AuraGrid WiFi-over-cable extender

We've been waiting for this product ever since WiFi signals began flowing through the Mansion several years ago. The AuraGrid is a two part system which pumps your Internet connection from the router through your home's existing coax cable infrastructure and terminates in an antenna that eliminates those pesky dead spots in your WLAN coverage. Simply unscrew your router's antenna, attach the port to a cable jack, and any other room with a cable jack can get all WiFied up. The only caveat here is that homes with satellite TV cannot use this system on the same coax wiring grid. Still, if you have cable or satellite with a separate cable infrastructure, this could be the best way yet to make your wireless connection useful beyond the 20 feet radius of your home office

[Ben @ Feb 11th 2006 2:58PM]

I installed the system in my house. It worked but worse than the system I already had in place. Previously I was using directional antennas to boost and direct signals from my basement to an upper floor in my house. I tried auragrid and the signal was there but weaker in the upper floors. There must a large amount of loss in the coax as it runs up to the floors.
I think it could be useful if you had a cement or metal wall that wireless could not penetrate but in a fairly open wood house like mine it did not carry the signal further or project the signal better from the localized antennas.

[Jim Stevens @ Feb 12th 2006 2:47AM]

SCOTT CUNNINGHAM - I am interested in buying your antenna. Email me at [e-mail]

I bought this kit last week and need to add the 4th room.

Will you take paypal?

[Scott Cunnyngham @ Feb 14th 2006 5:26PM]

JIM STEVENS, I sent you a couple of emails. If you are still interested please let me know.

[Scott Cunnyngham @ Feb 16th 2006 8:21PM]

Has anyone had any problems with Smarthome? I purchased a defective AuraGrid, Smarthome sent a FedEx pickup and FedEx would not initially honor the pickup because of a problem with their account. The problem was resolved, I returned the product and now have not received my refund.

[Dale @ Feb 19th 2006 1:01PM]

I just installed this product, read many of the mixed reviews. While I did not see an "increase" in signal strength in areas that were previously covered with my Linksys Wireless Router, I did see a huge difference in areas that were unable to connect or received a weak signal. I now have adequate coverage in all corners of my home! It was easy to install, tech support was quick to send me a TNC connector for my router, and I am now completely wireless!

Thanks Engadget for finding this product. If it wasn't for this blog I would have never known about this unique solution!

[D. Sherson @ Feb 28th 2006 5:29PM]

What is the maximum drop length of rg6 allowed for this setup, and would rg11 increase the range of this device?

[Scott Cunnyngham @ Mar 29th 2006 8:37PM]

Since no one else took a stab I'll say about 3 inches.

[James Chu @ Apr 11th 2006 3:47PM]

On the contrary, I have the system installed in my house, I have a 100' RG6 cable running in between the Duplxer and the room that needed wireless converage, I can get about 3 bars consistently on my WinXP laptop in that room. According to AuraOne's website, they recommend 210' or less cable length and I guess if RG11 cable quality is better than RG6, then signal loss will be less which equals to longer cable length....

My $.02

[Brian @ Jul 18th 2006 5:01PM]

I bought this for my parents, but given their restrictions, I can't see how it can realistically work in almost anyone's house unless its either installed during construction, or essentially all their wiring and splitters are exposed... they say nothing in sales material about requiring no splitters between their 4 way proprietary splitter and the four antennas... they also say their splitter should go where your cable comes into your house, but that at least shouldnt be a necessity, as long as you have some existing splitter that's accessible to change and goes directly w/o splitters to 2-4 distinct areas of your house, one of them being near your wifi.... but that's a lot of ifs not to tell people before purchasing, and I'm sure some older cabling or too much distance both mess with its effectiveness... its a clever and straightforward design, which is why I wanted to use it for them, but people with this problem probably have decent size houses, and decent size houses often have a lot of hidden cable that is not practically accessible... bad combination...

[HT @ Aug 7th 2006 1:13PM]

I am using it not as a range extender (mixed success), but as a last ditch effort short of running ethernet between my living room and office. Of course the CAT-5 run would have yielded better results, but so far the auragrid has done the job I've wanted. I'm getting consistent full bars/54Mbps connection with consistent 20Mbps throughput which allows me to stream HD as well as DVD "wirelessly".

The key is to have the auragrid antenna be right next to the wireless card in my media center (about 2 inches apart). I get full bars, and as I said above am able to stream HD content "wirelessly".

I get about 3 bars and 36Mbps connection to my sons room upstairs with about 4 feet distance between the auragrid and the PC. Good enough for surfing the net.

Two thumbs up from me.

The next thing I will try is to see if it can handle "super-g" to see if I can boost steady throughput past the 20Mbps or so I'm seeing now.

[John @ Aug 22nd 2006 1:24AM]

> You will have a tough time just connecting your antenna to your coax. For 1, most splitters filter out everything above 1Ghz.

What would happen if you didn't have any splitters and just plugged the cable into your wireless router?

I have 2 cable connections to each room, but no Cat5/6 =( So it'd be an SMA from each of the antenna connections to TNC of my cable system, and then a couple of TNC antennas at the other end. Resistance problems perchance?

Cheers
John

[RTimaging @ Jan 8th 2006 9:07AM]

wow - that is really cool. Definitely easier than having to have multiple access points. Did you guys get any word on any prices?

[Schlauf @ Jan 8th 2006 9:45AM]

Available at Smarthome - pricing seems to start at $89. Pretty cool.

http://www.smarthome.com/6404HK.html

[MITDude @ Jan 8th 2006 10:01AM]

It looks like you can get it here

http://www.smarthome.com/6404HK.html



for about $90 --> way cheaper than the various linksys booster gizmos.

[my moustache @ Jan 8th 2006 10:07AM]

excellent idea, and at $90 it's a pretty good deal for the solution it offers.



while i've never had trouble picking up my wireless signal (and many others) in my tiny apartment, my parents actually discussed wifi dead zones in their house over the holidays.



we talked about wiring second or third ap's to other floors of the house, but if this works well we might have just found a much more attractive alternative.

[Nate MC @ Jan 8th 2006 10:21AM]

Always wondered if attaching an antenna lead to the disused cable in the house would help at all. This makes me think definantley it's something I should investigate.

[Ryan @ Jan 8th 2006 11:14AM]

And DSL Gets the shaft yet again. No surprise really, if prices weren't so unreasonable in my area and if the cable speeds were constant I'd go for it.

[Ken @ Jan 8th 2006 11:15AM]

Why wouldn't you just get a mimo AP for the same price?

[cable user @ Jan 8th 2006 11:21AM]

I wonder how it works with cable internet. The only cable outlet near my router is the one I hook to my cable modem. Anyone know if using a splitter on that cable would effect my cable modem? I'm assuming it doesn't but it would be good to be sure before I plunk down 90 bucks.

[Paul @ Jan 8th 2006 11:35AM]

Last time I tried putting a cable splitter into the line to my cable modem it didn't work. After that time the cable modem stopped working anyway and the cable company had install a booster to get it working again so maybe a splitter would work now. Easiest way would be to just stick a splitter in there and see I guess!

[Al Scagnetti @ Jan 8th 2006 11:58AM]

I've been in the market for an AP for a while now, but put it off due to the headaches I get trying to configure WPA/WEP. Who knew procrastination would pay off? I just ordered on through Smarthome for $84 (on sale).



My only pre-purchase complaint is the minimal documentation. The AuraOne site doesn't provide a list of compatible routers, which doesn't seem like so much to ask.

[jeff @ Jan 8th 2006 12:50PM]

so it's basically a $100 set of antennas and BNC to coaxial converters?



seems much more like a cool DIY project involving $30 of parts from Home Depot. ...what exactly justifies the price? for that i could get a REAL ap.



in fact for just a little more i could just get a brand new Airport Express and have USB and an audio jack out! :) seems like this idea should fall into the $50 or less department.

[Amol @ Jan 8th 2006 12:55PM]

My only question is will it work if I have cable internet and cable TV running through the line also? I'll soon have an HDTV downstairs and I want to be able to network my HD-DVR and my PS3 when I get it. This product would help as that area is a wi-fi deadzone right now.



Also, do they have something where you can receive the signal from the cable jack and have it be an ethernet jack and not an antenna? The website is confusing me.

[Amol @ Jan 8th 2006 12:58PM]

Ohh, I get it! You put it in the cable box! I thought it was something where you could use a splitter and hook it up where your TV is. My bad.

[bruce beh @ Jan 8th 2006 3:02PM]

Hmm, this is a pretty cool gadget, this will make providing free wifi also so much easier since coax is pretty much everywhere

[Bob Gmeindl @ Jan 8th 2006 11:31PM]

I have been using Netgear's wireless extender for almost a year now and it works great! Just plug it in and it uses your home's electrical wiring. No dead spots. Even though the stated throughput is less than my broad band access, I haven't noticed any significant slowdown, not matter how many users I have attached. (sometimes as many as 5 at a time).

More info at http://www.netgear.com/products/details/WGX102.php

[Butch @ Jan 9th 2006 3:35AM]

Waiting for someone to homebrew it. I'll be keeping my eyes open on hack-a-day

[nullsomething @ Jan 9th 2006 4:29AM]

im pretty sure it is just a few 2.4ghz diplexers in pretty packaging.



you would run the wifi over the SAT outlets on the diplexer.



good packaging though, it will probably make them some money.

[Tim @ Jan 9th 2006 2:13PM]

Sounds great, BUT, the following is worth checking out: wireless extenders and amplifiers from Linksys, Netgear, etc., all seem to preclude the use of WPA encryption. I don't know why but it always turns up in the fine print. I shouldn't think this would be an issue with the Auragrid product since it seems like just an extension to the antenna, but...

[D @ Jan 9th 2006 4:28PM]

attaching a 2dBi antenna to a 100' run of lossy cable? riiight.

[miscblogger @ Jan 9th 2006 4:37PM]

cool! how much is it?

[nate johnson @ Jan 13th 2006 11:22PM]

If you have a Linksys router make sure you get a RPTNC adapter. Cisco/Linksys does not use a sma connector. After buying the AuraGrid I had to search the internet to find an adapter. I finally called AuraOne's Tech Support and they helped me out. They say they will be carrying the adapters beginning next month, but went the extra mile to send me one for free! Great Support! With all the outsourcing you just don't see that anymore.

[bob bowers @ Jan 13th 2006 11:33PM]

You don't need a TNC connector!!! In fact, you don't even need a removable antenna! I bought this kit last week and found out that it would not work with non-removable antennas. However, I found a fix! Just wrap aluminum foil around the antenna and tape the sma connector on one of the ends of the cable that auraone provides in the kit. Then wrap electrical tape around the aluminum foil so that it is no longer visible.



It looks ugly but it works!!!! I went from zero to 2 bars in a room that even the new netgear 240Mbp Mimo couldn't reach!!!



Someone should make some sort of sheath to cover antennas!! This would be a great product, I should call auraone.

[rita @ Jan 15th 2006 10:19PM]

where do i get one?

[Scott Cunnyngham @ Jan 28th 2006 8:38AM]

I purchased this unit from Smarthome with great anticipation which led to 3 weeks of frustration and disappointment.

The unit arrived and did not have the proper connections for my Linksys WRT54G which is one of the most common routers in use today. I spent hours trying to find a RTNC to RSMA to make the connection.

The manufacturer did acknowledge the problem and also had problems finding the proper connection. They ultimately had to have them custom made in another country.

3 weeks after purchasing the product I received the connector. After climbing through that attic, tracing coax and installing the system it was a complete failure.

I realized absolutely no improvement and in fact when I remove the antenna completely from the router just using the hard wired connection to the grid I had no signal whatsoever so I suspect the hardware was defective also.

To add insult to injury, the home kit would lead you to believe you will have 3 remote access points based upon the fact you are supplied 3 remote adaptors. The fact is you only have 2 access points as one of the adaptors is used to interface the wireless router to the cable grid. In fairness to the manufacturer they did send me another remote adaptor at no charge to compensate for this.

The Tech Support at both Smarthome and the manufacturer were both extremely responsive. Unfortuantely this product was released without much forethought of use with a very common router and may have other problems as well.

I returned the AuraGrid to Smarthome and purchased a Linksys WRE54G which was about the same price, installed easily and gave me a full signal to the problem area.

[steve @ Jan 30th 2006 4:23PM]

I bought this kit and had a similar issue with the TNC connector. The company sent me a free TNC connector and says that they will begin providing them in the kits. In my case, I waited to for the TNC adapter and it did solve my problem. I have steel reinforced walls and could NOT gain access in my bedroom. Although I am only using the kit for 1 room, it turned no signal into a "good" signal.

I am very happy with the product and the support.

[Scott Cunnyngham @ Jan 31st 2006 11:45AM]

I have a brand new Remote Unit With Antenna for the Auragrid if anyone needs it. $10.00 plus shipping.

[Bob @ Feb 2nd 2006 12:52AM]

I just installed mine and it worked with out a hitch- just read the FAQ's ahead of time on the site. Got it from www.nerdny.com at a great price and it came in on timme. Kudo's to Aura and nerdny!

[Sid @ Feb 2nd 2006 11:29PM]

I was planning to do something exactly like this, I even bought an extra antenna from microcenter. now i just need to figure out sma to coaxial. any ideas where i could get that kind of adapter online?

[Jimmy Brueners @ Feb 5th 2006 12:54AM]

You will have a tough time just connecting your antenna to your coax. For 1, most splitters filter out everything above 1Ghz. I have ordered the Auragrid to resolve this problem. Their system comes with a 4-way spitter that was designed to pass the 2.4 Ghz Freq and their room antennas spit the 2.4 from anything lower than 1.5Ghz (CATV, Cable Broadband use under 1Ghz). Not sure where you can buy the spitters seperately......... So for now Auraone is the way to go. Got to hand it to these guys!!