Wireless peripherals feasibility

[Nathan Potter]

I need to revamp my digital processing setup from hardwire to wireless. A Mac G4 computer needs to connect to 2 scanners and 3 printers and a stand alone hard drive.
The two scanners (Epson V750 and Coolscan 5000 ED are remote, 20 ft. away from the computer in a clean area. I'm an analogue guy so not fully conversant about such a hookup or even it's feasibility. I intend this to be a stand alone LAN, not connected to the internet. Has anyone here done this?

I think I need a router which stands alone and will communicate to all the peripherals via an IEEE 802.11n protocol (150 Mbps, I think). As far as I can tell the peripherals will need a network adapter that will plug into the serial ports. I assume some software to enable the setup will be provided with the router and will run on the computer.

I'm a bit worried about other external interference at the 2.4 Ghz freq. and especially so many peripherals operating off one computer/router. The printers are 2 Epson 3880s and one HP Deskjet D4260. Any experience or comments would be reassuring.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[harlekin]

Wireless printing is quite easy. You can buy a wireless print server (probably 802.11b) with a couple of USB plugs for $50-100 that works quite well. I used one for a couple of years and the newer models are probably even easier to work with. Some printers even have wireless print servers built into them, which are going to be the simplest to set up.

Scanners I'm not so sure about. The wireless print servers would be no use here as they're really only one way devices. You may be able to find and use some of the wireless usb adapters, but I have no experience using these and I don't know the range on them.

As far as interference goes, 802.11n (a,b, & g too) is designed to play well with others. It uses a spread spectrum modulation which checks if the particular frequency is free before transmitting. You may want to make sure that you pick a channel that is free when you set up the network. If you use the default channel, there's a high likelihood that nearby networks (neighbors and businesses) are on the same channel and this could slow your wireless network down.

[jp]

Generally whenever possible, wired is superior in terms for reliability and performance. Wireless is for convenience and for where it is not possible to run wires. Wired is a magnitude simpler to troubleshoot as well; Checking continuity versus numerous wireless settings and possible spectrum analysis for intermittent interference. Building materials like foil faced insulations, rebar, metal siding & roofing, metal pans under concrete floors, all mess with wireless. Most consumer wireless routers and equipment are built to be affordable and profitable, not necessary reliable or well tested.

Your Epson scanner needs USB, not networking and thus could not be connected wirelessly. There are very short limits for USB cables, so you will either need a special USB active extension cable (basically a 1 port USB hub), or some expensive USB-over-cat5 adapators, or move your computer closer to the scanner.

For printing, if your printer has an ethernet port, you can connect it up into another room. Some printers you can purchase an ethernet card so they have that capability. I bought that for my epson 7600 and it allows me to keep it in another room. I kept it in my darkroom till the analog stuff crowded it out. This can ride on the same network as your home LAN you use for Internet or can be on a separate network using a simple ethernet switch. If your printer can not do ethernet, you have the same USB limitation as described above.

[harlekin]

I looked into wireless USB a bit and it might be exactly what you need. You plug the dongle into the USB port on your computer and set up the wireless hub wherever you want. It should work with scanners, printers, and hard drives. Search for wireless usb hub. Belkin makes one: http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=356042

I've never used one of these before, so I have no idea how reliable it would be.