( 10 reviews )
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Posted: Nov 9 2008
I bought this access point to provide wireless coverage to a 2 story colonial house. Even with a Netgear ANT24D18 Ant 18DBI Patch Panel attached, it provided less coverage than what I was using before, a Netgear WPN802 v1. What I am using now is this WG302 w/ ANT24D18 patch panel as the access point, and the WPN802 as a repeater. This is working well.
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Posted: Sep 5 2008
Three years and running. The wg302 is excellent. Of, course early on, I had to wait for bug fixes and enhancements via updates to the firmware. But overall this item is excellent. I cannot understand the low ratings of others. I wonder if you just have network configuration issues. Some knowledge is required to configure a WAP within a network. You must understand a little about radio and interference too! Using 802.11g near other 2.4Ghz radios is very tricky. Even a microwave can cause performance issues. BTW, I'm not moving to 802.11n till NetGear has stabilized the firmware. I won't need to run in dual mode because I can leave the wg302 in place to cover the legacy wireless gear.
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Posted: Mar 8 2008
Not quite sure why the other reviewers had so many issues. I have no formal training in wireless networks and had no real problems with the access points themselves. Maybe because I didn't use WPA. I used two of these AP's to bridge two apartment buildings and several apartments connecting a total of somewhere around 16 PC's. The only issue I had was one of the power supplies was bad on arrival. These units have removable antennas so you can add larger antennas or even amplifiers. I used one of these AP's with the Netgear ANT24D18 which even though I got a good deal was a slightly expensive option. The other I used with a much cheaper (live and learn) rooftop antenna that looks more like a microwave antenna. I attached the Netgear antenna to the access point on a balcony of the apartment building across the street. Total distance between the antennas was probably only 300 feet. Once I aligned the signal of the two antennas, the signal quality was outstanding. Both AP's connected at turbo '108 mbps' speed. I was able to easily watch a streaming video from one computer in one building to a computer in the other. We also played LAN video games between buildings with no issues. Because of the remote outdoor locations of one of the AP's (in a waterproof box but still exposed to extreme temperatures and humidity) and a shortage of expensive antenna wire, I ran the power over two of the unused ethernet wires and still had zero issues and rarely lost packets. The only issue I had was during severe windstorms that would misalign the antennas which would lower signal quality and strength. Oh, also the connection between the two AP's was WEP encrypted 152 bit. I also had another AP (DLink) running at the same time and had no interference issues. The Dlink however has it's own set of issues, big surprise though. Quality-wise Netgear has always been above DLink and Linksys for me. A Linksys AP I use at work can barely transmit through one wall without dropping signal like crazy. The only other bad thing I can say is that in a very, very quiet room, sometimes you can hear a tiny buzz from the AP.
