Bountiful Router extends WiFi range up to 1,200 feet
By Marc Perton 
posted Aug 18th 2005 5:30AM
posted Aug 18th 2005 5:30AM
While it may not be nearly as big a feat as the 125-mile
WiFi distance record set recently at DefCon, Bountiful
WiFi's new Bountiful Router could give you a decent boost — for a price. The company basically cranked up the power in
the unit, from the typical level of 15 and 17 decibel milliwatts (dBm) to 30 dBm, giving the router a maximum range of
1,200 feet. Of course, you can do the same thing with some other routers via firmware hacks and hardware extenders, for
a lot less than Bountiful's $625 price. But we suspect that if you're willing to do that, you're not in Bountiful's
target market, which consists of businesses like hotels and hospitals that want to be able to extend the range of their
access points throughout their buildings.
For that money couldnt you buy 6 airport expresses?
They do amplify and bounce signal onto the next a.e. dont they?
Doesn't 30dbm exceed part 15 limits for omni-directional gear?
dBm doesn't stand for deciBel milliWatts. It's a "standardized" unit from telegraph ages where the wires were thought to have 600Ω resistance, and dBm is the equivalent of 1mW output over 600Ω. Anyway...
Sure it will transmit to your PC 1200 feet away. But will it receive your PC's puny-ass signal from 1200 feet? I would be surprised if it worked well without jacking up the power at the other end.
What APs/Routers can be have their firmware upgraded to output at 30dBm?
This look like a revolution to me. To bad it's not legal in Norway! ;)