GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL................. SOLVING COMMON Household Tech Issues

GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL SOLVING COMMON Household Tech Issues





As the amount of tech in our homes increases, so does the 

complexity. Some common tech hurdles and solutions on 

how to get around them

Increase WiFi Signal Range

WiFi is not an ex act science ­ you may never be able to pinpoint why

 some places in your house just don't receive a signal. Furthermore, 

a lot depends on the antenna on a receiving device. For instance, 

a laptop may be able to receive a wireless signal a lot further 

than a smartphone.Some routers have a higher range than others 

(WiFi Nac and those with two or more antennas). It is also possible 

to swap out the antennas of your router with ones that have a higher 

gain. You can buy a pair of 18dBi antenna for as low as $11 from 

DX.com (including shipping). Simply replacing the stock antenna 

with high gain ones can increase range. If you're comfortable with 

poking around the settings, you can also check if they allow you to 

increase the routers transmit power (sometimes called TX Power in 

settings). A value of 60 or 70 will be the default but you can increase it 

to 100 and watch for any improvements in range.The downside of 

this is that the router may run hotter than normal so you will need 

to keep it cool.

The Three Golden Rules of Router Placement

WiFi signals emanate in a circle, outwards from the router (omnidirectionally) -therefore, for maxi mum WiFi cover age inside the house, you need to place the router as close to the centre of the house as possi ble.WiFi signals tend to travel down rather than up, so you can maximise coverage inside the house by placing it on a higher location like on top of a cupboard or on a ledge.Two things eat up wireless signals consistently: thick walls & interference from other devices like cordless phones, microwave ovens and wireless headphones. Try and avoid thick walls between the router and your most common point of use and place the router at least 6 feet away from other equipment that could cause interference.

How To: Wireless Storage & Printing

A wired printer is placed in one room (usually connected to a desktop) and to print, you usually have to go to that room. If you are planning to get a new printer, spend a bit more and get one with built-in WiFi. If you already have a wired printer, you can connect it with a compatible WiFi router to make it available to any device on your home network. If you need to upgrade your router, buy one with print server support from Asus, D-Link or Belkin (`2,000 onwards). You can then configure the printer to work as a network printer via the support software or by adding it as a new network printer from Control Panel > Device and Printers.

Accessing network storage works in similar way. Connect a portable hard drive to the USB port on the router and configure it as network storage. The drive will then be visible to all devices connected to WiFi. It is also possible to access a par ticular folder on the hard drive inside a desktop computer. Right click on a particular folder, click the Sharing tab and tap the `Share' button. Once shared, the folder will be accessible to other devices on the same homeg roup under Network places.

Cable Management

As you add technology, you'll find cables snaking everywhere. To make things look a bit neater, get a basic cable cover organizer (`150 onwards) -this is a flexible hollow pipe that you can use to cover and hide all wires. Alternatively, you can purchase zip ties and tie cables together. If you need to redecorate and repaint, get hollow pipes fitted in the walls and run cables through them -this way, no cables will be visible at all.Another way to get rid of the wire mess is to convert wired devices to wireless. For TVs and projectors, you can get a wireless HDMI kit from Latentech (`36,000) that enables wireless connectivity between the screen and the source. For music, you can use a Bluetooth audio receiver (`1,000 onwards) to convert any audio system into a Bluetooth speaker.

Charging Multiple Devices

For anything that charges with USB, the voltage is always 5 volts. The Amps will determine how fast the device charges. For instance, an iPad charger is rated at 5 Volts and 2.1Amps. If you use a charger that only pushes 1Amp, the iPad will still charge, but will take more than twice as long for a full charge. It's now fairly common to have multiple portable devices but luckily, most of them will work with USB charging, so you can get something like Portronics' 6 port USB charger.This inexpensive device offers 6 USB ports that you can use to charge tablets, phones, e-book readers, smartwatches and cameras. The only catch is that you need to use your own cables. Each port supplies 5 volts of power at 1Amp. Note that computers and laptops have `weak' USB ports. This means they only offer 500mA (0.5 Amps) of power; not enough to charge a tablet and it will take longer than usual to charge a smart phone. Exceptions are USB 3.0 ports (identi fied by an `SS' logo or the distinctive blue col our) which usually put out about 900mA.

Managing Multiple Remotes

The TV in your house is usually connected to multiple sources: a set-top box, DVD or Blu-Ray player, gaming console, media player and a PC. In addition, you probably have remotes for air conditioners, music systems among others. A simple way to solve this issue is to get a universal remote control. If you prefer something basic and inexpensive, consider options from `One for All' (`500 onwards). For more features and compatibility, we recommend Logitech Harmony remotes (`2,300 onwards) -they can be programmed to work with multiple devices. If you have unlisted or unbranded devices, get a universal remote with a learning function. A smart way to get rid of multiple remotes is to use a smartphone with IR emitter. Certain smartphone models from Samsung, LG and HTC come with builtin IR emitters. Intex recently launched a budget smartphone (Aqua Y2) for `4,390 with a similar re mote control feature. All of these smartphones usually come with a preloaded remote con trol app that works with various devices. If you don't have a phone with IR emitter, an elegant option is the Orvibo wiwo-R1 ($33 including shipping from DX.com). This small device is a WiFI enabled universal IR re mote control that you place centrally in your living room. You download the free app on your Android or iOS device, config ure your devices and send commands to it over your existing WiFi network.

Eliminate Vampire Power Drain

Even in standby mode, most devices continue to draw a small amount of power -this is vampire power and what most don't realize is that this small amount of power on a daily basis can increase your power bills by a substantial amount. The simplest way to keep this in check is by making sure that instead of keeping a device in standby, you switch off the mains supply.You can also get a power consumption monitor from DX.com (`1,000) that shows the energy being consumed by any connected device. These monitors have a numeric display that shows energy consumed as well as voltage readings for the connected device. Belkin also has a Conserve Socket that lets you set a time (30 minutes, 3 hour or 6 hour) after which the power is cut-off to the connected device. They also offer a surge protector with called Conserve switch that comes with a wireless remote to switch off all connected devices.

Karan Bajaj & Hitesh Raj Bhagat TOI4MAR15