Gargoyle as a Wireless Ethernet Adapter?

[shadrach]

Hello all,

I have been studying a problem for a while now and came across Gargoyle's website and am hoping it might be what I am looking for.

I have been looking for a wifi adapter to extend the range of my macbook.

I am not particularly well versed in computer technologies, so please feel free to correct me, but this is my understanding of my options:

I have an ExpressCard slot but there are not many wifi adapters for it. They tend to have small built in antennas which may not extend the range any more than the internal wifi card. And their compatibility with the Mac OS is hit or miss.

The Rokland/Bearextender N3 USB adapter. It has the advantages of being small, portable, and USB powered. It has a good antenna that can also be replaced with one of my choosing. It was designed to extend reception with good sensitivity and high power transmission. It is reported to have stable Mac OS drivers that allow you to switch easily between different networks. It's disadvantages are that it is an USB adapter which I hear can have trouble if you use a lot of USB devices (which I don't) and isn't as fast as other connection options. However, if I understand correctly, most internet connections are not faster than what the USB can handle, although LAN connections can be. This might be the best off the shelf solution but it costs $40 to try it.

Finally there is the Ethernet Wireless Bridge/Adapter/Client option. Advantages are that no drivers are needed and they can provide very fast connections. I am unsure how good they are at extending wifi range as that must depend on which router you get. However, you can get them cheaply (as I did, I picked up a used WRT54-GS v1 for 12 dollars). Disadvantages are that they tend to be bulky and require an independent power supply. Also, you need technical skills in setting them up (which may be beyond me). And perhaps most of all, they seem designed to be set up for just one network and then left that way. They don't seem designed to easily move from one network to another...

This is where my question lies. I have tried to find information about this but it is hard. I have looked at DDWrt, Tomato, and Gargoyle wiki's and forums. I want something that can scan for networks and easily join them. From what I can tell Gargoyle can scan for networks to join, am I correct? But what about encryption keys? I am pretty sure it can't use the passwords stored in the Mac OS keychain. Does Gargoyle store passwords for different networks or do you have to put them in manually each time you change? And when you change networks do you need only the SSID, type of encryption, and password, like my internal wifi card? Or do I need to set channel information, IP addresses, Subnet Mask and other variables each and every time?

I am trying to figure out if it is worth installing firmware into my router. Will Gargoyle do what I am looking for? Or would DDwrt, Tomato, or another version be better for my needs? Or is it just not what ethernet devices are designed to do?

I am sure I am not the only one with these needs. I would appreciate any advice I can get. I was thinking if I could get Gargoyle to do what I want with the router I have now, I might seriously consider getting the Gargoyle Pocket Router you have in your store. Because this WRT54-GS is just too big to schlep around.

Sincerely,
-Ben

[DoesItMatter]

As far as Gargoyle remembering Wifi Network passwords -

It's 1 at a time, i.e. each time you want to connect to a different
wifi network, you have to re-configure Gargoyle.

Tomato and DD-WRT are the same, no difference in config.

The older Fonera's - Fon's 2100, 2200, 2201+ were able to be hacked
and people added extra scripting capability so they would scan
and crack wi-fi networks - I believe that was called Air NG crack
or something like that - definitely NOT legitimate stuff.

Could Gargoyle be made to do that - NO, but, you might be able
to make your own scripts that controls the OpenWRT underneath
and bypass Gargoyle's interface - that COULD be possible, but
that's something you'd have to research and do on your own.