Buffalo Technology Wireless-G High Power Router and Access Point with High Gain Antenna WHR-HP-G54

by BUFFALO

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 3.2 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AOKTJ8
• Item model number: WHR-HP-G54
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (176 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 1, 2009

Product Description

From the manufacturer

The Wireless-G MIMO Performance Router & Access Point with High Gain Antenna combines the High Power wireless performance with Buffalo’s AirStation One-Touch Secure System (AOSS). Uniquely equipped with a built-in signal amplifier, the WHR-HP-G54 produces a true 60% increase in wireless transmit power over a standard 802.11g wireless router. WHR-HP-G54 extends the range of standard 802.11g client devices by up to 70% and improves overall performance by up to 50%. This Smart Router automatically detects and configures your Cable or DSL internet connection. Security features include WPA, WEP, Privacy Separator, Intrusion Detector, and SPI firewall. In addition to fast wireless performance, WHR-HP-G54 features a built-in external switch between wireless router and wireless access point modes. The combination of speed, security, and push-button setup of wireless connections and internet, makes the Buffalo AirStation G54 High Power Wireless Cable/DSL Smart Router the perfect choice for your wireless network.

Features

• Built-in Amplifier Improves Wireless Performance and Extends Range
• 802.11g Wireless 125 High- Speed Mode Transfer Rates When Used with 125 High-Speed Mode Adapter (Turbo G)
• Simple Web Browser Configuration
• Supports WDS To Increase Coverage With Optional Repeater
• External Switch To Instantly Change Between Wireless Router and Wireless Access Point
• Easy Setup with AirStation One-Touch Secure System (AOSS)
• Automatic Channel Support Selects Best Available Wireless Networking Channel
• Supports WPA-PSK (TKIP, AES) and 128/64-bit WEP Security
• Includes NAT and SPI Firewall and Intrusion Detector
• Dynamic Packet Filtering
• Built-in DHCP Server
• Built-in 10/100 4-Port Auto-Sensing Switch
• Optimized High-Speed Routing, up to 5 Times Faster than Standard Routers
• Great Value. Higher Performance than Standard 802.11g at Comparable Prices
• RP-SMA to MC coupler required for use with the WLE-DA2, WLE-HG-NDR and WLE-MYG antennas. Coupler not included.
• Works seamlessly with Nintendo DS

Product Description

Buffalo Technology Wireless-G MIMO Performance Router and Access Point WHR-HP-G54

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great platform for open source firmware, October 25, 2007

By 

G. Frank (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Buffalo Technology Wireless-G High Power Router and Access Point with High Gain Antenna WHR-HP-G54 (Personal Computers)

Best features for the open-source router firmware enthusiast:

- built in pre-amp on Rx and power amp on Tx. Note that it's not real MIMO as the name might lead you to believe, but the amps make it have "MIMO-like performance" (which I've found is true).

- high gain antenna

- so it has a better S/N ratio than the Linksys WRT54GL, which has been the defacto standard

- support for 'afterburner' protocol (ie. 125 Mbit/s)

- Widely supported by open source firmware, eg. OpenWRT, DD-WRT, Tomato, X-Wrt, etc. And those enable it to have the most wonderful features, eg:
- WMM for smooth VOIP calls using T-Mobile's UMA phones
- WDS for creating a set of cascaded routers blanketing a large area
- Adjusting the power output directly on the Atheros on-board chip
- WPA2 with AES (WPA2 more secure than WPA, AES encryption scheme faster than TKIP), plus the ability to support mixed modes so that older devices that don't support WPA2/AES can use WPA/TKIP)
- and so much more. If you don't know about the merits of open source router firmware, you should read up!

Challenges:

- DD-WRT, OpenWrt, X-Wrt, Tomato or other open source firmware needs to be flashed with TFTP - you can't do it with the web GUI. But it's easy. Just requires timing the transfer as you switch it on.

- Buffalo encrypts their firmware so if you screw it up and want to revert back to Buffalo firmware, you can't just upload it from the web gui of whatever firmware you've installed. You have to upload the decrypted version from DD-WRT's site, and then from there you can upload the latest Buffalo version from their website.

Note: because of the built-in power amp, you shouldn't just set the power output to jam out as much juice as it can. That will make the output signal distort and actually decrease the range. I found that the best S/N ratio is obtained at about 75 mW. (Default setting is 28 mW).

55 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This one's a keeper!, September 14, 2006

By 

Kevin Nicholls "jaded, aging hipster" (Milford, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Buffalo Technology Wireless-G High Power Router and Access Point with High Gain Antenna WHR-HP-G54 (Personal Computers)

After my trusty Netgear router died on me, I decided to "step up" and get a pre-N router. The experience was less than delightful.

Then I decided to give the Linksys WRT54GX4 a try. It was okay for a little while, but started dropping connections like crazy after a week or so.

Finally, after lots more research, I decided on the Buffalo and DD-WRT firmware. Talk about striking gold!

My connection hasn't dropped in weeks, and the throughput is considerably better than most WAP's and wireless routers I've used. I installed DD-WRT out of the box, so I can't really speak to the quality of the built-in firmware, but the hardware is excellent.

I've pushed the signal power to the mid 100's and overclocked the processor, with no obvious signs of overheating. So while this doesn't have the heatsink that the lower-priced version has, I haven't noticed any heat issues.

My only gripe is that the link lights for wired connections are above the ports in the back. That's great for a racked switch in a server room, but not so good for keeping an eye on things at home. Otherwise, I would have given this product a solid 5.

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Router Ever, August 20, 2006

By 

S. Lancaster "Happy Daddy!" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Buffalo Technology Wireless-G High Power Router and Access Point with High Gain Antenna WHR-HP-G54 (Personal Computers)

Due to security reasons, I wanted to update my 802.11b dlink network to the g network. After trying the every (and I mean every) 802.11g router on the market, I firmly decided on this Buffalo router and I couldn't be any happier! Linksys just wouldn't work with my Bellsouth DSL connection (even after trying PPOE settings), Netgear just did not perform adequately (range was very short and setting it up was a major ordeal). I would have been extremely satisfied with the Belkin routers (MIMO and not MIMO) since setting them up was a breeze and the easiest setup on the market today, but again range was an issue (I couldn't get past 50 feet in my house). The Buffalo router was everything I wanted, AND MORE! I must say this router is designed, in my opinion, for experts, but it can be used by people with a basic knowledge of networks and be up and running in 15 minutes. There are MANY advanced features in this router, including my favorite the INTRUSION DETECTOR. Hook this baby up and it records all of the different kind of attacks performed on your network. NAT and SPI firewall are included in this router to protect your network. I couldn't get the AOSS feature to work and seamlessly setup my network, even a call to the kindly tech support told me the AOSS feature was very finicky and was hard to get to work. This is not of really any significance, I just setup the network manually. Output power, wireless mode, framebursting, WEP, WPA, AES can all be set according to your preferences. This router can also be used as a repeater to expand your network! Just to let everyone know, this little router blew away all of the routers I tried in range and I can easily get a good signal 150 feet away (thru my house, walls, and across my yard to the neighbors house)! You can't go wrong with this router, trust me.