Also of note, if you use the dd-wrt firmware to 'turn up the power' (however that works), while you get increased range of signal (again, I'm not sure how it works, but it does, b/c I did it with mine at home), you also run the rotuer at a higher temp, which could (and does) break important bits.

Hello? You don't have a liquid intercooler on your router ???

Well duh, NOW I do...grumblegrumble...stupid bricked router....grumblegrumble

The Part 15 power limit (one watt) applies to all unlicened devices in this band, and there's no higher limit for "professional" devices. That said, I've read that most WiFi equipment runs between 20mw and 200mw. So check your spec sheets if looking to upgrade a device. I suspect a device using the lower end of that power range does so not out of courtesy but to use cheaper parts.

Of course, Part 15 prohibits you from using a non-type-certified antenna too.

You may find this calculator useful

So, in the continuing saga of trying to get broadband wireless to my kid at minimum cost, I purchased a used Microsoft MN500 802.11b wireless base station (router). According to what I am reading online, it is configurable as a bridge. I have followed the instructions describing this process, but so far, no joy.

Can anyone tell me this...When configured as a wireless bridge, shouldn't this device pick up my Linksys' signal and send it through a network cable to the desired computer?

Nope.

a bridge (wireless or otherwise) works only from a point to point location, and pre-supposes a permament connection. Bridges are useful mainly in the corporate networks, rather than in Internet connections. To be more succint, bridge conections cannot be routed. Re-configure your device as a router rather than a bride, and ensure your lan-side addresses are in the same range.
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But it doesn't connect to the cable modem...so how does it get to connect to the Internet and our LAN?

Does it presume wireless? In other words does it need to pick up a wireless signal to forward? I have no idea about the device you got, that's just my initial thought.

Yes. That is the whole point, actually. To put the router, configured as a bridge, in a better location than the onboard computer card is in, and then have the router/bridge receive the wireless signal from the main house and transmit that via CAT5 cable to the network card on the remote computer.

Everything I read seems to indicate that this is a routine function for wireless routers, but damn if I can get it to work.

I beleve a "wireless bridge" doesn't use an Ethernet connection...it receieves and retransmits the packets that it hears, making it possible for a packet to travel further than a single radio hop would permit.

In ham radio we call that function "digipeating".

That would be mesh networking if it involved more than one wireless point. I believe mesh networking is coming in 802.11s. We are still waiting for 802.11n to be approved. I believe the 802.11s design will be based upon a Motorola technology which in turn was learned from designing military mesh networks.

Motorola equivalent on a metropolitian area network is called Canopy. Aspects of that same technology also may be implemented in WiMax or WiBro.

Meanwhile, using a wireless router as a communication repeater between two wireless computers has long been available. But I don't know if it works between 802.11b and 802.11g access points. It should.

Some routers do permit multiple wireless points to bridge to distant computers. But the routers must be from same manufacturer and I believe it is limited to only (maybe) four wireless points.

MIMO available in the Netgear RangeMax would have helped you. I've always found Linksys to be trash. The Linksys WAP I have doesn't even reach outside the living room. But the Netgear RangeMax reaches all over the house and the patio.

Nonetheless, for work, I was given a Linksys "wireless range expander" (repeater) to test. It has no wired ports and simply repeats the wireless network signal that you configure for it. I haven't tested it yet.

The Buffalo "air station" ethernet bridge recieves a wireless signal and provides connection to it via 4 ethernet wired ports. We've tested it and it works very well.

Sunday, I spent 6 hours working at our booth at a local Art & Wine festival explaining wireless connectivity to a bunch of luddites and drunks. It was so much fun I stayed longer than my 4 hour shift.

We use dual and tri -band radios that mesh via 802.11a and connect to customers via 802.11b. In some cases, we support municipal services thru 4.9 GHz licensed band.

Anyone familiar with dd-wrt know if I can link two routers with the same ssid and move between them seamlessly?
Specifically: one ssid, two seperate wired connections leading to the same external connection.

Yes. With Win/XP alone you can't see the different sources of SSIDs. Other software often report a more detailed list of SSIDs, including duplicates, and their MAC address sources and signal strength. This software is often packaged with hardware such as USB Wireless Adapters for PCs and multi-PC Wireless Access Points.

It's never completely seemless as it may take a few seconds for your connection to be handed off to a different source radio. That's why trains and bookmobiles have their own source radios to mesh with local fixed radios, rather than managing client connections that move.