Anyone have any experience with Linksys Range Expanders?

[Trielelvan]

My inlaws have 3 dead ones that have a very dimmed blue link light.
I did some homework, and it appears that the DC power plates (specifically that plug the unit directly into the wall as opposed to the corded variety) are pieces of shit.
Max 1-1 1/2 year lifespan, a few guys tested the dead ones and they come back showing anywhere between 2.2v - 2.6v, which is too low for the unit's proprietary wtfuckery of 3.3v.

No one sells the power plates by themselves (except Linksys - I am calling them tomorrow), and the units are a cool $99 despite no longer having support (these are the v2.0 models) so replacing them all is the last resort.

I know they are pieces of shit, but they are my inlaw's pieces of shit and as such, I am looking for a way to prevent them from having to blow hundreds of dollars on new units that will just blow again in a year or so.

I'd like to crack open the power adapter and see just what exactly is wrong with the thing that it's putting out 1 or more less voltage, but as we are still mid-move, all my tools, meters, etc are in storage, so I'm hoping there's another option available.

Does anyone have experience with these in any way?

If not, can anyone recommend a BETTER range expander that supports WPA?

[10sun]

WRT54G running DD WRT is what I'm doing to pull wireless from my neighbor's house (they live behind me beyond the alley) to my garage so I can get wireless inside my own house. I'm running it in Client Bridge mode.

Be aware of what version of the WRT54G you need (v4+ has limited functionality iirc).

-Adam

[Tikker]

there's a ton of boxes now that'll support dd-wrt

including some nice asus boxes, buffalo, etc etc

the other thing you can look at is buying a generic powersupply that'll let you select the voltage it converts


I had a dead powersupply for an old prismiq, and ended up spending 15 bucks on one that just had a switch on the transformer that let you pick anywhere from 1v to 12v

[Trielelvan]

Thanks for the tips guys. Yeah, these repeaters are ver 2.
F-i-l just bought a brand new Cisco dual band router I just installed which gets good signal down to the basement from the 2nd floor just fine, so I don't think my m-i-l will let him buy new repeaters without a blood sacrifice or something.
If the repeaters don't work, then so be it for now.

I broke and ended up cracking open the power plate that was rattling.

Fucking joke - two barely insulated pvc coated aluminum alloy stranded wires that were not stripped back far enough before being soldered to the plug connector, and fitted with copper tube push terminals. The pvc next to the solder was melted into the loosely stranded wires down to the center, burned and blackened, and the solder was bubbled and pocked.

Screw them and their "this is no longer supported" asses. I'll make a new one