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Router Hack – How to Turn Your Router into a Universal WiFi Repeater!

max — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:22:22 +0000

Recently, my parent’s DSL modem died (after about 10 years of constant use) so I had to replace it with a Belkin router that also has a DSL modem integrated. Well, now they are left with a useless Linksys router because the Belkin does both, acting as both a DSL modem and router.

I did have a Linksys WAP54G access point that I used as repeater for that Linksys router before but the repeater was never powerful enough to work well. After doing some online research, I found that you can actually turn almost any router into a repeater if you install DD-WRT. Most routers don’t come equipped with repeater settings but routers can be many times more powerful than the repeaters you can buy.

Since I have been putting DD-WRT to many of my routers, it didn’t take me too long before my parent’s Linksys WRT54GS into a “super” repeater.

The results were rather fantastic (hence why I am writing this blog post). My parent’s new DD-WRT repeater does an awesome job of extending WiFi signals all over their house, much better than what the stock WAP54G did. I would highly advise now to actually get a router and convert it to a DD-WRT repeater instead of buying a wifi repeater. (Plus think about flexibility, you can always use it as a router too if needed.)

The best part? You can actually turn your router into a “universal” repeater, meaning it will repeat any open WiFi signals. Of course, having open WiFi not sound too smart but for where my parents live, there’s not too many neighbors and it’s in the country so it’s going to work well.

Also, by using DD-WRT, you will be able to repeat from any WiFi host even if you use different brands like me. In my case, I used a Belkin DSL modem/router coupled with a Linksys WRT-54GS router-turned-to-DD-WRT-repeater.

On another thought, you can probably use a universal repeater to extend the range of free open WiFi around where you live (and get free WiFi although it’s probably illegal).

Anyways, just a thought just in case you need to extend your WiFi.

To turn your router into a universal repeater, you will first have to install DD-WRT. You can see if your router is supported by checking the list of supported devices here. The process of DD-WRT is rather easy but just make sure to check that the firmware you are installing has been successfully tested with the model number of your router because you can brick your router pretty easily if you don’t check that. Otherwise, DD-WRT shouldn’t be too hard to install.

Once you have hacked your router with DD-WRT, you can follow directions here on how to set up your new router as universal wireless repeater.

Also on the similar subject, you can check out Repeater Bridge to connect wired devices together. Basically this is another step beyond repeating signals, you can actually setup a wireless bridge to connect different LAN networks in your home/office.

Finally, don’t forget to read my post on how to tweak your DD-WRT router for maximum performance.

Man, I love open-source, long live DD-WRT. DD-WRT is probably the best open-source router software you can install on your factory router to get the maximum performance out of it, I install it on every one of my routers.

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Router Hack – How to Turn Your Router into a Universal WiFi Repeater!

Windows 7 DIY – How to Turn your Windows 7 Into a Router! [FREE DOWNLOAD]

max — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:26:17 +0000

Connectify is a free Windows 7 software that lets you turn your Windows 7 into a WiFi hotspot. Of course, there’s other more complicated ways of doing this but I think this is the simplest and since the software is free, this could be a great way to make your hotel wired internet into WiFi for everyone in your family.

Or if you have a spare computer and you “still” don’t have WiFi in your house, this could be a good option while also turning your spare computer into a network storage.

You might be at a location where there is only one Ethernet connection available (hotel room, office or meeting room etc.) and you need to share the Internet connection with other people or devices. Connectify is a free utility which is light on system resources and makes it easy for you to set up your Windows 7 machine as a secure WiFi hotspot.

via howtogeek (See full how to instructions here)

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Windows 7 DIY – How to Turn your Windows 7 Into a Router! [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Black Friday Linksys Router Sale!

max — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:44:43 +0000

Boy do I love Black Friday on deals like this one, a Linksys WRT400N Dual-Band Wireless-N Router for just $109.99 on Amazon!

I still prefer my old Linksys WRT Wireless-G Router that has been hacked with DD-WRT but for sure, if you want slightly faster wireless-N speeds, this is probably the best deal I’ve seen so far for Black Friday.

Linksys is always the way to go as far as routers go and these would also make great gifts for your geek friends/family.

High-performance simultaneous dual-band Wireless-N router for connecting wired and wireless devices
Simultaneous Wireless-N technology for unsurpassed performance, great range, and reduced dead spots
Four 10/100 Ethernet ports for connecting wired devices, such as computers, printers, and more
128-Bit wireless encryption and SPI firewall for air-tight security
Measures 8.07 x 1.38 x 6.3 inches and weighs 1.01 pounds; It’s backed by a 1-year limited warranty

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Black Friday Linksys Router Sale!

Linux Ubuntu DIY – How to Setup DDNS on your Ubuntu!

max — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:32:09 +0000

I have a nice little Linux Ubuntu box I setup here in my apartment with a KVM switch but most of the time, I use command lines to SSH into my linux box.

When I am away from from home and I want to access my linux box, I can access it (SSH into it) using DDNS (dynamic DNS). This is great since I have my own backup server plus I can test out my web servers on my linux box before going live.

Anyways, if you are looking for easy solution on how to setup DDNS on your Ubuntu machine, ddclient is probably the easiest. You can check out detailed instructions from MexPolk, who has a great step-by-step tutorial on how to accomplish this.

And also, you need to either set your linux box to “DMZ” mode if you have a router at home. Or better, just set your port forwarding so port 22 doesn’t get blocked. (port 22 for SSH)

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Linux Ubuntu DIY – How to Setup DDNS on your Ubuntu!

Palm Pre Hack – How to “Tweet” Your Palm Pre’s GPS Location to Twitter!

max — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:44:57 +0000

Well, I digged a bit further with my Palm Pre GoogleMaps GPS tracking app and made a new app that will track your Palm Pre’s GPS location via Twitter.

This is a better way to keeping a record of where you have been traveling in the past with your Palm Pre.

Here’s a screenshot of my latest update @trackmypalmpre:

If you go type the location on GoogleMaps, you will get the following:

Incredibly, I am actually right under that tree in my car near the Monarch Bay golf course in a public parking lot, writing this very blog post using my netbook and my hacked Palm Pre WiFi Router.

LMAO, I will have to turn off the updates eventually, I don’t want everyone to know my location. (OR I can set my Twitter updates to private so only I can see…)

But I will leave them up for now, you can track me @trackmypalmpre.

Click here for Full step-by-step directions on how to tweet your Palm Pre’s GPS location.

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Palm Pre Hack – How to “Tweet” Your Palm Pre’s GPS Location to Twitter!

Palm Pre Hack – How to SSH into a Palm Pre!

max — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:49:02 +0000

Here’s a write-up I did over at my new Palm Pre Hacks blog on how to SSH into a Palm Pre. Check it out if you got a Palm Pre and ahead of the curve.

The second day I got the Palm Pre, I was able to SSH into my own Palm Pre and also make it into a WiFi Router. Of course, this is usual business for me as I manage about 30+ web servers on a daily basis. If I see a linux machine, the first thing I want to do is SSH into it.

via palm pre hacks blog

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Palm Pre Hack – How to SSH into a Palm Pre!

Call Center Hack – How to Get Service From Phone Company Call Centers!

max — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:47:38 +0000

Hahaha, here’s an interesting blog post I started to write and forgot about it for couple weeks: (It’s a wonder what a difference a week makes you feel about things. Just take it slow.)

LMAO Oscar Saved My Ass From AT&T Call Centers!

The most interesting thing came about today, I called AT&T THREE TIMES and navigated through their menus to reach call center in India once, then another woman over in the States, then to Oscar solved my problems of not being able to recover my registration info for the new router.

Seriously, I called AT&T 3 TIMES before someone helped me solved my problems of not being able to connect to the internet. Can you believe it? Me without internet? Okay, maybe I am streching here but every human being in the world deserves a good internet connection whether satellite, internet, or cellular.

If Oscar didn’t help me, I would have had to wait 3 MORE DAYS! The other 2 people were telling me some bs like I need to fax them my driver’s license card to verify that it’s real me….go figure. Oscar simply asked me couple security questions and we skipped THREE WHOLE DAYS! Okay, call me crazy but I like to get things done in 5 minutes.

Well, at least I get the last laugh on AT&T, they really need to hire smarter people like Oscar so I don’t have to call 3 times to get my wifi up and running. Think about how much money they are actually “wasting” by having the customer call 3 times for the same problem.

Actually, I realized that there’s a way around those call centers. You just gotta keep calling again until you get someone friendly on the phone who’s willing to help you.

As soon as that person is not being friendly or simply taking too long, just hang up and dial again as those call centers have thousands of other people who can help you.

Just think of it this way, depending on you luck, you could be talking to the worst customer service person or best, just hang up the phone and call again if you happen to talk to the worst.

Anyways, that’s my 2 cents on how to deal with call centers, JUST KEEP CALLING THEM until you find someone you can solve your problems and don’t whine to people who don’t care about you anyways.

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Call Center Hack – How to Get Service From Phone Company Call Centers!

The router clock saves time and money

David Allen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:00:07 +0000

This is an interesting device that looks like a snazzy clock, but is in fact a router that monitors the user’s broadband signal and shows its strength through colours now you will know when the best time to go online is.

The clock is divided into half hourly segments and the colour indicates the bandwidth strength at each of these times. Technically this is a great piece of equipment, but in the real world is this really going to work at all?

Source [Gizmondo]

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

The router clock saves time and money

WiFi DIY – How to Make a WiFi Radio!

max — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:39:06 +0000

Trust me, I am an avid WinAmp addict who listens to internet radio constantly. Here’s a great DIY on how to make your own WiFi radio! The most awesome project I have seen this year so far.

The back panel is made of fiberboard from Home Depot. The Wi-Fi antenna is shown on the left. The LAN ports and buttons of the router are accessible through cutouts in the back panel. A 6-pin mini-DIN power jack that matches the power supply I’m using and the power switch are shown on the right. Four screws hold the back panel onto the box, so it’s easy to remove.

via hackedgadgets

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

WiFi DIY – How to Make a WiFi Radio!

The D Link Xtreme Gigabit Router

David Allen — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:10:19 +0000

The latest version of the Xtreme router range that allows the user to work on the 2.4 GHz and 5 Ghz wireless signals at the same time, this is the perfect HD wireless connection as it can handle HD video streams and is even backward compatible to 802.11g and 802.11a technology too.

Product Features and Technical Details

Product Features

Intelligent QoS technology prioritizes Internet traffic as well as wired and wireless network traffic

Xtreme N technology allows for farther home coverage

Secure your wireless network using advanced WPA or WPA2 encryption

Supports Good Neighbour Policy–will not interfere with other wireless networks

Backward compatible with 802.11g and 802.11a devices including game consoles and digital media players

Xtreme N™ Router Benefits

Intelligent QoS technology prioritizes Internet traffic as well as wired and wireless network traffic

Xtreme N technology allows for farther home coverage*

Secure your wireless network using advanced WPA™ or WPA2™ encryption

Supports Good Neighbour Policy – will not interfere with other wireless networks

Backward compatible with 802.11g and 802.11a devices including game consoles and digital media players

Technical Details

Device Type: Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router

Interface: USB

Form Factor: Desktop

Management: Web Based

WAN Port(s): one

Print Server Port: USB

Antenna Type: two External Reverse SMA Dual band Antennas

Priced at $129.99

Source [Amazon]

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

The D Link Xtreme Gigabit Router

Sprint Novatel’s MiFi 2200 Portable EV-DO Router Coming Soon!

max — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:15:06 +0000

Sprint will be rolling out their new EV-DO router where you can make any location a Wi-Fi hotspot. Now, this still will be very slow since EV-DO is barely fast enough for one computer.

However, there is advantage where the router can be “placed” on your roof to ensure EV-DO coverage even in remote locations like in the mountain. I am sure you’ve had similar experiences where your broadband USB simply doesn’t cut it.

My recommendation is hold onto your money for right now in this hard economy and keep waiting for Wi-MAX, which will be at least 10 times faster than EV-DO.

MiFi creates a personal cloud of high-speed Internet connectivity that can be easily shared among up to five users and a variety of WiFi-enabled devices through its connection to America’s most dependable 3G network,* the EVDO Rev A Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. For example:

College student: a college student tucks her MiFi 2200 in her backpack to study with friends at the park and uses it to listen to streaming radio on her MP3 player while she connects to the school’s Intranet on her laptop to get details on a class assignment. She takes a break to take pictures of her pals with her Wi-Fi enabled digital camera, and the camera uses the MiFi’s signal to upload the photos to Facebook while she emails her completed report to her professor, then uses the device’s GPS capability to find a nearby pizza place for lunch.

Business travelers: Two business travelers share a cab to the airport, then wait for their flight. Sharing the signal of one MiFi 2200 device that is safely tucked away in a briefcase, they download emails and surf the Internet on their notebooks and stream music to their MP3 players.

Portable retail: Five vendors at a local art fair have kiosks in close proximity. Accessing one MiFi 2200 device’s signal, they each run a credit card point-of-sale device over WiFi and have secure backhaul.

via engadget

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Sprint Novatel’s MiFi 2200 Portable EV-DO Router Coming Soon!

WiMax/WiBro Routers Available in South Korea!

max — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:56:06 +0000

While Sprint is still trying to get WiMax up and running in America by year 2010, (that’s the year it should be available in every city in the US, according to a Sprint rep I talked to last week) South Koreans have been enjoying it for the last couple years and now they have a WiBro router that instantly turns any location into a WiFi hotspot with fast upload/download speeds than you can imagine.

Of course, you can pick one up in South Korea (and use it in South Korea only) but I can’t wait till Sprint gets their act together so I can get one here too.

WiBro, a local variant of mobile WiMAX, provides faster data rates than third-generation (3G) services, with download speeds of around 37 megabytes per second and upload speeds of 8 megabytes per second.

However, in one of the world’s most wired nations, WiBro has struggled to gain traction. KT has spent more than 730 billion won on its WiBro business since its commercial launch in 2006, but has little to show for it. SK Telecom, the mobile telephony king and the country’s other WiBro operator, has it even worse.

via engadget

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

WiMax/WiBro Routers Available in South Korea!

LED Coffee Table from Sparkfun!

max — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:23:24 +0000

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Remember those DIY Coffee Tables from Evil Mad Scientists? Well, here’s a similar one from Sparkfun.

“The table itself was bought secondhand and refinished. Then it was retrofitted with proper mounting for the big LED matrix. The individual LED matrices were mounted on a custom plastic frame. All this work was done by resident mechanical engineer and lady-killer Casey Haskell. The matrices are connected 8 to a row, all 8 rows controlled via a custom router board connected to an Olimex LPC2106 development board. The entire rig is powered by a hacked 500 watt CPU power supply.

via hackedgadgets, DIY Page

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

LED Coffee Table from Sparkfun!

DIY Hexapod CNC Robot!

max — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:53:57 +0000

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

I thought CNC machines were impressive, this one gets an extra star from me.

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

For these two videos I’m using a 1/16″ two flute slot cutter, the router is running at approx 35,000 Rpm, the additional battery on the to of the hex is a 12V NiMh 4500mah pack just to run the router. DXF files are loaded in to artcam where G-code tool paths are created. Due to the 10mm thickness of the poly and the cutter only being 6mm long, I chose to do two passes on the workpiece, this also shows that although the resolution is low, repeatability is good enough for multiple passes. Material is held down by the weight of the hexapod, which is current;y 4.3Kg with the router and additional battery pack

[via hackedgadgets] – hexapodrobot

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

DIY Hexapod CNC Robot!

DIY Linksys HACK – HOWTO tweak your router to go 10 times faster!

max — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:28:33 +0000

If you are like most folks who don’t know about DD-WRT and your Linksys router is dying on you, it’s time to switch your OS to DD-WRT.

DD-WRT also works on over 80 other routers, so be sure to check the supported devices list here.

DD-WRT is basically an aftermarket linux firmware for your Linksys router. It’s like putting an aftermarket turbo system on your hot import car, except this one is open-source and free to download.

There are many instructions floating on the internet but the most important thing is to identify what type of Linksys router you have.

You can refer to the instructions on the DD-WRT website wiki here. It might look a little hairy but usually it takes 3 simple steps of uploading a new firmware via the web GUI admin interface, TFTPing another file, then simple rebooting and wala you have a .

Check the back of your Linksys router to see what model it is. I have several different Linksys routers ranging from Linksys WRT-G V8, WRT-GS V5, and WRT-GS V7.

I’ve successfully installed the DD-WRT on my WRT-GS V5 and my WRT-G V8, but have bricked my WRT-GS V7.

If you have WRT-G V8 or WRT-GS V7, you can try this guide here. I’ve successfully installed the WRT-G V8 but bricked my WRT-GS V7, so be careful.

If you have one of the newer models or thinking about buying one, I highly suggest trying to get an old one off eBay or get the WRT-G models. Although WRT-GS V8 is supported, sometimes, it can brick your router just like it happened to me.

Bricked your router while trying to upgrade to DD-WRT?

Well, normally this doesn’t happen, but here’s resources just in case you do brick your router.

The only choice I have is to make a hairydairymaid JTAG cable which allows you to directly program and erase the flash and the Broadcom chip inside the router.

If you ever brick your router, you can always refer to the WRT54G revival guide before trying the hairy dairy method.

Click below for on the rest of the guide to tweak the settings and make the router go 10 times faster!

Modify the setting on the DD-WRT and make your internet go 10 times faster!

Okay, just by installing DD-WRT, you made your internet connection and your network about 5 times faster. With more little tweaking with the admin settings, you can squeeze out some more performance.

Now comes several steps that can REALLY make your internet and network faster.

Here’s how to do it:

After installing your new DD-WRT firmware and everything is working smoothly, go to Administration->Management and set the Maximum ports to 4096 from the default 1024. (This is basically the maximum number of ports available at any given moment. ) Now, I have cable internet and doing this made my internet much much faster, especially since I got about 7 computers hooked up to my network. My cable download speed went from 6 Mbps to 20 Mbps!

Another hack is you can also overclock your router, so set that to 250 Mhz and off you go! (I belive this overclock method is only supported with full versions of DD-WRT, not micro…so if you don’t see the menu, you can’t overclock it… :p )

QoS (Quality of Service) HACK

This is probably the most overlooked setting. I used to work with VOIP phones so QoS was always important in setting that VOIP packets to be high priority.

Basically QoS allows you to prioritize the data depending on what you type of data transfer you want to make it super fast. Although you might not see whole lot of improvement if your network is hummin’, you will see a great performance increase under network congestion.

Simply go to Application & Gaming->QoS like shown above, and add the services you want to prioritize and set them to “Exempt”.

For me, I put http (Port 80), which is my web browser. Since I use the web mostly, I want my web pages to load fast!

I also put in some other ones like ftp, pop3 (my Outlook e-mail), and httpvideo.

Other than those services, I don’t really use other stuff much but if you use bittorrent or something, you can set them here too.

You need to know the port numbers in order to set this up. You can refer to common list of port numbers here.

MAC Address QoS HACK

I used to work as an IT admin long time ago and I usually have admin access to all the routers where I worked. (or wherever I worked that is)

Since I like to browse the web faster and do things faster than everybody, I would always go into the admin and put in the MAC address of my network adaptor.

Basically, by doing this, your computer will always get faster network speeds than other computers in the network. This worked great so I could download videos, music, and etc…etc… while my co-workers complained that their internet was slow.

In the same screen as QoS screen more towards the bottom, you can enter your MAC Address of your network adaptor and add it. Now, your computer will be the fastest at your work! Yes, don’t blame me if you get fired for it, but I don’t think it’s THAT evil, it’s only increasing your work productivity.

How to find your MAC address?

Simply check the Details of your network connection on your computer. (You could probably google this if you get stuck.)

Conclusion

As you can see, it’s not just installing the DD-WRT firmware that makes your network and downloads faster, it’s also the little tweaking here and there that can make your router work like a race-horse.

Did I forget any settings? If I did, leave a comment!

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

DIY Linksys HACK – HOWTO tweak your router to go 10 times faster!

Hacking your wireless router

max — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 01:23:12 +0000

This has been around but it’s good to know you can always run a better Linux OS on your router.

via wagthis

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Hacking your wireless router

Linksys WRT350N Gigabit 802.11N MIMO Router

max — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 05:03:18 +0000

Nice 802.11N wireless router and a gigabit ethernet router in one package!

Both a 802.11N wireless router and a gigabit ethernet router, the Linksys WRT350N also has Storage LInk, which lets you add additional storage to your network. Attach any USB 2.0 hard drive to the router and it becomes accessible to the WRT350N’s media server so you can access all your files anywhere in the home. It’s even UPnP compatible, so your Windows XP box can detect it immediately. The wireless portion uses MIMO, which increases range, decreases dead-spots and overall gives you more speed for your money. Since it’s draft 802.11N, there’s no guarantee it will work with the final N products. Since the WRT350N isn’t’ actually available yet, you won’t have to make up your mind whether to go draft N or wait for full N just yet.

via gizmodo

Brought to you by: Zedomax.com

Linksys WRT350N Gigabit 802.11N MIMO Router

zedomax.com » router

Router Hack – How to Turn Your Router into a Universal WiFi Repeater!

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