I finally got back on the wrt54g bandwagon. I was sort of on it before (I had the GS, but it was unsupported at the time, so I gave it to a friend). This time I got the 54GL, solely for the purpose of running 3rd party firmware.
For now, I’m running “DD-WRT”:http://www.dd-wrt.com. It seems like a good balance between SveaSoft interface goodies, and “OpenWRT”:http://www.openwrt.org backend. After first flashing it, it seemed to get a little flaky, such that my powerbook couldn’t associate with the SSID (neither could the desktop), but after changing the wireless channel on the router, things started working. I upped the power output to 64mw (somewhere it said 70mw was safe), and set up some static MAC -> IP settings.
This firmware actually has more features than I used when I ran my old PC as a router. Namely things like QoS and various vpn/pptp services. It’s pretty amazing that it all fits in a 4mb image. This is one instance where open source really seems to work.
While messing around with it, I found this “Airport Radar”:http://www.macwireless.com/html/support/airport_radar/index.php?ven=mw&cat=airport_radar&ver=1.1.1 widget. Let’s you scan for wireless networks and see their relative signal strengths. Seems pretty useful.
Interestingly, in comparing this model to the Airport Express, there’s not a clear winner. With the AE and the 54G in the same room, the AE actually gives me stronger signal. However, when I sit on the other end of the house, the 54G gives me better signal. Eventually I’ll set up some kind of bridging or WDS system, so that I can get good coverage everywhere.
Also, randomly, I decided on a namespace for my computers: Chinese imperial dynasties. My laptop is qing, the router is tang. I’ve got a few more to go before I need to think of a new namespace.