I dont know but PC World is PC CITY in spain.
Faililng that order from UK retailers and ship it to spain

IntuitivieNipple: I think you need to take a flight out there, hire a car and have a nosey around before you commit to the move, you seem very intent on ensuring you have connectivity ( me too!) and to be extremely prepared. I went out in January to take a look around, speak to ex pats and stuff and it was useful. Though i wasnt definately thinking about moving but i must admit it iwas in the back of my mind So im just going for it! 26 days to go!!

Oh yeah, I'll be doing that, but a 'flying' visit isn't the same as living to get the proper feel of the place.
I only decided yesterday to find somewhere other than San Francisco (I was about to buy a house on top the San Andreas fault!).
Although the job there is great (Google) I feel I'm being forced into moving (been working from the U.K. since last summer), and my quality of life would suffer.

I'm always up for an adventure so I thought 'sod it' I'll just do something random that challenges me that isn't predicated on work.

Hey you computer people. I am only learning so know nothing but can I put in my pennies worth here.

I bought a wire free door bell and it would not work in my town house because of the way it is built. Bell on door frame - plug in part was plugged in directly above the bell on the first floor. I believe that it did not work because of the metal in the concrete floor. It was not a faulty bell because it would work on the same floor but not between floor.

So mayve the same thing could occur with wire free computing or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Rosemary

I think that you will find that onlineamiga needs to earn a living and I believe that to have a computer support person calling to your house to help you out is worth 60euros.

I agree that mates help each other out but not at the risk of starving or being homeless.

Rosemary

Thanks Rosemary, yes 60€ for a call out isnt unreasonable. Im not saying thats going to be my job in spain but im certinately considering it to give me a bit of extra money. I cant rely on IT call outs for my bread and butter because it can be a ghostly business at times. Ive done a bit of it in the UK, and theres times when ur out every other day and then can go weeks without having a call out.

As for your door bell. Yes metal in buildings can reflect signals and degrade them, and wireless routers can be just as affected. Different equipment works better than others. I remember we had a hurrendous time getting wireless to work in a hotel because of the soundproofing between the rooms, had to put repeaters all over the place.
WiFi signals run at a high frequencey though and may penetrate the walls better than perhaps a wireless doorbell.
A spectrum analyzer would be needed really to survey the site.

Rosemary, you've got it entirely correct.

Any substantial metal surface will reflect radio waves away. Even a perforated metal sheet will reflect radio waves of matching wavelengths - there's one in the door of every microwave oven, and microwave ovens use the same frequency as most common WiFi networks (802.11b and 802.11g)

Yeah stick a spectrum analayzer near a microwave and woooooo it goes all over the place, including the 2.4gig range. Went out to a company that had a fault where people would always loose their connections in a small wireless office. They ahd the router right next to the microwave, and at lunch time the microwave would be going heating everyones dinner up and killing the wifi hehehe.

That reminds of a client of one of my companies. A government-industry body that was using temporary offices in Rotherham until their custom-built office was ready.
For that reason we recommended and installed WiFi networking (this was when 802.11b (11Mbps) was just starting).

Lots of problems and dropped links, especially when they closed the metalised blinds (they had glass room-partitioning). We replaced network cards, wireless access points, even a server!

Eventually we found out the building they were in used to be a radiation laboratory and was effectively a Faraday cage - all the walls and floors were metal-lined and so when the blinds were closed each compartment was isolated from the network radio waves

We had to replace the entire network with wires, which was a pain (walls almost a meter thick!).

This may be a good alternative to WiFi although I haven't tried it:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...48539&doy=28m3

[quote=The Oddities;4572945]. I believe that it did not work because of the metal in the concrete floor.

So mayve the same thing could occur with wire free computing or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Rosemary[/quote
Hi The Oddities,

Its known in physics as a "Faraday" cage. The best example is a thatched roof pub where chicken wire is spread on the roof to keep the thatch free from wind and bird damage. You will find that mobile phones do not work at all or not very well.

The reinforcement in your floor and walls have the same effect on all low power radio transmitters and the same can and does happen with Wi-Fi for computers.

Regards,

John.

looks a good idea, but would they work on Spanish wiring though ;-)

Power-line networking is indeed a good solution, and the newer devices often run an effective speed better than 802.11g (54Mbps Wifi) or its turbo extensions.

On the plus side its more secure, with the provisio that your neighbours don't share the same electricity supply phase as your property.

If there isn't a distribution point in between your properties (to break the live supply line) then your network signals will travel into other properties and someone with similar devices could snoop and use that connection.

That said, in practice its likely to be more secure and easy-to-install than a WiFi network.

A downside could be if you're using battery-powered PCs (notebooks, laptops) and the electric supply is temperamental - you'd loose network connectivity whilst the supply was disrupted.

With Wireless routers, if they are powered from a cheap Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS ~ £50-100) you can maintain full networking connections even if there is a power outage.

Yes - I noticed in my searches for WiFi in Spain references to the extensive use of power-line networking, in fact Spain appears to have been one of the pioneers.

Obviously if you go this route purchase devices sold for the Spanish market. Plenty of on-line stores will sell them, and probably a lot cheaper than retail stores. These things tend to have a high retail mark-up because they are novel at present.

ok, I have finally got around to buying a wireless router

got it plugged in as follows

old modem as it was
ethernet cable from pc to new router

adapter installed on lap top in next room

the new adapter is picking up the signal from the router BUT I dont think the new router is picking up the connection

any ideas ?

Im not sure i have entered the settings correctly for Telefonica on the new router

ok, first of all throw the old modem in the bin, or take it away altogether, you plug the router into the phone line and the PC Via the Ethernet cable, once you ahve configured it with your ADSL Settings you can either leave it in the PC or move it somewhere on its own,

hope that helps, if not come back i be here for a while, andy