[US] TrendNet TEW-811DRU AC1200 Router $20 till 7/20

[mat]

When you put the MX4 on did you remove the double sided tape entirely? I'm not an expert with the stuff...just ordered some off ebay...also how do you determine how much to apply? Do you have a pic that shows how you tapped into the power to supply the fan?

Yes I did. My usual routine is to peel off what I can, then a drop or two of WD40 if needed to get all the glue off. Then wipe it with some alcohol (degrease it). Then a tiny dab of thermal paste, just enough to cover the chip when compressed (or super glue ;p ). Not rocket science, too little is better than too much in this case, but either will be fine. Don't be afraid to pull the heat sink off to check coverage..

I don't have a pic, but grabbed one off of dd-wrt that shows the back side of the circuit board. I added the + and - connections I soldered to ( power plug input, bottom left corner ), but be sure and check the polarity with a meter.

 

[Rudi Pittman]

Yes I did. My usual routine is to peel off what I can, then a drop or two of WD40 if needed to get all the glue off. Then wipe it with some alcohol (degrease it). Then a tiny dab of thermal paste, just enough to cover the chip when compressed (or super glue ;p ). Not rocket science, too little is better than too much in this case, but either will be fine. Don't be afraid to pull the heat sink off to check coverage..

I don't have a pic, but grabbed one off of dd-wrt that shows the back side of the circuit board. I added the + and - connections I soldered to ( power plug input, bottom left corner ), but be sure and check the polarity with a meter.

I really appreciate the effort you went to...just to clarify I don't need to short any pins....just the power connections. I'll have to wait on the fan mod till I can acquire a hole saw...no harbor freight in my sleepy little town but there's one about 40 miles away and I'll just have to plan a trip. Was coming back to factory from dd-wrt as easy as just flashing the .factory bin file or were there additional steps? I thought i would try the latest dd-wrt before adding the thermal paste so I could do before/after temps with latest beta.

 

[mat]

I really appreciate the effort you went to...just to clarify I don't need to short any pins....just the power connections. I'll have to wait on the fan mod till I can acquire a hole saw...no harbor freight in my sleepy little town but there's one about 40 miles away and I'll just have to plan a trip. Was coming back to factory from dd-wrt as easy as just flashing the .factory bin file or were there additional steps? I thought i would try the latest dd-wrt before adding the thermal paste so I could do before/after temps with latest beta.

No shorting.. no. That's something from dd-wrt for setting up a serial interface I think. And yes, back to factory was a simple point and click type thing...

You could probably fine something on ebay, hole saw wise. But if you've never been to Harbor Freight, be sure and have lots of cash. Your cart will fill up fast on all the cheap (OMG, Look how cheap that is, lol), stuff. Before you know it, you've got $500 bucks in your cart. You should subscribe on their site and wait for whatever you want to go on sale. The great thing about cheap tools is that they can be used as a hammer if need be.... ;p

 

[Rudi Pittman]

No shorting.. no. That's something from dd-wrt for setting up a serial interface I think. And yes, back to factory was a simple point and click type thing...

You could probably fine something on ebay, hole saw wise. But if you've never been to Harbor Freight, be sure and have lots of cash. Your cart will fill up fast on all the cheap (OMG, Look how cheap that is, lol), stuff. Before you know it, you've got $500 bucks in your cart. You should subscribe on their site and wait for whatever you want to go on sale. The great thing about cheap tools is that they can be used as a hammer if need be.... ;p

Ironically I'm already on their mailing list because every time we drove to florida we'd stop at one on our route and I'd have my handful of coupons. The one closer was only recently built so I have not seen it yet. Yeah they've already gotten me a few times on various things but I still get good use out of the $39 pancake air compressor I purchased years ago for my car tires etc. If it was closer I'd have an unending supply of flashlights, tape measures and the other promo's. Add in the 20% off 1 item and a 3% back on "hardware stores" credit card and I'm all set.

 

[FixIt1]

I modified an old iMac northbridge heat sink added TIM. Dropped the temp from 85-90c idle to 72.5-73c on load @1600MHz with side cover on.

 

[Jetster]

It's good to see this thread still going. I should probably rename it

 

[Rudi Pittman]

I modified an old iMac northbridge heat sink added TIM. Dropped the temp from 85-90c idle to 72.5-73c on load @1600MHz with side cover on.
View attachment 72984 View attachment 72986

1600mhz? You overclocked it that high? It's 800mhz by default yes? Did you have to drill new holes to make them fit? (I assume so since I see unused openings).

 

[Rudi Pittman]

It's good to see this thread still going. I should probably rename it

Well if it helps it's STILL $20 at newegg.

 

[Jetster]

Well if it helps it's STILL $20 at newegg.

I saw that

 

[hat]

Not for me... says 44.99

 

[Rudi Pittman]

Not for me... says 44.99

It's sold out. The prices now are from third parties.

 

[newtekie1]

Ironically I'm already on their mailing list because every time we drove to florida we'd stop at one on our route and I'd have my handful of coupons. The one closer was only recently built so I have not seen it yet. Yeah they've already gotten me a few times on various things but I still get good use out of the $39 pancake air compressor I purchased years ago for my car tires etc. If it was closer I'd have an unending supply of flashlights, tape measures and the other promo's. Add in the 20% off 1 item and a 3% back on "hardware stores" credit card and I'm all set.

You can order everything you need off their website, you can even use the coupons for 20% off and free items. Just put the free item in your cart and put in the coupon code and it becomes free!

 

[Rudi Pittman]

You can order everything you need off their website, you can even use the coupons for 20% off and free items. Just put the free item in your cart and put in the coupon code and it becomes free!

While that will work when placing larger order's I guess it really doesn't to pay $6.99 minimum shipping on a $9.99 hole saw.

 

[newtekie1]

While that will work when placing larger order's I guess it really doesn't to pay $6.99 minimum shipping on a $9.99 hole saw.

True.

 

[Rudi Pittman]

Here is a quick followup. I opened up the router today and added some artic silver 5 to the cpu. It's currently running at 66c but I still have the cover off. I upgraded to the most recent beta which I listed above (03/06/2016) and it appears 5ghz is supported now. I didn't put any TIM on the 2nd heatsink...not sure if it mattered.


Picked up a hole saw but I'm going to need to find a different fan as the one I had is to large. I didn't realize it was as small and thin as it was.

 

[Kursah]

Nice, mine has been re-purposed from shelf paper weight to my quick lab/hotel router. Works excellent in those cases.

Wasn't the best AP, but for $20 it does its current tasks quite nicely when I need a quick working wireless router. I'll have to try out the new beta...the last beta was pretty damn good too. I don't think I'd pay more than $20 for this device tho!

 

[newtekie1]

I upgraded to the most recent beta which I listed above (03/06/2016) and it appears 5ghz is supported now.

I'm running mine on the build from 1/25/16(r28942) and it worked with 5GHz just fine. It didn't when I first flashed, but you just have to tell the router to reboot from the administration tab and 5GHz starts working.

 

[Rudi Pittman]

Anyone found a decent "upgrade" for the heatsink on ebay?

 

[Jetster]

Its back

http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=Homepage_SS-_-P3_33-156-451-_-05272016&Index=3

 

[mat]

Its back

http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=Homepage_SS-_-P3_33-156-451-_-05272016&Index=3

Still going strong on the first one here. With the second one loaded with my setting and ready if/when needed....

 

[newtekie1]

I finally got around to doing the antenna mod on one of these. I bought the kit off Amazon for $9. This isn't the exact one I bought, but close enough. The finally result I'm very pleased with. It makes a night and day difference in range. I went from getting a single bar of signal strength one floor up from the router, and having a hard time getting connected, to having 4 bars and no problem at all connecting.

Here is an overview of it all installed:

I drilled the first hole centered on the router, but that led to problems getting the antenna mount in the hole. It was hitting the screw. So I had to actually go back with the drill, and from the inside drill down at a angle. This allowed the antenna mount to slide in to the hole then I could straighten it and the nut holds in in place straight. The second antenna I learned from my mistake and drilled the hole further away from the board. It looks kind of odd not being centered, but I can live with it. If I was to do it again, I'd drill them both off center like the 2nd one.

Here is a close up of the one I had problems with. You can see how it is resting right on that screw.

Anyone found a decent "upgrade" for the heatsink on ebay?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835708006

That one might be a good replacement, but might require some modification. But being more expensive than the router itself kind of sucks... But Mmmmm that copper.

But this guy should work too, again might require a little modification: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminium-H...919364?hash=item1c349efe84:g:YPEAAOSwK7FWhKfZ

It has to be better than that pot metal garbage they used originally.

 

[Kursah]

If be curious to see before and after signal testing at certain ranges and locations with a and without line of site.

You have any wireless network detection apps on your phone? I bet you do!

 

[mat]

It has to be better than that pot metal garbage they used originally.

Looks good. But I get great range, as is on a single floor. At least as good as a dd-wrt jacked up wr54g with it's external antennas. So I don't think I could call them garbage.

Wonder if you'll see any improvement with dd-wrt and a jacked up output. Because I didn't with the stock internal. Or at least not enough to justify running it extra hard..

 

[jboydgolfer]

I saw this router on ne this am,and the reviews are dogshit..are you guys saying its a good buy? Cuz i was curious,since the start of this thread last year...and since its on sale again,i thought f it,maybe il get it.

 

[mat]

I saw this router on ne this am,and the reviews are dogshit..are you guys saying its a good buy? Cuz i was curious,since the start of this thread last year...and since its on sale again,i thought f it,maybe il get it.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy two of them again. But things do change sometimes. So the one you buy today may be a whole different animal. But for $20 bucks, whats to lose...