The Four-eyed Journal » Wi-Fi

Setup Globe Broadband with D-Link DIR-300 Wireless G Router

jhay — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:00:59 +0000

I’ve been getting a lot of queries on how I setup my Globe Broadband connection to power my simple home wireless network.

Well, I’ll share how I did it today.

First off, some reminders and warnings of sorts. I’m not a computer networking professional nor have I received any formal training in setting up computer networks. What I’m going to share here is based on my first-hand experiences in working with computers and routers backed by trial-and-error methods, research from the web and self-teachings.

Now that’s clear, I’ll go right into the meat of this post by using this photo I’ve prepared for this occasion.

GlobeWiFiSetup

It’s that simple. Here are the steps:

Place the router in an open and central location. Do not plug the power adapter into the router.
Turn the power off on your modem. If there is no on/off switch, then unplug the modem’s power adapter. Shut down your computer.
Unplug the Ethernet cable (that connects your computer to your modem) from your computer and place it into the WAN port on the router.
Plug an Ethernet cable into one of the four LAN ports on the router. Plug the other end into the Ethernet port on your computer.
Turn on or plug in your modem. Wait for the modem to boot (about 30 seconds).
Plug the power adapter to the router and connect to an outlet or power strip. Wait about 30 seconds for the router to boot.
Turn on your computer.
Verify the link lights on the router. The power light, WAN light, and the LAN light (the port that your computer is plugged into) should be lit. If not, make sure your computer, modem, and router are powered on and verify the cable connections are correct.

Now here’s how I configured my home Wi-Fi:

Open a web browser, I used Firefox when I first configured the home Wi-Fi.
Type in 192.168.0.1 into the address bar.
Type in admin as username and leave the password field blank. (I’ve changed these default settings to my own so as to increase my network’s security.)
Used the Internet Connection Setup Wizard and after all the steps, my home Wi-Fi is up, secured and providing internet access throughout our entire house and compound.

The D-Link DIR-300 Wireless G router has been in service in my house for almost a year now and so far, it has been performing superbly well. It may not be the leading model in its line but it sure provides a solid value for the money I spent on it, which is not that much as compared to other wireless routers.

It’s ease of use, setup and configuration has made setting up a home Wi-Fi network as easy as plugging in a flash drive to your pc or laptop. The only problems I have with it is when my internet connection becomes intermittent every once in a while, but then that’s Globe’s fault!

Anyone else using the D-Link DIR-300 wireless router? How about similar routers? How was your experience in setting up your home Wi-Fi network?

Do you run your home network 24/7?

jhay — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:41:22 +0000

Things were much simpler when there was only one computer at home. Whenever no one was using the old desktop, it would be turned off along with the broadband modem/router. This is usually the case when I’m out of the house, asleep or I really have nothing to do on the computer.

Now that I have my laptop, there are two computers at home. Both are connected to the internet thanks to the D-Link DIR-300 Wireless Router I bought along with my laptop. And since then, things have changed.

When I’m done using my laptop or would have nothing to do on it, I would turn it off but I would have to keep both the broadband modem and wireless router on because they’re still in my room and my sister or little brother is still using the old desktop which I have moved out of my room and into theirs.

I sleep at around midnight but sometimes my sister would still go on using the desktop computer up until the wee hours of the next morning. Since I’m already asleep and the modem + wireless router is locked inside my room, they just hit the sack as well leaving the home network running for more than 24 hours.

Asides from pumping up our monthly electricity bill, much to the anguish of my parents, I’m also concerned about the safety of our home and of the equipments themselves. What if these things overheat and just burst into flames burning our house down? Or either or both modem and wireless router just and break down and die from the prolonged use?

I would not be this concerned if this situation would happen like once or twice in a week but for the past weeks since the home network was established, this has been the typical daily scenario: the home network running almost 24/7

I’m new to setting up and running my own network so I ask the experts and masters; do you run your home networks 24/7? Is it safe to do so? What tips or advice could you offer to address some if not all, of the concerns I’ve raised here?

Every bit would be greatly appreciated.

Smart Bro Prepaid or Globe Visibility?

jhay — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:01:22 +0000

The new school year will officially start for us Lasallians in Cavite next week so I’m starting to prepare myself for a productive school year or the first semester to say the least.

My class schedule this 1st semester is one of my lightest ever! With my classes ending a few hours before lunch time leaving me with over 6 hours of free time at school. However, that free time would easily be eaten up by my extra-curricular and off-campus work, engagements and advocacies. Managing all these would be done with my new Four-eyed notebook.

And for me to really get things done, I need a mobile internet connection to do my research, keep in touch with contacts and of course blog like I’ve never blogged before.

Even before I actually bought my new notebook, I was already contemplating on which mobile internet connection service I would use: my 3G enabled Sony Ericsson K800i (either with Smart or Globe), SmartBro Prepaid or Globe Visibility. The paid Wi-Fi services that DLSU-D offers wasn’t included in my list because even though it would the most convenient way, it came at the price of having limited internet access because of the university’s firewall and content filtering system. The weird case in which my Gmail-powered domain-based email was blocked was more than enough to make sure of this.

Using my K800i as a modem is out of the question because I don’t want my surfing sessions to be interrupted by calls and I use it to keep some notes, take photos on the go and record meetings. Plus, grime, dust and fungi(?) have begun to grow on my phone’s port making it

Now I’m left with two options: SmartBro Prepaid or Globe Visibility?

SmartBro Prepaid is my strongest contender since around here in Dasmarinas (where I go to school hence spend 80% of my waking time) and my hometown of Silang, Cavite, SmartBro has been getting good reviews from my neighbors and friends who use the service. Well most of them. Plus the fact that it is a prepaid service means I only pay whenever I access the net which will help keep my expenses more manageable. Hopefully.

Here are the rates and time allocations for Smart Bro Prepaid:

On the other hand, I still consider signing up for Globe Visibility since I am already a Globe Broadband subscriber and that it will entitle me to some discounts for Globe Visibility plus the convenience of having a single bill to horrify me every month.

Sir Abe has a breakdown of the new rates and hour allocations of each Globe Visibility Plan:

GV Plan 799
Php 799 per month (MSF)
Php1,000 one-time setup fee
40 hours free surfing time (effective rate Php20/hour)
Php0.50 per minute excess hours (effective Php30/hour)
2 hours/month Free WiFi on all WiZ hotspots

GV Plan 999
Php 999 per month (MSF)
Php1,000 one-time setup fee
60 hours free surfing time (effective rate Php16.65/hour)
Php0.50 per minute excess hours (effective Php30/hour)
3 hours/month Free WiFi on all WiZ hotspots

GV Plan 1,499
Php 1,499 per month (MSF)
Php1,000 one-time setup fee
100 hours free surfing time (effective rate Php20/hour)
Php0.50 per minute excess hours (effective Php15/hour)

So which one should I go for? Any advice on this one would be hot.