Best wifi router for size/money and reach?

BBN said:
The TP Link above, seems like a great option. Yes the antenna's look a little goofy, but you need them.
For mixing (I'm using X32), I prefer a router with 2.4 and 5g....I generally connect to the 5g an turn the 2.4 off.
2.4 is going to get too much cell phone interference, and it also interferes with my Shure guitar system.
5g does not have as much range, but you will have less competition in the room (assuming you're in a room full of cell phones and bluetooth devices)
Click to expand...
I do the same, 2.4 off, or, both 2.4 & 5g hidden so access must be granted (by me) & folks can't hop on hoping to check their email or get on social media.

And, I also found that the amount of wireless 2.4 gear on stage (mics, guitar wireless, router, phones, tablets...ugh) likely contributed to some of the interference we were experiencing. Now w/the router on 5g & my guitar wireless and IEM off the 2.4 spectrum, I don't experience interference AND the equipment that is still on 2.4 seems to perform a little more reliably (but not as solidly as the non-2.4 gear).
 
Rob13 said:
I do the same, 2.4 off, or, both 2.4 & 5g hidden so access must be granted (by me) & folks can't hop on hoping to check their email or get on social media.

And, I also found that the amount of wireless 2.4 gear on stage (mics, guitar wireless, router, phones, tablets...ugh) likely contributed to some of the interference we were experiencing. Now w/the router on 5g & my guitar wireless and IEM off the 2.4 spectrum, I don't experience interference AND the equipment that is still on 2.4 seems to perform a little more reliably (but not as solidly as the non-2.4 gear).
Click to expand...
Exactly - I only use 5g for my mixer and 2.4 for other wireless gear. Seems to be the most stable.

One other thing I do - I name my network with the word 'virus' in it (my password also contains the word virus), so that people are less likely to try and connect. They could never guess my password, but of course a good network hacker could do it. But if you're at a bar trying to sabotage a local band....well, that's just a sad hacker.
 
Keep in mind, you dont need a router to control a mixer. An access point will work just fine.
 
BBN said:
Exactly - I only use 5g for my mixer and 2.4 for other wireless gear. Seems to be the most stable.

One other thing I do - I name my network with the word 'virus' in it (my password also contains the word virus), so that people are less likely to try and connect. They could never guess my password, but of course a good network hacker could do it. But if you're at a bar trying to sabotage a local band....well, that's just a sad hacker.
Click to expand...
I set mine to not broadcast the network name. It also prevents devices in the venue from trying to connect.
Also, 5ghz needs line of sight. 2.4ghz may work better in some cases.
 
rcm78 said:
I set mine to not broadcast the network name. It also prevents devices in the venue from trying to connect.
Also, 5ghz needs line of sight. 2.4ghz may work better in some cases.
Click to expand...
At this point I won't buy any 2.4 ghz gear for use in the actual signal chains, every bit of that stuff I've used in the past 5+ years has been very problematic. I'd be much more worried about keeping that stuff out of my signal chain. For wifi, 5ghz is not line of sight dependent, but 2.4ghz is going to work better when there are obstacles, and the range is longer anyway.

Turning off broadcasting of the SSID and setting up mac filtering is something I would maybe think about if I were a touring band, but in a club setting not sure the benefits outweigh the work required to make changes in a scenario where you are troubleshooting or have to quickly swap devices. However, any decent hacker could easily get in without you broadcasting your SSIDs and with a complex wifi key. If you are worried about that, go wired (but maybe calm down a bit as the hackers aren't going to make money doing that so they won't bother).

I saw Metallica not too long ago in LA, they had Unify AC Mesh APs by each of the towers and while playing around on my phone between bands I noticed I could see a bunch of their networks, and also their opening bands (with naming like "Mammoth FOH" for their APs). Not that that means they shouldn't hide their networks or what not, but if they aren't overly worried about the risk, maybe the bar bands shouldn't be either.
 
Last edited:
KevinP said:
At this point I won't buy any 2.4 ghz gear for use in the actual signal chains, every bit of that stuff I've used in the past 5+ years has been very problematic. I'd be much more worried about keeping that stuff out of my signal chain. For wifi, 5ghz is not line of sight dependent, but 2.4ghz is going to work better when there are obstacles, and the range is longer anyway.

Turning off broadcasting of the SSID and setting up mac filtering is something I would maybe think about if I were a touring band, but in a club setting not sure the benefits outweigh the work required to make changes in a scenario where you are troubleshooting or have to quickly swap devices. However, any decent hacker could easily get in without you broadcasting your SSIDs and with a complex wifi key. If you are worried about that, go wired (but maybe calm down a bit as the hackers aren't going to make money doing that so they won't bother).

I saw Metallica not too long ago in LA, they had Unify AC Mesh APs by each of the towers and while playing around on my phone between bands I noticed I could see a bunch of their networks, and also their opening bands (with naming like "Mammoth FOH" for their APs). Not that that means they shouldn't hide their networks or what not, but if they aren't overly worried about the risk, maybe the bar bands shouldn't be either.
Click to expand...
It was a very easy change. Not a big deal.
 
rcm78 said:
It was a very easy change. Not a big deal.
Click to expand...
Not sure which part you mean, but security through obscurity (just hiding your SSID) isn't doing a whole lot of anything at all, and devices can and will still scan for it. Additionally the whole trying to connect part, it's not like you're burning a bunch of resources on that, unless you expect someone to walk in and try to DDoS your AP or something. It's not necessary but isn't really causing any harm to turn it off if you want to.

The stuff I would avoid is the mac filtering and super complex keys, since that just makes it harder to connect new devices, especially in troubleshooting scenarios where you don't want to be fumbling around trying to get stuff working.
 
KevinP said:
Not sure which part you mean, but security through obscurity (just hiding your SSID) isn't doing a whole lot of anything at all, and devices can and will still scan for it. Additionally the whole trying to connect part, it's not like you're burning a bunch of resources on that, unless you expect someone to walk in and try to DDoS your AP or something. It's not necessary but isn't really causing any harm to turn it off if you want to.

The stuff I would avoid is the mac filtering and super complex keys, since that just makes it harder to connect new devices, especially in troubleshooting scenarios where you don't want to be fumbling around trying to get stuff working.
Click to expand...
You’re making this sound way more complicated than it is. Everyone has WiFi. We all know our way around routers and access points.
I plug in my rack and my access point is powered up. All devices connect. SSID is hidden and it’s never been an issue.
 
rcm78 said:
You’re making this sound way more complicated than it is. Everyone has WiFi. We all know our way around routers and access points.
I plug in my rack and my access point is powered up. All devices connect. SSID is hidden and it’s never been an issue.
Click to expand...
I'm not, I'm stating that hiding your SSID doesn't do what you think it does. I'm further stating in the relation to the rest of the thread that the benefits of the other recommended "security mechanisms" is not worth it considering the likelihood of attack and what complications it creates. I'm actually a professional in the IT industry with numerous security and networking certifications and have authored security exams, so I'm providing factual based recommendations and suggestions to help others.

If you don't find it useful move along, however I will correct things people say that are incorrect or misguided (like 5ghz is line of sight) when I see them for the purpose of helping others make appropriate decisions.
 
Last edited:
KevinP said:
I'm not, I'm stating that hiding your SSID doesn't do what you think it does. I'm further stating in the relation to the rest of the thread that the benefits of the other recommended "security mechanisms" is not worth it considering the likelihood of attack and what complications it creates. I'm actually a professional in the IT industry with numerous security and networking certifications and have authored security exams, so I'm providing factual based recommendations and suggestions to help others.

If you don't find it useful move along, however I will correct things people say that are incorrect or misguided (like 5ghz is line of sight) when I see them for the purpose of helping others make appropriate decisions.
Click to expand...
So, what are the best practices? Genuinely interested, not being difficult.
 
Neither 2.4 Ghz nor 5 Ghz are "line of site" dependent. Both travel through walls and many other objects though 2.4 Ghz is better at that.

2.4 Ghz has a longer range. This frequency has a lot more legacy devices that might be trying to use it as well which can lead to interference.

5 Ghz has shorter range compared to 2.4, but it can carry more data (approximately twice as much) than the 2.4 due to it's shorter wavelength (which is also why it can not travel as far, the shorter the wave length, the less distance and the 5 Ghz spectrum is approximately half the length of the 2.4 Ghz spectrum - 2.4GHz=12.5cm. 5Ghz=6cm).

All that said, considering the OP, the short range needed and the apparent lack of obstruction, along with the lack of high throughput necessity has me reaching for the 2.4 Ghz UNLESS you have a lot of other gear running on that spectrum in which case I would opt for the 5 Ghz. Keep in mind that the venues could have a lot of 2.4 or 5 Ghz equipment in that area, so be sure to consider that when planning the use of such a system. You can also get routers that have both 2.4 and 5 Ghz, and you can then choose which one works best in each situation.
 
Rob13 said:
So, what are the best practices? Genuinely interested, not being difficult.
Click to expand...
It comes down to need, but where I would start is a simple device that isn't mesh and doesn't rely on internet connectivity (a few good suggestions in the thread). Setup a network with 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz, don't hide the SSID and create a reasonable complex passphrase ( like 12 letters/numbers/symbols/etc). I actually then would wire the mixer to the AP and let the tablets or other devices stay wireless.

If you need to go further then Mac address filtering would be my next step. But if you are going to do that get all your devices together and add them all, including any backup devices you need and make sure everything works.

I would also make sure I have absolutely zero 2.4 ghz devices in signal chains for audio, they are at best intermittent from one venue to the next for critical time sensitive loads (mixer control is not as sensitive to latency and some mild interference).
Don't worry about other devices connecting casually, it isn't a problem that is going to cause issues with the above, and they won't have the key anyway so it will only be a small number of packets.
 
Tremonti said:
Line of sight or hidden?
Click to expand...
Both. I don’t give it much thought, honestly. For the most part the iPad sits right next to it, but I’ve walked around with the iPad too and there were plenty of obstructions. Would lose connection but only for a second or so here and there. I hid the SSID and set everything up static ip.
 
I was dealing with the built in wireless in the ATT fiber box, but it was really sketchy in a lot of the house. I have plaster/lathe walls, and the house blocks a lot of RF. Friend at work swears his Ampli Alien is the best wireless router he's had. A black friday sale had them at close to half price from the company, so I bought two. They'll work as a mesh. I think the fastest wireless device in the house hits almost 600Mbs. It had a pre-defined IoT network you can put things in your house like cameras. I think I have 40+ things on the pair of them. Everything runs great.
 
Tremonti said:
Only using for ipad and iphone control of QSC touchmix.
Click to expand...

Your iphone is capable of creating an ad hoc wifi network via personal hot spot. If all you want to do is control the touchmix from an app, are you sure you need a router? There's nothing to route :).
 
GlennO said:
Your iphone is capable of creating an ad hoc wifi network via personal hot spot. If all you want to do is control the touchmix from an app, are you sure you need a router? There's nothing to route :).
Click to expand...
Maybe not a router per se, but you need something to enable the TouchMix to talk Wi-Fi. These days, most Wi-Fi access points come with a router built in.

IIRC, there might be Wi-Fi dongles available.
 
GlennO said:
See the post you quoted :). He has an iphone. An iphone is capable of creating an ad hoc wifi network.
Click to expand...
Help me understand. What use can a TouchMix make of a Wi-Fi network, ad hoc or otherwise?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom