse, fast speeds (wifi) and relatively small, it may just replace my old WRx54 at home ......

BRad
 
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