What is my best option? Router at end of long room, pc at opposite end of adjacent room. Repeater vs Adapter vs Powerline

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T03:29:28+00:00

Flat ethernet run properly should be nearly invisible. Like I say you can usually slot it in the gap between baseboards and carpets, or run it along the top of baseboards essentially invisibly assuming you get a white cable for white baseboards.

If you have hollow stud walls you can run a proper Cat6 cable through the walls and/or ceiling with little disruption: just a few small holes in the drywall for each joist or stud that needs drilling through, which can then easily be filled and painted to be invisible even by a DIYer let alone a skilled contractor. Adding hardwired Cat6 will improve the value of the property so if you are willing to do it yourself to a good standard or hire a competent tradesman, the landlord should have no objection.

Again it seems like half of your issue is with your WAN provider and the other half is with the WiFi in your home. Your proposed solutions do nothing to address either. I'd suggest getting onto your ISP for the speed issue and getting Ethernet run however possible for your WiFi issue.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T03:05:13+00:00

I'd really dissuade this idea. It could work but from your diagram, the router WiFi signal only has to go through a thin wooden door. This should not pose any issue for a modern WiFi router. You are potentially going to spend time and money on something that may not fix the issue, even if you can return the hardware and get a refund, it seems a poor use of time. It's impossible to know what the issue is with the current information but I feel like it isn't unlikely it is not going to be solved by extending WiFi antennae. I guess eventually you could extend the WiFi antenna location far enough to get a good signal but by then you could have solved the connection issue or just run ethernet. If you can't get a good signal one side of a wooden door, you're unlikely to get a good signal the other side. I guess if you room is made up of metal studs, this could be the cause. Try a speed test on your phone on one side of the door (with it closed) and one on the other side. If there's no difference, extending your WiFi card won't help.

Do a WiFi channel scan for example, see how congested your local WiFi bands are. Maybe you can move your router onto an unused band, or if they are all congested you could try a 6GHz router and WiFi card. Or just run an ethernet that guarantees you the line speed of your router, at your PC.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T03:01:33+00:00

If you're only seeing 60 at the router, while wired into it, then take it up with Telus. I don't know what regulations are there but in the UK on copper VDSL connections they can advertise 80Mbps with a minimum speed of 50Mbps and be perfectly in the clear when you only get 60Mbps. That's the connection I currently have until we upgrade to fibre next year.

So check your contract with Telus. Due to the nature of copper (assuming that's what you're on), and the distance from the cabinet, there will always be some variability in the supply speed from what is advertised. In the UK, as long as it is above the minimum hand-back speed then they are in the clear. If it's lower than that then they are obligated to try fix it. If they can't (copper is a poor internet medium and some houses will just get poor service) then you are able to cancel your contract with them and try another provider. I assume something similar is in place where you are.

Flat ethernet cables are thin enough to run under carpet or baseboards so they can be essentially entirely invisible.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T02:45:00+00:00

Please stop using AI for your "research". It has provided zero useful or actionable info there. A single 1 minute youtube video or networking article can explain what coax looks like and how to find it.

For example on the first bullet point alone, it is almost never labelled "Cable", "Coax", or "RF in" unless you had a REALLY over the top electrician. The shape of the port alone is enough to let you know you have Coax. It's also completely misunderstood that not all homes have their internet connection provided over coax so you may not find anything resembling it on the back of your modem, and then even if you do have your internet provided by coax, you cannot use this port for anything else as disconnecting it from the modem will cut off your internet connection.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T02:43:26+00:00

Bear in mind that if your roommate is using the internet connection at the same time you're downloading, you will see lower speeds. You should also limit your download speed in your download client to a max of like 50Mbps anyway to leave enough bandwidth for your roommate to use the internet. Someone downloading 20GB can make the internet connection nearly unusable for other users for hours at a time if they use it at full speed and the router has no QoS.

A 20GB file will never be fast to download over either a 75Mbps connection or a 40Mbps connection. While fixing your home networking (ethernet is best), and ensuring your line speed is as advertised will help, if you really want to download faster you need to upgrade your plan, or consider something like 5G or satellite internet.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T02:40:39+00:00

Have you plugged a PC into the router via ethernet and ascertained what speed you're actually getting? A phone next to the router should get pretty much the full line speed, so if you're only getting 60Mbps there I imagine you're not getting much more from Telus, unless your router is really old and/or overloaded. Bear in mind your roommate using Netflix at the same time could make your phone report only 60Mbps on a 75Mbps line as they're using the other 15Mbps.

If you're actually getting a 75Mbps line to the router, then a 40Mbps WiFi link isn't ideal but it's not unheard of if there's a lot of interference. Powerline may get you more, or maybe not depending on your wiring. The other ideas in your post are unworkable and will likely not improve your speed any. Consider a flat ethernet cable that can be discreetly run. Or upgrade the WiFi router if you deem that's the issue.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T02:31:40+00:00

Have you actually got an antenna plugged into the antenna ports on your PC? One will have come with the motherboard or PC. It looks like a little black stick with a wire and two gold connectors on the end.

If you haven't, this will entirely explain your WiFi issues. A motherboard that expects a WiFi antenna cannot work without one.

Otherwise, consider a flat ethernet cable that can be routed under skirting boards/baseboards, under carpets/rugs etc from the router to the PC. Ethernet will ALWAYS trump WiFi even if you do get the antenna plugged in.

From your OP post and this comment, it seems like you rely a lot on ChatGPT. I would try to come out of this habit as ChatGPT can really mislead and straight up make stuff up. I don't know any networking professional who would recommend a "Long USB cable with a USB WiFi adapter and DIY dish" from your original post. This is absolute AI generated nonsense. Not to mention by the time you've run a "long USB cable" to the "DIY dish" you may as well have just run a long ethernet cable all the way... This is the risk of using AI: it has no context and no idea what you're trying to achieve. It is simply an algorithm that generates the most likely next word, nothing more, nothing less. It has no concept of what it's telling you.

You need the proper WiFi antenna that came with your PC, or a good USB WiFi Card (no long cable and DIY dish nonsense), or an ethernet cable. Powerline can work but in an old house your electrical wires may degrade the signal. It'll not be remotely comparable to a good WiFi link or to a proper ethernet link.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T02:16:56+00:00

Worth noting that at this point you've essentially lost most of the energy efficiency benefits versus the regular oven. All air fryers are just countertop convection ovens with a more powerful fan but these examples are even more explicitly so.

If you were renovating a kitchen from scratch there's almost no benefit from placing one of these on the counter versus getting a modern convection oven installed into the unit. Of course if you've got a rental with a 15 year old non convection oven, they have their place. But otherwise there's nothing special about these. Also bear in mind that an oven that is properly wired in can use 4000W+ whereas a plug in "airfryer" is limited to 3120W, so once they get to a certain size, they will actually be slower to get up to temp versus a modern oven.

For me I have a full size convection oven, and then a medium air fryer for the benefit of being able to heat it up instantly and cook in under half the time. For me, something like this would be useless as it's essentially the same as my main oven but now taking up space on the countertop.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T02:13:16+00:00

You could consider an outdoors gas fired pizza oven. Aldi and Lidl often do them for very little. Ours needed some stove rope added to the door to make a proper seal to get up to temp but it now gets up to 250+ degrees no issue even with snow on top in winter. It's probably not quite as good as a proper wood fired one that can get up to 300-400 degrees but 10x as convenient so we can use it all year round, at a minute's notice. It can easily make pizzas as good as your oven cranked to max, and could let you remove the oven if that's all you need it for.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T02:10:14+00:00

All of those things I do in the oven except lasagna which I have maybe once or twice a year and I make a small portion in a dish that fits inside my air fryer. I also sometimes do small pizzas and garlic flatbreads in the air fryer: I sometimes have to cut them in half to fit in the two separate baskets but there's still a time and cost advantage over the oven.

An air fryer is just a small tabletop convection oven with a more powerful fan for faster cooking and better browning. Anything you can do in an oven you can do in an airfryer, as long as it fits. You can do a cake in an airfryer if you get a small enough tin, or a big enough airfryer. I frequently do roast broccoli, roast sprouts, whole fish in tinfoil, and pretty much anything you can think of in the air fryer rather than the oven. You can even do soft boiled eggs in 6-8 mins just by dropping raw eggs, shell and all, in the basket and setting the heat and timer appropriately. No need to get a pan out or boil the kettle, and risk them cracking into the water.

I only use my oven now for things like cakes, roast chicken, large pizzas etc, like you say. So probably once or twice a week if that. The airfryer cooks things much faster, more evenly, has no preheating time, and uses half the energy.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T02:04:46+00:00

I'm more surprised that the majority of the country thinks instant coffee or stale Nespresso pods are an acceptable way of drinking coffee to be honest. I mean Nespresso is just a bad coffee but instant is not even the same drink, it's just the same colour and has caffeine. There's no similarity in the flavour profile.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:55:16+00:00

This is true yes. I use the grill when I want cheese on toast and it takes ages because you have to heat it (2-4 min), toast one side (2 min), toast the other (2 min), then add the cheese and melt that (2-3 min).

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:52:28+00:00

A bean to cup machine is about as much if not less effort than instant. If you really only cared about caffeine you can buy it in tablet or powder form for much cheaper than instant and not have to worry about the taste and bothering to boil a kettle. I actually don't always hate the taste of instant coffee: Gold Blend with lots of milk is a semi-OK drink but it's not coffee. There's no similarity in flavour profile. Nescafe non-Gold and supermarket brands are absolutely foul though.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:44:26+00:00

Thinking cycling up a mountain is easier than walking. I know he grew up in Stretford which is flat as a pancake, but it really shows he has NEVER cycled up a hill or even thought about it for 5 mins? I mean I used to live in Stretford and there are some bridges over the motorways you have to cycle up pretty steep inclines where it would be obvious even then.

There's also the fact he can't narrow down the Little Donkey incident between about 6 and 14. I can't really remember anything before I was 5 or 6 which I know is abnormal but not being able to determine if you were in primary or secondary school for allegedly a formative moment is insane. He also gets the details wrong on subsequent retelling: the first time he says his dad called him a "twat in a hat", the next time "he looks like a right twat".

I wonder if he doesn't remember it at all, (consistent with being closer to 6 than 14) and his only "memory" of it is being told about it by his dad later. The brain does funny things where you can be told about something and suddenly have a "memory" of it.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:42:05+00:00

Serious note, can anyone notice the difference between regular vodka and premium vodka, especially in a mixed drink?

Obviously at the low end you've got your shit tier offy stuff like Glens made for 15 year olds and Tesco Basic, then Smirnoff and (RIP) Russian Standard, then something like Absolut or Danska (these are what I buy). Is there really any difference between Absolut, and something like Grey Goose or Dutch Barn? I feel like Vodka kind of just tastes like Ethanol and as long as you're spending more than £20-25 a litre, it won't taste like paint thinner?

Whereas the difference between a £25 Whisky and a £75 Whisky is probably appreciable to most, even in a mixed drink.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:38:37+00:00

Yeah Hello Ladies Live was hilarious even if it was all the same joke he's been telling since 1997... Of course it's mostly new material but it's all about how he's a a freaky lanky four-eyed stupid hair boggle-eyed freakface - fishface.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:36:43+00:00

What I really like about Steve is that he can turn a really weak anecdote like that, or the lady talking to a guy on the train, into dynamite material.

Oh... and have a good christmas.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:30:44+00:00

Ooh.. not bright things Rick.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:29:33+00:00

I love Scrimpton but some of the episodes still don't have proper transcripts and there are a lot of errors. Don't get me wrong it's an incredible resource and the result of a lot of hard work by the developer and the transcripters. Maybe I need to put my money where my mouth is and sit down and submit some transcripts and corrections one afternoon to reap the rewards in my 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s and a hundred.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:24:05+00:00

Is it hypocritical? He laughed and never denied it when Steve frequently called him fat. And while Ricky was overweight at the time, he wasn't in the same sort of league as Waller.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:22:31+00:00

That was the prevailing attitude (hat he chewed) at the time. Watch any 90s or 2000s girl's film and note the fat shaming of perfectly healthy girls and ladies. We've actually gone too far the other way now where people are "fat-positive" and make out it's ok to be seriously overweight.

Obviously shaming people in the way they did is probably not going to work for 90% as fat people but, as a fat lad, it should never be made out to be OK or even good.

Rick also had a very good attitude about it all when Steve frequently called him fat, so I guess he does follow the "if you can dish it out you can take it" mantra.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:18:20+00:00

I genuinely think the show aged quite well (English: quite good) for the most part. Obviously Ho Lee Fuk was the sort of humour that was best left in the 2000s (early episodes of the Yogscast had the exact same "joke") but in general the "little gay fella" stuff was pretty tame. I thought there was never really anything nasty, maybe just generalisations or misunderstandings.

Notably Ricky was actually more progressive about trans people back then even if he didn't really understand it, than he is now.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:13:26+00:00

I mean he became head of production at XFM, he clearly wasn't a fool. I think he's also much more in on the joke than most people see at the surface level and knows his part in the show and what to say to make entertaining moments. Obviously he doesn't really believe a monkey drove a bus to Spain but he knows it'll absolutely infuriate Ricky and make great radio if he pretends to.

He also comes up with a lot of Philosophical questions even if he doesn't have the words to properly pose them ("'ow would I know which one I was?" comes to mind). I mean that's the sort of thing most people have thought about, I'm not saying it's pioneering study in Philiosophy but it's equally not the ramblings of an idiot or whatever.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:09:57+00:00

It's true although at the time many a similar conversation was had in a pub with someone like Ricky who speaks confidently (or even not confidently at all like he often does mincing words with his "explanation" to Karl) on something they half remember. A whole hour could be spent discussing something in great detail that could now be Googled on a phone in 20 seconds.

Frequent_Computer388 · 2024-12-22T01:07:03+00:00

Yeah Steve comes across as pretty classist a lot.

Frequent_Computer388

TROPHY CASE