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Michael F.

Michael F.

Joined on 08/06/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 3
Most Favorable Review

Excellent speed and strength

D-Link Xtreme-N Duo Wireless Bridge/Access Point (DAP-1522) Wireless N300, Dual-Band, Fast Ethernet
D-Link Xtreme-N Duo Wireless Bridge/Access Point (DAP-1522) Wireless N300, Dual-Band, Fast Ethernet

Pros: Much, much faster then my old 801.11G network. Purchased this and a Dlink 825, both work well and are dramatically faster. Use this device to my AV rack to provide connectivity to my HTPC, TiVo and AVR. 5Ghz band was a huge selling feature for me, BlueTooth is 2.4Ghz and my keyboard works on that frequency. My old 802.11n card would interfere with the keyboard all the time during heavy transfers. On 5Ghz, no interference at all! About 4X the speed of my old 802.11G setup (actual transfer speed), I get about 8MB/s over 5Ghz wireless connection from my 825 to this device.

Cons: Requires a BIT of networking knowledge to configure. Doesn't have an external antenna (reception is very good in my 2000 sq/ft house, but the ability to add an antenna would be nice for longer runs). Isn't free? :)

Overall Review: This device is the best way to bridge your network from one location to another. Excellent web interface (very simple) that gives you all the information you need and nothing else. Very happy (overall) with the 5/2.4 Ghz dual band setup.

12/19/2008

Batteries have a finite life

BELKIN F6C1500-TW-RK 1500VA 830 Watts 8 Outlets UPS
BELKIN F6C1500-TW-RK 1500VA 830 Watts 8 Outlets UPS

Pros: Very adequate UPS, works as advertised, fails to battery only when necessary (not overly sensitive, which some UPSes are), and basically does a good job of protecting my gear. I use this in a HTPC setup, inside a large rack with a HTPC, AVR, DVR, and lots of other small components. I get about 30-40 minutes of runtime with this UPS driving all those components (see "other thoughts" for more discussion).

Cons: The software constantly crashes UPSD in Vista. I've seen other people complain about this, and it appears to be a pretty common problem. It's not a big deal at all, but a window pops up, which is annoying. You DO NOT need the software, you only will need it if you want to monitor the UPS, or have the computer shut down automatically after a power failure. To me, it's worth have UPSD crash from time to time to be able to monitor the UPS and have auto-shutdown. The software itself is a bit klunkly; not like it matters much. There are lots of customizations inside the software for actions to take upon certain conditions. This could be very nice if you really want to get sophisticated, or if you have really awful power situations.

Overall Review: Those who are complaining about the batteries dying after 2-4 years. That's normal. Happens to EVERY UPS out there. Do a search online for UPS "model number" batteries and you get get replacements. I've replaced mine once, think it was about 20 dollars for the new batteries. UPSes are a long use item, some people have them for 10+ years, and you will have to replace the batteries several times over that period. They are inexpensive, and it's expected maintenance (it's like complaining that you car needs its oil changed). Also, you can put larger batteries inside this unit (higher amp/wattage ratings); which, of course, cost a bit more (that's what I have, it made a pretty good difference). Don't worry about lack of manufacture of this UPS moving forward, the batteries are standard, you don't get them from Belkin (the batteries in this UPS are kind of the double-As of the UPS world).

Much faster, excellent dual band!

D-Link Xtreme N Dual-Band Gigabit Router (DIR-825) Wireless N600
D-Link Xtreme N Dual-Band Gigabit Router (DIR-825) Wireless N600

Pros: Very happy with this router. Bought this an a 1522 5Ghz bridge; run all my N traffic on 5Ghz and all the G traffic on 2.4. MUCH faster then my old Linksys 54G router!! Bittorrent used to really bog down the Linksys (with 100s of connections) this one just powers right through it. Good signal strength on both 2.4 and 5Ghz bands. VERY nice to be able to seperate the N traffic and G traffic; this seems to make N work much faster. My throughput with 5Ghz N is about 10MB/s, compared to ~2MB/s over 2.4Ghz G. That's dramatically faster then some of the other 2.4Ghz only N routers my friends have; most only get about 5MB/s throughput in the 2.4Ghz range (I would guess because of interference).

Cons: No 3rd party firmware available for this router yet (WW-WRT, etc).

Overall Review: Excellent router, would absolutely buy it again. Also looked at the more expensive "gaming" dual band router from DLink, but didn't see many advantages, and several negative reviews. Dual band is absolutely the way to go, no more interference with my Blue Tooth devices (see my review of the 1522 AP for more info)!

12/19/2008