Alfa R36 802.11 b/g/N Repeater and Range Extender for AWUS036H

Summary: ideal for power users. Not a good choice for relatively inexperienced users.If you are unsure whether to buy this system, read the documentation on the manufacturer's web site. You can then ask yourself what the chances are that you would be able to understand the documentation and get things to work.Details: It's fascinating to see the mix of positive and negative reviews for this router. I think that when we see an extremely favorable or extremely unfavorable user review of this product, it tells us more about the reviewer than about the product itself.In particular the chief use of this product (in the US at least) would be with the AWUS036H. In other words you purchase both and use them together.First let me say it worked just find out of the box. Why did some reviewers have trouble? I imagine in some cases it is that the router does require a bit of "router experience". Someone who has never configured a router or who is not willing to spend some quality time with the documentation is likely to be disappointed. But a knowledgeable user is likely to get everything to work right out of the box.Let's talk about the usual use case. In the US, the usual use case is that you want to be able to set up your own local wifi network and connect some devices (computers, smart phones, printers) to it. And you want everything connected to the Internet. But for some reason (cost, perhaps, or lack of an available option for connecting to the Internet) you want to be able to make use of an Internet wifi hot spot that is far away. By this I mean so far away that you can't just pick up the wifi where you are. Maybe it is 100 feet away, maybe half a mile a way.So what you do is purchase this router and the AWUS036H with the 7-decibel panel antenna. And if you try pointing the antenna in different directions, hopefully you will get lucky and find a hot spot to connect to. This might be a hot spot operated by a friend or acquaintance who gives you the encryption key in return for helping to pay for their access. Or a free hot spot from a library. Anyway, if all goes well you pick up wifi from somewhere a block or two away, and you use that wifi to construct you own local network that is connected to the Internet.This equipment is the sort of thing that you should bring along on your travels. A year ago I was a guest at "The View", the hotel that looks out over Monument Valley. As a bit of bad luck the only wifi there was in the lobby, and it did not reach the most distant guest rooms. If only I had had this system along with me, I could have picked up the wifi from the lobby and made the connection available in my guest room.Another use case. You check into a hotel and you find out that the internet access is "per device" and costs $9.95 per day. Use the system to connect to the hotel wifi, paying for one device. Then all of your devices can connect to your own hot spot.Another use case. The hotel charges a daily fee for internet in the guest rooms, but makes free wifi available in the public areas. You can figure out the rest.Bu now the unexpected nice feature. This router has a wired LAN port. Why is this helpful? Let's say you are setting up a temporary place where you need to be able to swipe credit cards. And suppose your credit card terminal only connects to the Internet by means of a wired ethernet connection. And suppose the only way you can connect to the Internet is via wifi. Then the easy way to provide a wired ethernet port for the credit card terminal is to use this system. Pick up the wifi using this system, and plug the credit card terminal into the LAN port.You could of course plug an ethernet switch or hub into the router LAN port, and plug multiple devices (printers, credit card terminals, etc.) into the switch or hub.If you are the kind of user who already figured out that you could add an ethernet switch or hub (as mentioned in the previous paragraph) even before I said it, then this system is for you. If on the other hand you aren't familiar with this kind of thing, then I'd guess this system is not for you.

....documentation is minimal and not helpful. I got the R36 to use with the ALFA Alfa 2000mw 2W Waterproof Marine high power Long Range Outdoor 802.11 B, G, N, USB wireless network Wifi Adaptor with Integrated 12dBi Antenna aka the UBDO-NT. Before purchasing both items at the same time, I had read all the reviews here and was concerned about my ability to make the necessary firmware update to the R36 and get the two items communicating with each other. I do not consider myself much of a techie.I downloaded the proper firmware version from the ALFA website and installed it using the recommended Ethernet cable. After installation I could no longer access the R36. An email to ALFA was quickly responded to with the advice to reset the router to the Default setting by:a. Power up the R36 via AC power adapter (12V/1A)b. Press and hold the reset button for 10~15 seconds then release it (the reset button is hidden inside the unit next to the S/N sticker so you need pen tip to press it)c. Use Ethernet cable to connect your PC and R36’s LAN port (the one next to power cord)d. Wait for 20 seconds before login to web management pagee. Open up your browser and enter the configuration URL: http://192.168.2.1f. Enter admin for both user name and passwordWhen I got in, it indicated that it was using the new firmware update. Whew!So then came the challenge of hooking the adapter to the R36 and getting them to talk. That process took a couple more emails to the ALFA techies in Taiwan, who again were quick to respond even though it was on the weekend. Finally got the two devices talking and yes, it does a great job.I got this set-up to use in my RV when we're in parks that offer a wi-fi access point. At our current location, I could barely get the signal during weekdays, but come evening and the weekend when everyone was piling on, it became useless. With the ALFA set-up, I now have a great connection useable anytime.Some other comments:It has occasionally dropped the connection and I have to go back in to reset it.ALFA tech said I recommends using the ethernet cable whenever changing settings in the router. I have tried doing it wirelessly and it worked fine.As I mentioned, the instructions are virtually non-existent and are of very little help. Tech support, however, responded quickly to my queries and helped me through the process.One might expect that two products from the same company that are capable of being used together would come ready to hookup and not require the firmware update.To sum up: great product, great tech support, but lousy documentation.