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Boost yourWi-finetwork range

Wireless networking is unarguably the mostconvenient formofnetworking–until youmoveout of range. Thankfully, this is not an insur-

mountable problem, as it’s simple to add a repeater to awireless network.A repeater is a small device that connects to the existing

wirelessnetworkandextends the rangeby re-transmittingthe signals. Despite the claims for increased range on thelatest wireless equipment, repeaters are often still

necessary. Thick walls, and even microwaves andwireless phones, can reduce the range of the network.This workshop will show you how to install a Belkin

wirelessrepeater on a wireless network that already hasan existing Belkin wireless router, though theinstructions will be very similar for devices from othermanufacturers. Wherever possible, however, you shouldchoose a repeater of the same brand as your current routeror accesspoint.

If you find your wireless network doesn’t reach far enough, it’s easy to extend its range

Step2In order to set up the wireless repeater correctly, it’s a goodidea to have some information about the wireless networkwritten down so it’s easy to refer to. Enter the IP address ofthe router into the address bar of Internet Explorer and pressEnter. Click on the Login link at the top right and enter theadmin password. Click on the Channel andSSID link in theleft-hand column and note down the SSID, or network name.Next, click on the Security link below and note down the typeof encryption and the key. It’s best to note down both thekey and the passphrase, in case the repeater requires one orthe other. If you’re using a different brand of wirelessequipment the screens will look slightly different, but you’llstill be looking for the same information.

Step1During the setup of the repeater, you’ll need to accesssome settings on the network router. Some routerscome with software on a CD, but all can be controlledvia a special web page. To access these pages enter thenetwork address (IPaddress) of the router into theaddress bar of Internet Explorer. This is made up of foursets of numbers and will probably be 192.168.1.1 or192.168.2.1. If neither of these addresses works, clickon the Start button and select Run. Type cmd and then,in the window that appears, type ipconfig and pressEnter. The address of the router is listed as DefaultGateway, and you can connect to it by typing thataddress into your web browser.

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Step3If there is no encryption on the wireless network, the Belkin Wirelessrepeater is very simple to set up. Place it near the existing router andplug in the power supply. When the power and wireless lights areilluminated and the searching light flashing continuously, locate thelight grey button on the back of the repeater labelled Autoconnect, holdit down for at least 10 seconds and then release it. The repeater willconnect to the wireless network with the strongest signal – hence theimportance of placing it as close as possible to your existing router. Therepeater is ready when the red searching light goes out, and you canrelocate it to extend the range of your wireless network.

Step4Even though it is easier to set up the repeater when there is no securityencryption on the wireless network, it really is best to use security. Insert the discsupplied with the repeater into your computer’s CD-Rom drive. When the set-upscreen appears, click on ‘Run the easy install’. If this screen doesn’t appear,double-click on the icon for the CD-Rom drive. Work through the installationand then close the set-up window.

Step5Disconnect the computer with the wireless utility from the wirelessnetwork and connect it to the wireless repeater using the networkcable supplied in the box. Plug in the wireless repeater, then click ontheWindows Start button. Choose All Programs, Belkin RangeExtender Utility and then Belkin Range Extender Utility again. Clickon the Refresh button and the repeater should appear in the listwith the IP address 192.168.2.254, as shown here. Click once toselect it and then click onWebManagement. Your web browserwill connect to the repeater. You should click on the Login link atthe top right-hand corner of the screen, then click on Submit.

Step6Click on the security link in the left-hand column and change the settings so theymatch your original wireless settings, including the password. Click on Apply Changes.Next, click on the Basic link to reach this screen and change ‘Parent AP SSID’ to matchthe name of your existing wireless network. Click on Apply Changes and the repeaterwill reboot. When it has rebooted, the status text towards the bottom of the screenshould read Connected and you can unplug the repeater from the computer. There isnow an extra wireless network called belkin54g with an identical security password tothe existing network. The repeater can now be positioned near the edge of the rangeof the router to extend the wireless network and your laptop can connect to eitheraccess point, with the same password. Some routers support an option called WDS(Wireless Distribution System), which means both access points can have the samenetwork name, too.

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IsWi-fisafe?

The Government has announced researchinto the potential long-term health effectsof using Wi-fi. With ‘experts’ in the press

andTVquestioningwhether or not we should beusing the technology,while computer companiesextol the freedom of wireless computing, it canbe hard knowing what to believe.Are wireless network users storing up health

problems for the future and putting their childrenat risk? Are the concerns based on gut feeling,hard facts or junk science? Do you really need toworry about the built-inWi-fi in your home, or isit all new-age mumbo-jumbo?Over the past few months, Wi-fi has started to

get some bad press, with at least one nationalnewspaper writer urging readers to ditch it and aBBCPanorama report suggesting that it could beharming children in schools. And now the

Government’s Health Protection Agency (HPA,www.hpa.org.uk) has announced that it iscarrying out more research into the use of Wi-fi.So is it time to unplug your wireless router?Frankly, probably not.Behind theheadlines and thehype, the scopeof

theHPA research is not quite as alarming as somehave made it sound. Announcing the research,Professor Pat Troop of the HPA said: “There is noscientific evidence to date that Wi-fi adverselyaffects the health.” And the new research isn’tintended to discover whether or not Wi-fi canmake people ill; instead, it’s to measure the extentto which people are exposed to radio waves whenawirelessnetwork is inuse.Usingboth laboratorytests and real-world environments, the HPA willstudymodels – a sort of radio version of crash testdummies – to find out just howmuch of the signalreaches different parts of the body.TheHPAexpects that the researchwill provide

a clear idea of how the signals from Wi-ficompare with those from mobile phones – forwhich there’s presently no evidence of a healthrisk, despite extensive research both here and inEurope. And if the exposure from Wi-fi is lessthan that from mobile phones, then the HPAhopes the information will reassure people thatwireless networks aren’t causing problems forthem and their children. It may be that lessonslearned in the mobile phone research could beapplied for wireless PC networks.

Wattsgoingon?Much of the concern about radio waves – orelectromagnetic radiation – is the amount ofpower they produce, which ismeasured inwatts.The maximum power mobile phones canproduce is up to two watts; the maximumpermitted for aWi-fi device in Europe is 20 timesless at 0.1 watts – though a phonewill turn downthe power when it’s in a good signal area. But it’s

The safety of Wi-fi has been called into question, but experts haveaccused critics of presenting junk science as fact. We investigate

H Wi-fi has received some bad press in the past and, like mobile phones, it’s safety is in doubt

Wi-fi and mobile phonesdon’t transmit all thetime, and this helps todecrease any theoreticaleffect of exposure. Andthey aren’t the onlysources of radio waves inyour home, either.Microwave ovens,Bluetooth devices andDect cordless phones alluse radio, as do somevideo senders – and allcan use the same radiofrequencies as Wi-fi.

A Dect phone has a powerof around 0.01 watts, while Bluetooth iseven lower at just 1 milliwatt (0.001watts), and a microwave oven is permittedby official safety guidelines to ‘leak’around five milliwatts.

Finally, radiation might be a scaryword out of context, but all radio waves– and even visible light from streetlamps or the sun – are electromagneticradiation in scientific terms.

Jargonbuster

➧Bluetooth A technologythat allows devices tocommunicate, like printers,with each other wirelesslyover short distances.

➧Dect A technology used bysome cordless phones tomaintain clear call qualitywithin homes.

➧Router A device used toconnect more than onecomputer together and/orto the internet as analternative to a modem.

➧Wi-fi An umbrella term forvarious standards forwireless networking.

For more Jargon Buster definitionssee page 97 or visit

www.computeractive.co.uk

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also worth remembering where the signals are –you hold a mobile phone right next to your head,whereas Wi-fi equipment tends to be in thecomputer, a few feet away, or in the base station,even further away. And the laws of physicsmeanthat if you move a radio device twice as far away,the signal you receive drops to a quarter of thestrength – it’s called the inverse square law.It’s very likely that the strength of the radio

signals you’re surrounded by from Wi-fi aremuch, much lower than those from your mobilephone. And even if there are several Wi-ficomputers in the same room, they are unlikely toall be transmitting data at the same time. So abusy Wi-fi-equipped classroom is unlikely toexpose children to significantly higher levels.But, as with all aspects of safety in schools, it’sworth checking, and the HPA study will try toquantify exactly howmuch the level rises.

ElectrosensitivityThere are people who claim to be sensitive towireless networks, mobile phones and otherequipment. They call themselves electrosensitiveand claim they suffer headaches and othersymptoms, and can tell when a wireless networkor mobile phone is operating, based on theirsymptoms. Some even claim to feel better whenthey’re carrying a special crystal to re-alignenergies, or if they paint their walls with specialpaint to keep out radio waves.So, who’s right? Can some people detect

‘electrosmog’ and feel better when it’s removed?There are certainly people who do feel betterwhen they’ve turned off their wireless networkbut, so far, there hasn’t been a proper scientifictest that would prove whether electrosensitivity

is real. Many doctors suspect it might actually bemore of a psychological phenomenon. That’s notto say that radio waves don’t have an effect onhuman cells, but so far no one has proved anyillnesses are caused by mobile phones, let aloneWi-fi with its much lower power levels.

NoevidenceThe HPA’s study is going to take two years, sowhat should you do in the meantime? Well, it’simpossible to say there’s no risk, but all theavailable scientific evidence so far suggestsyou’re quite safe to carry on using Wi-fi, alongwith your mobile phone.More radio signals will be coming in through

the windows of your child’s classroom than fromthe Wi-fi on the computers they use. If you’re thecautious kind and limit your child’s use of mobilephones, you might consider not putting Wi-fi kitin their bedroom either, but you’re probably morelikely to behurt trippingover network cables thanby radio waves from a home wireless network. Inthe words of HPA’s Professor Troop: “We havegood scientific reasons to expect the results to bereassuring, and wewill publish our findings.”

H Go to www.powerwatch.org.uk for some independentadvice on microwave and electromagnetic technology

Radioactive?

H Microwave ovens leak considerably more than Wi-fi