Hi all, I am new to the forum. I just completed some informal testing of four routers. First a little background. I have a front bedroom that I use as a computer room. I have a Dlink DIR-655 router located there connected to a Motorola cable modem. I have a large network with about 12 devices, not counting switches. And my wife and I use an IPod, IPad and Asus netbook to connect via wifi in the living room which is about 60 feet away through 5 walls including a tile wall shower. The DIR-655 gives low and erratic signal strength in the living room.
So, I bought an Asus RT-N13U based on the SNB Performance Charts, an Engenius ECB3500 and a Ubiquiti PowerAP N based on discussions on other forums. (Yes, I went a little overboard on buying routers, but I looked at it as a learning experience.)
I use a tool named Net Surveyor to measure signal strength. Testing consisted of placing each router at the exact location in the computer room (One at a time.) and an Asus Netbook running Net Surveyor in the living room.
Anyway, here are the results. The DIR-655 gives a signal strength of 29% on a 0-100% scale. The RT-N13U gives a signal strength 46% a significant improvement. The ECB3500 gives a signal a strength of 48%, only a slight improvement over the RT-N13U but a significant improvement over the DIR-655. The Ubiquiti gives a signal strength of 55%, an astounding result!
As an aside, the SNB Performance charts indicate that the RT-N13 gives about 35% less throughput than the top performing Cisco E4200 at the most difficult location. My testing indicates that the Ubiquiti would be as good or better than the Cisco. (Assuming that signal strength correlates with throughput.)
Regards, Jim
So, I bought an Asus RT-N13U based on the SNB Performance Charts, an Engenius ECB3500 and a Ubiquiti PowerAP N based on discussions on other forums. (Yes, I went a little overboard on buying routers, but I looked at it as a learning experience.)
I use a tool named Net Surveyor to measure signal strength. Testing consisted of placing each router at the exact location in the computer room (One at a time.) and an Asus Netbook running Net Surveyor in the living room.
Anyway, here are the results. The DIR-655 gives a signal strength of 29% on a 0-100% scale. The RT-N13U gives a signal strength 46% a significant improvement. The ECB3500 gives a signal a strength of 48%, only a slight improvement over the RT-N13U but a significant improvement over the DIR-655. The Ubiquiti gives a signal strength of 55%, an astounding result!
As an aside, the SNB Performance charts indicate that the RT-N13 gives about 35% less throughput than the top performing Cisco E4200 at the most difficult location. My testing indicates that the Ubiquiti would be as good or better than the Cisco. (Assuming that signal strength correlates with throughput.)
Regards, Jim