Had Dlink DIR524, then DIR615.. DIR615 overheats? What next?

[audiodane]

Tried to summarize in the title.. At the bottom I have a "priority list."

Had a Dlink DIR-524 that got hit by lightning a few years back... surprisingly, still worked pretty well. One of the four wired ports got blown out, and the wireless died. Didn't matter much (wasn't using wireless) and I used the remaining three ports until I really needed wireless.

Finally replaced it with a Dlink DIR-615 that we've had for six months now. It works PRETTY well, but I think something's wrong with it in that if I try to pass heavy wireless traffic, the wireless just dies. The router still functions fine. WinXP, my Tivo, etc., just can't see the wireless anymore. (Our SSID completely disappears from the "available wireless networks" list) Interestingly, all the wired connections continue to function just fine (another Tivo, Panasonic TV, Oppo Bluray player).. I have to pull power and reboot the DIR-615 and then the wireless comes right back up and never even knew there was a problem.

I have recently put the router into an under-the-stairs cabinet along with some other AV equipment, and the problem intensified, so I'm wondering if it is a thermal issue? So at this point I'm just not sure where to go. I've used DLink for so long, but when joining this forum today I see a thread where someone says to "stay away from Dlink." But even SBN reviews the Dlink's highly (the DIR-655 seems to get good reviews), and I'm sure every brand has people suggesting to stay away from them for one reason or another.. I know for my A/V hobby I have similar preferences for and against different manufacturers..

Priorities include:

• Reliable Wireless (!!) (Esp. in a warmer location [~85-90F ambient])
• Extremely good range (strange house layout)

I am currently using all "G" devices. "N" is fine but if a legacy "G" product is just "that much more reliable" then I'm all for it! I am also not against a wired-only router and a wired-to-wireless access point, if that would be a much more reliable solution. It would certainly give me the freedom to place the wireless portion in another location and keep the wired ports in the A/V cabinet where they need to be.. And maybe that's a better approach and I just upgrade the access point in the future if my wireless needs change?

Wondering what y'all would recommend me look into for my situation?

thanks,
..dane

 

[thiggins]

You will always read negative reviews on any product. Just part of the wonderful web.

You are on the right track suspecting a thermal problem. Consumer routers are designed to be cheap, which means they tend to do little to nothing for good heat management.

There are two approaches:
1) Separate the wireless from the router. Get a second router and set it up as an AP, disable wireless in the first and connect the two.

2) Improve airflow for the router. This can be as simple as putting the router on a laptop cooling pad or putting a small fan on the outside grill area. If the router is going to be in a closed area, you can also just remove the top of the router.

In your case, I would get the router out of the AV cabinet, implement some sort of cooling and put a small switch in your AV cabinet, connected to a port on the router.