Last week, Ive been looking into the whole idea of using the La Fonera Router to extend my wireless coverage. I have changed the plan a bit, as I started learning about the new possibilities of my new La Fonera router
Since the FON hot-spot I have close by, does not reach me I have been looking into alternative solutions.
I found the DD-WRT firmware. Supposedly after flashing the router with this firmware, the very limited FON router turns into a highly configurable router, able to act as a wireless bridge or a repeater.
However when I started reading I quickly found that the whole subject is quite extended, not to say complex. There are many many versions of the dd-wrt firmware available, and an equally amount of way’s to “brick” your fon router. (leave it unusable… as a 
). Consider this a warning, as I believe to have bricked it twice, and was just plain lucky to get it back again.
There are many websites that explain how to upgrade your firmware, and I wont explain the whole process here, as I think it differs a lot depending on the type of fonera router you’ve got.
I recieved a La Fonera 2201 router (fon+) and managed to upgarde the firmware finally with the explanation given here: [LINK] (I also used the firmware linked to on that site. This however, is an older version. Use the link below to get the same with SP1 included)
I managed flashing it with the the V24 firmware, and the router booted fine. Opening The DD-WRT router configuration menu gave me the feeling my laptop reconnected to a different access-point! completely different, and it actually looked like a real full-blown router.
However, (not sure its due to the treatment the router received, or the old version of the firmware Ive put on) after a couple of hours of use (and after making about a thousand of undocumented configuration changes), the router keeps resetting and therefore it is not fit yet for a connection.
I have downloaded the newer version of the firmware(V24-SP1) here, and will give it a try tonight, hoping the SP 1 will fix the restart issue.
The second part of my plan did not change. When i am able to set the router up as a repeater, I am sure that with a stronger antenna, (I will probably modify my satellite dish with a can-tenna, Bas… if you’re reading this…. send me some pictures of your “vergiet-tenne”) I can repeat one of the very weak open wifi signals I receive.
For the moment, I did some tests (while the flashed router was still working fine) and the EZ12 Windsurfer, a small reflector on top of the FON router already gave me some surprising results: I could connect to the double amount of access points, and the signal of the ones I used to receive with my laptop wifi card has increased allmost a 20%! Ans that is still just inside my appartment.
