Product Reviews

If your home network suffers from poor wireless range, you might consider buying a new router. Hawking Technology's Wireless-G Range Extender offers another route, and you won't have to replace anything.

The device looks like a wireless access point and works by repeating the signal to boost your existing network. Unlike manufacturer-specific products, it works with any 802.11g network, so it's particularly useful if you have an unbranded router or one from a company that doesn't make its own repeater.

During installation a setup wizard assigns the device an IP address, after which you can control it from a web browser. First, you enter your wireless

Next, you define a new SSID for the extender, which devices use to connect to it. Security settings are the same as those for your main network. From the client side, PCs connect to the new network and the Wireless-G passes the data to the original one.

This system is not as smooth as one that uses repeaters and a router from the same manufacturer. In effect you have two wireless networks and must decide which to join based on where you are. What's more, the network only works at 54Mbit/s, so you lose all turbo modes.

We tested the extender in our labs. At a range of just over six metres without the extender we managed 50 per cent signal strength and transfer rates of 4.5Mbit/s; with the extender we achieved 100 per cent signal strength and 6.28Mbit/s.

While the speed wasn't massively improved, the Wireless-G will stop your wireless signal cutting out. For unbranded 802.11g networks this is a good way to improve range, but the relatively complex setup means you're better off with products from the same manufacturer where possible.