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All the talk about Pre-N or MIMO Wi-Fi equipment that can triple a network's range and speed may have you thinking it's time to trade in your 802.11b or g gear. (Click here for a report on our tests of these high-speed Wi-Fi technologies.) But a new wireless router and adapters for all your PCs could cost you $200 or more. And then you have to consider the hassle of reinstalling and reconfiguring your network.

You may also balk at upgrading network equipment that might be only two years old (or less). Whether it's a matter of repositioning the access point in your home, moving house plants and other items that block your Wi-Fi signal, or upgrading just one or two key network components, there are less expensive--even free--ways to extend the range and increase the speed of your existing network. (Click here for some networking basics in Stan Miastkowski's May 2004 Step-By-Step column, "How to Build a Safe, Secure Network.")

Wireless Network Makeovers: From Free to Full-Blown

1. Relocate your router (free): Place your router in a central room on the ground floor, as high off the ground as possible. To avoid blocking the signal, keep the device away from metal, concrete, or stone walls, and far from your water heater and other water tanks. Large house plants and even CD collections can be other obstructions. Common sources of interference are 2.4-GHz cordless phones (use 900-MHz or 5-GHz models) and your neighbors' Wi-Fi networks operating on the same channel. Change your router's channel if necessary: Channels 1, 6, and 11 provide maximum distance from potentially overlapping signals.

2. Upgrade your cards (about $45 to $70): An extended-range card such as SMC's EliteConnect Universal High Power Wireless CardBus Adapter (about $70 online) or the Hawking Hi-Gain Wireless-G Laptop Card HWC54D (about $50 online) may get rid of dead spots. These cards are ideal for use at hotspots, too. You can install an extended-range card even if your laptop has built-in 802.11b. To achieve the same extended range for desktop PCs, try Hawking's Hi-Gain USB Wireless-G Adapter HWU54D (about $45 online).

3. Use a range extender (about $80 to $115): If your house has an area where coverage is poor, consider buying a wireless range extender. The Netgear 54Mbps Wall-Plugged Wireless Range Extender Kit WGXB102 (about $115 online) lets you add a dedicated Wi-Fi network to any room that has a power outlet. Hawking's Wireless-G Range Extender HWUR54G (about $80 online) differs from the Netgear device by repeating wireless signals from your existing router, so it should be placed about halfway between the main router and the area that needs coverage.

4. Replace your router and card (about $100 to $200): Replacing your existing router and card with enhanced 802.11g or MIMO equipment is the surest way to eliminate dead spots--and even extend coverage to your yard. D-Link claims that its DI-624M Super G With MIMO Wireless Router (about $110 online) provides up to eight times the coverage of a standard 802.11g router. You don't need to replace every adapter card. In our tests, MIMO routers increased the range of regular 802.11g cards dramatically. Buy the high-speed router first, and then decide which adapters to upgrade.

Becky Waring is a freelance writer and former editor of NewMedia Magazine.