[PLUG] Linux Wifi Clinic: BEFW11S4 at Bestbuy, $40

AthlonRob AthlonRob at axpr.net
Wed Apr 28 10:52:02 UTC 2004


On Wed, 2004-04-28 at 10:41, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
> Bestbuy has Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless Access Points on sale for
> $39.99 after rebates.  These are IMHO about the easiest and most
> functional 802.11b units around.  They configure via HTML, so they
> are O.S. independent (though some of the Linksys units run Linux
> internally).  These are 100mW units with two antennas and good range,
> and Linksys also sells external booster amplifiers that take you up
> to the FCC limit.

FWIW, I've had one of those for about a year now.  I bought it down in
Mississippi for roughly $100.

The range is excellent.  My version, the version 3, has a few issues,
however.  After between one week and a month of running, it starts
dropping about 50% of the wireless packets to go across the interface. 
Pull the power plug, count to three, plug it back in and we're back in
business without any real interruption.

The different versions of this WAP are considerably different, though,
when it comes to innards and firmware.

> I bought one to make sure they are as easy to configure as I
> remembered - they are, you can get to the WAP's web page and make
> necessary naming, channel, and security changes in less than five
> minutes.  I will experiment a little more and see if I can do a
> "DHCP passthrough" to my wired internal network.

FWIW, I'm using it entirely as a wired-wireless bridge.  DHCP passes
right through it, no problems at all.

This last weekend I took it down to the coast and set it up with the
PPPoE DSL down there, to act as a wireless/wired bridge, access point,
and router.  It worked like a charm.  The little DHCP server in there
doled out IP addresses properly... just plug and play.

> The sale ends Saturday. 

Sweet, I might just have to pick up a second one...  :-)

Rob





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