I wanted to extend my wireless network into my basement.  I also wanted to be able to connect wired devices to the network in the basement as well and it was inconvenient to run a Cat 5 cable there.  Very inconvenient.

I found a Netgear product that would do the trick, but, apparently, they aren't selling it yet.  In fact, they did not even respond to my email asking about it.

What solved the problem for me was something called DD-WRT.   DD-WRT is a linux based open sourced firmware that can replace the software in a router and make that router a much more powerful device.  It works with over 200 different devices, but one of the favorites is an old linksys model, the WRT54G.

What you have to do is flash the firmware.  That's how you install the DD-WRT software.  And if you don't do it right your router will turn into a brick or door stop.  Then you have to configure the software to get it to work the way you want.  If you make a mistake configuring it you may wind up with a brick.  But, on the other hand, if you do it right you can turn your router into the equivalent of a $600 device.  Or so they claim.

I bought an old WRT54G-TM router off of ebay that the seller had already flashed, so all I had to do was configure it to act as a repeater bridge.  After several attempts and several 30-30-30 hard resets, I got it to work.  So now I have my ubuntu webserver downstairs along with my old XP box, instead of junking up my office.  When I have to work on someone else's machine, I just bring it downstairs and plug it in to the router and I'm connected to the internet to download the latest version of malwarebytes or ccleaner.

My wife, Rose, has her computer downstairs and it's connected to our wireless network but the signal has always been low strength and sometimes she would lose the signal.  Now that the reconfigured WRT54G is down in the basement her network signal has increased to good strength because her wireless adapter now connects through the new-old router.  So if you just want to extend the reach of your network getting one of these updated routers may be just what you need.

I learned some great words along the way:

flash the firmware:  Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.

30-30-30 hard resets:  Hold in the reset button with the power on for 30 seconds, turn off the power but continue to hold the reset button for another 30 seconds, then turn on the power and hold the reset button for another 30 seconds.  Sounds like a bit of magic to me.

brick:  Can be a noun or a verb.  A brick is a non-working, non-recoverable piece of electronic gear.  To brick is to turn a piece of electronic gear to a non-working, non-recoverable piece of electronic gear.