Wireless bridge for desktop

[LC0g]

Hey guys, just a little heads up for me.

I have a desktop without wi-fi connectivity. Can I use a wireless bridge to get wi-fi access? Basically;

Wi-fi -> Wireless bridge -> wired ethernet -> Desktop

Can that work? Any suggestions on hardware? Can you take a standard routeur and convert it to a wireless bridge?

Thanks a lot guys
LC.

[JD]

Why? Usually you'd only use a wireless bridge for a device that has no possible way of adding WiFi to it. With a PC though, why not just plug in a USB WiFi adapter? Or a PCI/PCIe adapter?

If you have a router that supports DD-WRT, then yes you can use it as a wireless bridge. Otherwise, you'll need to specifically buy a wireless bridge.

[LC0g]

I had the impression that the USB adapters and internal cards had poor drivers & support. I thought I could get an access point instead because of that.

Any suggestions on USB adapters? Or the cheapest you can find?

LC.

[Ardric]

Just about all wireless internet routers can be used as a wireless bridge access point (AP) because they bridge the AP radio with the LAN by default, but what you're looking for is a wireless bridge client radio, not an AP. Most home routers don't offer client mode without upgrading the firmwire to something like DD-WRT. But that's easy and free, so I'd suggest it's probably the best best.

Personally I like that solution best because ethernet NIC's are very low CPU load vs having to run a USB port controller at best and also run a winmodem radio at worst. Also to get best performance you may need to put the antenna a little distance from the PC, which is awkward with an internal PCI card. Antenna cables are very lossy with distance, ethernet and USB are not. USB adapters are self-powered though, so for ultimate plug&play convenience I guess a USB adapter well-placed and on a USB extension cable is the simplest solution of all.