Great wireless network for small price.
Written: Jan 09 '04 (Updated Jan 09 '04)
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Pros: Great Price, Easy Setup, Small Form for the desktop
Cons: Bulky AC adapter takes up more space on the power strip.
The Bottom Line: This router is the one you want to build your own home network around. Great range, great price, small form factor.
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| ivplay's Full Review: D-link DI-514 Wireless Router |
Overall
This is a great wireless router to build your home wireless network around. It is great in price and easy to setup.
How and where I bought this
We recently moved to Montana from Nebraska, and in the move decided it was time to upgrade to cable internet. By so doing, I could also now create a wireless network for the house from which I could access the net with my work laptop and Palm Tungsten C. I had no idea how to do that, so I began to look on the internet and in magazines for options.
What I found made it out to be a fairly simple process, as long as you chose the right product. The setup can range anywhere from simple to too complex for most people. I narrowed my choice down to the D-Link AirPlus DI-514 and the Linksys 2.4GHz EtherFast Wireless Access Point and Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port Switch, as these are the best of the 802.11b access points.
During my searching, I found the D-Link on sale at Bestbuy.com with a $50 rebate, for a final price of $29.99. The Linksys was listed at $89.00 with no rebate, so I bought it. I have not been unhappy yet!
In the box
I received my router in the mail just a few days later with free shipping from Bestbuy.com. I opened the brown postal box, and inside was the D-Link box. First thought is, “Wow, it’s much smaller than I thought it would be!”. I tore off the plastic shrink wrap and opened the internal box to find:
One D-Link 2.4GHz Wireless router
One CD with drivers/software
One RJ-45 cable to connect your router to the computer
One AC adapter/transformer to power your unit
Appearances can be deceiving
As I said, the router is smaller than you would imagine. The physical dimensions are 5.6 inches long by 4.3 in wide by 1.22 inches high. That is 142mm long by 109 mm wide by 31 mm long for you folks over the ocean. Add to that small size that it only weighs in at 0.44 lbs or 200g, and you can see why it is somewhat unimpressive when you open the box. It does come with a single detachable reverse SMA antenna, but that is only about 3.5 inches long, so it really doesn’t add too much to the package.
There are several LED’s on the front of the router. There is one for Power, of course. Then you have the one for status, WAN(cable modem) activity, WLAN(Wireless Local Area Network) activity, and four for the four potential LAN connections you can have operating at one time. I have only used 2 of these connections at the same time, but I can tell you that the LED’s do indeed light up as expected when another computer is linked.
The router itself is a silver and grey body with blue insets for labeling. Most noticeable is the large D-LINK sunken into the plastic body. Other than that, it is a small, unassuming box that will take up very little space on your desktop.
Connecting it up
This proved to be much easier than I anticipated. I was unsure based on the lack of documentation that I had found on the web whether or not this wireless router had a wired connection to the computer, or if I was going to have to purchase an 802.11b compatible wireless card to install into my existing desktop. I found to my enjoyment that it did indeed come with an in and out Ethernet connection as well as the cable to connect the router to your computer. You should already have the cable modem and the cable to the computer, so hook up is a snap.
Following the simple 5 step quick step guide, I plugged my modem into the router, the router into the modem, and powered down the modem. Start up your router, then your modem, and voila, you have an internet and wireless connection! Simple, right?
Not for me. It was almost this simple, but not quite. I found out after some digging that if you own a Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem, as I do, you have to power down for a longer period of time. Two minutes as opposed to a half minute… So I started over, and this time I had success.
Configuration
This is really one of the most simple routers to configure, as it is all web-based. You simply open your web browser of choice and plug in the HTTP: address that the router comes pre-programmed with and it enters the setup phase. At this point you can configure the advanced firewall that comes with the router to protect your data from data thieves.
There are several options available in this router, including NAT with VPN passthrough, MAC filtering, IP filtering, URL filtering, Domain Blocking and Scheduling. The only one I have used is MAC filtering, only allowing the MAC addresses of my computers to connect to the network through the router. I also use the 64-bit WEP encryption for data protection of transmissions. This appears to work well, as I have had no identity theft, but in this part of Montana I would expect no less even if I turned off all the encryption, etc.
The only part of the configuration that was a problem for me was setting up my Palm Tungsten C. There is absolutely no documentation for performing this task either at D-Link or Palm, and I was not a wireless genius prior to buying this. I contacted Palm customer service and the nice people there helped me out. Rather than explaining it here, if you have any questions about this, please ask.
Performance
Now that I have my cable internet running through my D-Link DI-514, the real question is, how does it work? I have to say that it lives up to its promises, and then some. I am able to check emails on my Palm outside on the deck, run internet searches, and even write epinions on my laptop which is also wireless 802.11b enabled.
The website claims that at the 2.4GHz frequency with 802.11b standards the D-Link DI-514 can transmit up to 328 feet(100 meters) inside and 1312 feet(400 meters) out of doors. My wife and I do not have a house that is 328 feet long, but I have had no problems with reception. I have no deadspots whatsoever with this unit in our house, and within reason can extend my wireless experience quite a ways outside. On our half acre lot I can be anywhere within the property line and still have reception!
The literature you will read will also state that if you have a 2.4GHz wireless phone or use your microwave(which also operates in the 2.4GHz range) you may lose reception. I have never experienced this to this point, and I have used my wireless during phone conversations and microwave usage. Maybe I have been lucky, but I have had no drops with this router to date!
Why 802.11b and not 802.11a or g?
For me the answer was simple; my cable internet, which is what I am using to transfer across the router, only operates at 1.5MB/s. 802.11b operates at 11 MB/s, while 802.11a and g can operate at up to 54 MB/s. I could pay more for the router for 802.11g, but why? I am not moving large amounts of data from one computer to another, just internet related items. My 802.11b router can outrun the internet by 9.5 MB/s, so I will never notice a blip!
The Final Word
I bought this on a whim, thinking it was only $30 after rebates, so if it didn’t work I wasn’t out too much. I turned out to be thrilled with the purchase and would recommend it for anyone who has 802.11b wireless devices. The setup was completely simple with the exception of the Palm, and customer service can walk you through that. Having the freedom to sit out on your porch with your computer and work, surf, or check email is one of the simple pleasures with this product!
I hope this review helps you, and please leave me feedback ratings or comments!
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 29.99
Driver Availability: Windows and Linux
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