NETGEAR WPN824 RangeMax Wireless Router - wireless router

...World and pick up a Netgear WPN824 RangeMax Wireless Router.

Admittedly, our decision was lent significant bias by the existence of a USB receiver sitting lonely and unused in the back room, but it's not a decision I can say I have any regret for at all. If anything I'd give credit to the man who now sits at home sans an adapter with which to make the most of his router.

Having harbored a basic dislike of PC World for ...
...Packaging...

This Netgear router comes in a relatively sturdy card box, clearly marked to explain the contents, with a picture of the router on front and various instructional information around the sides and back. The box measures approximately 340 x 220 x 110 mm, making it easy enough to transport. Please note that the measurements given are the result of considered guesswork, and should not be taken as exact. Inside the box is a ... more

Having moved back into a friend's house recently, I found myself in the unusual position of living in a household with three PCs. And a lap top. And a Nintendo Wii. With all of this computing power and a mere hard wired 'net connection shared between two of the PCs, it was clear the card of change was due to be played. So what to do?

Our answer to this unavoidable and not-to-be-scoffed at question was twofold. Firstly, to call the good people at Virgin and knock the bandwidth up to ten beastly megabytes (maximum), and secondly to march down to PC World and pick up a Netgear WPN824 RangeMax Wireless Router.

Admittedly, our decision was lent significant bias by the existence of a USB receiver sitting lonely and unused in the back room, but it's not a decision I can say I have any regret for at all. If anything I'd give credit to the man who now sits at home sans an adapter with which to make the most of his router.

Having harbored a basic dislike of PC World for some time now, Staples had been the first choice of retailer, but finding their range of equipment and staff help to be staggeringly bad, PC World, being next door, sucked us in through it's squeeking doors.

Their 'range' was much more defined. That is to say it was limited solely to this, for Virgin (although it was still listed as ntl:telewest), or another model for BT's ADSL connection. That made the decision a fairly easy one and having passed some cash to the talkative, ageing strumpet behind the counter we walked from the shop, expectful men.

The Packaging...

This Netgear router comes in a relatively sturdy card box, clearly marked to explain the contents, with a picture of the router on front and various instructional information around the sides and back. The box measures approximately 340 x 220 x 110 mm, making it easy enough to transport. Please note that the measurements given are the result of considered guesswork, and should not be taken as exact. Inside the box is a moulded cardboard container which houses the equipment.

The Specs...

Standards: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, 2.4 GHz
Dimensions: 223 x 153 x 31 mm
Weight: 0.5 kg
MIMO: G
Available bandwidth: 108 Mbps

System Requirements...

Broadband (cable, DSL) internet connection and modem with Ethernet connectivity
Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Mac OS, Netware, UNIX or Linux
Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape 4.7 or higher

The Contents of the Box...

The box includes everything required to get things going with a single hard-wired connection and an additional wireless one. Upon opening you'll find the RangeMax Wireless Router (WPN824v2), a 12 V, 1.0 A power adapter, a RangeMax USB Adapter, an Ethernet cable, a vertical stand (to save space, presumably), a setup guide, the setup CDs for both pieces of hardware and the warranty card.

Installation...

This is where the fun begins. I have a fairly good understanding of the rudimentary workings of PCs, so aside from a few hic-ups I've never really had much trouble with installing new software or equipment. That aside, I have to say that this little beauty was probably the easiest thing I've had the pleasure of working with.

Installation begins with inserting the CD into a drive on the computer you wish to be hard-wired and following the onscreen instructions, once the autorun has brought the setup screen to life. It's a good idea at this point to turn off your internet connection in readiness. Once the installation of the software has completed - a simple process of reading and acting upon very clear and well thought out instructions - you'll need to plug your connection into the router, plug the router into your PC, and let the program run through its connection detection (a phrase I might trademark).

You'll be asked if you want to set a password, so that other unscrupulous individuals can't pirate your connection. This is generally a good idea, especially if you intend to carry out online banking activity, or other activities which involve sharing personal or sensitive data. Setting a password ensures that data transfer is encrypted, and should act to protect your private particulars from prying eyes.

Once this is complete, you should find an open connection on your first PC. Setting up your other computers with the means to run USB receivers is as simple as inserting the other setup CD into those computers' drives and again, following simple instructions.

Many laptops now come with wi-fi connectivity as standard. In those cases the laptop will already have the capability of connecting with the router, and no extra installation is necessary.

Four connections can be open with the router at any one time, and with a maximum bandwidth of 108 Mbps, can be expected to run a maximum broadband speed of 100 Mbps (100 meg, if you'd rather).

The Signal...

Connectivity throughout the house is 'excellent' (as stated by Windows' wireless Taskbar icon) and has so far provided download speeds of upwards of 800 Kbps. It's worth noting that although this doesn't reach the full potential of our broadband connection, because we have three PCs on most of the time, all connected, they sap some of the bandwidth for basic functions. This accounts for the majority of the deficit, which should allay any fears of the router slowing down your connection.

My laptop works upstairs without any problem, and the Wii in the front room, despite some connectivity issues concerning Nintendo's service, has operated mostly without fault.

The Unit...

I know this seems like a strange place to talk about the unit itself, but I find it quite exciting and felt it deserved a place closer to the end.

The reason for this is the spectacular array of flashing blue lights adorning the central plaza of electronics in the top of the machine. The unit has seven separate antennae which work together to ensure a consistent signal throughout the effective range of the router. Each of these has a corresponding blue LED inside the translucent circular logo on the top of the unit. Now, think of the little green (probably) lights on the front of your cable modem, and imagine what it'd be like if there were seven of those, each giving off significantly more light and flashing at a similar sort of frequency.

Now, I may be talking this up more than is strictly necessary, but if you buy one of these and see it working, I trust you too will be suitably impressed.

The Verdict...

The Netgear WPN824 RangeMax Wireless Router is well designed and incredibly easy to install and use. Its connectivity is excellent, and provides the means to easily operate up to four wireless internet connections at any one time. Its price is comparable to that of any similar or equivalent model and, value for money, for this reason, can be described as good. Anyone looking to purchase a means to access their broadband internet connection wirelessly would be advised to consider this make and model, for the ease with which it is installed, if nothing else.

If there's anything I've missed which you'd like me to add, please feel free to let me know and I'll do my best to answer your questions.

Thanks for reading. 

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