Best products from r/openwrt

I have a GLI OpenWRT router I bought that does this out of the box with a custom interface from the manufacturer. You can still get into the Luci interface to set it up however you like.

GL-MT300A-Ext, smart mini router, 128MB RAM, MicroSD card, 300Mbps WiFi, OpenWrt pre-installed, Repeater, Tethering, OpenVPN
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EWCO7CS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Jmr7ybWXW1BGQ

Edit: I didn't read the whole post! Yeah I think it will be totally adequate. It's a really cool device. They have a model that will use Tor in addition to OpenVPN if you'd like as well.

>Any suggestions as to what I should buy?

UAP-AC-Lite: https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Lite-UAPACLITEUS/dp/B015PR20GY

While your internet isn't very fast you still want to have decent LAN transfer speeds. I highly recommend the UniFi gear, it's solid hardware and the central management is great.

>Presumably I'll just need to give them all the same network name and password, and unique channels, and the devices should choose the best access point automatically? Is there anything else I'd need to do?

Nope, that covers it!

I got the Buffalo WZR-HP-AG300H while in Japan

Looks like there is support for https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/buffalo/wzr-600dhp2
Amazon still sell it https://www.amazon.co.jp/BUFFALO-AOSS2-300%E3%83%97%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B9300Mbps-%E7%84%A1%E7%B7%9ALAN%E8%A6%AA%E6%A9%9F-WZR-600DHP2/dp/B00CDJNMRY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504983015&sr=8-1&keywords=WZR-600DHP2

Edit: Looks like you have to flash it through serial or tftp according to forum posts

What is your budget?

Last year I purchased the D-Link DIR-890L which works with DD-WRT.

It works great. The WiFi is 10x better than the 880L that I previously owned.

Have you considered a Netgear EX3700 or EX3800 (basically an EX3700 with outlet power pass-through) for traveling? However, neither has a USB port. Another option might be the N.O.D.E. Nano Server v2, since power inefficiencies don't matter when plugged into mains.

Or maybe a bit more sloppy, but technically better solution to just get one of the universal power adapters with USB built-in such as this, a short USB cable, and use the appropriate GL-iNet rubber-banded to it.

Given your price range and the limited number of travel routers with battery that can run a variant of openWrt, e.g. HooToo HT-TM01, you might want to think of two components instead of one. For example, coupling the GL.iNet AR150 with a USB battery of your choice. The AR150 has 64MB flash making it pretty easy to customize.

Quite a clever idea! I'm very familiar with linux, though I never really thought about it.... openWRT is running a small linux kernel, right? Off the top of your head, ever SSH'd into it?

I'm using this: https://www.amazon.com/GL-iNet-GL-AR750S-Ext-pre-Installed-Cloudflare-Included/dp/B07GBXMBQF

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DBS5Z0W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Best bang for the buck I've found so far this year. The microSD add-on really gives this small package some extra omph.

If you're interested in a commercial solution that's available now, check out the IQrouter from www.evenroute.com. They install OpenWrt on a TP-Link router, and then add additional software that automates the rate checking solution, I believe each time the line comes up.

It was designed by a bunch of folks who suffer from crummy DSL circuits in their home town, so they have plenty of experience. See it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/IQrouter-IQR3600BDL-Self-Optimizing-improved-quality/dp/B01GW4V92A/ref=sr_1_2

If you don't care about WiFi, I personally have been very happy with the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X Advanced for about $60. I wanted Gigabit, hardware NAT, and didn't want wireless (I have wifi accesspoints that I manage internally and separately).

• travel router for the register, printer and handhelds
  
• main router for staff with guest wifi for customers
  
  easy
  
  i have this travel router https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073TSK26W/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_T8cCCb3M1F8WK
  
  search for openwrt travel router it's available from many outlets

I just bought the Netgear X4S (R7800) for work. It has OpenWRT/LEDE support, though it's outside your price range in CAD. Just another option to consider.

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UAP-AC-LITE-802-11ac-Gigabit-Dual-Radio/dp/B01DRM6MLI/ref=sr_1_1 Works equally well with the vendor's firmware or OpenWRT.

Similar to the problems I had with the Xiaomi MiWiFi Mini and Chaos Calmer. It is all good now with LEDE 17.

For me the 5G band is essential to link several routers without using all the bandwidth. I also like the 16G flash, gives more room install apps and stuff.

The WR841 is $83.49 on Amazon

Where do you get it for $20 ?

buy the trendnet tew-823dru from trendnet on amazon. they're refurbished but $28 shipped with decent specs


https://openwrt.org/toh/hwdata/trendnet/trendnet_tew-823dru


https://amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00MPDPH5I/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

It says it's V1.1R but it's the same and works with OpenWRT

Ask a family member for this: https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985/

you mean this one: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AC1200-Wireless-Gigabit-Router/dp/B00JZFG6QS ?

I haven't tried VPN, so I can't comment on that. Travel routers in general tend to have pretty wimpy CPUs though, so VPN encryption is certainly something I can imagine them struggling to do at reasonable speeds.

However, I am using a USB WiFi adapter without issue. I started out with an Edimax EW-8911UN nano adapter, and later changed to this figuring it would get me better reception with that big antenna:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SZEOLG/

I do always have several USB extension cords in my backpack, so if I wanted to I could move the USB adapter away from the router's internal WiFi adapter to try to avoid interference, but so far I've never bothered because it seemed to work just fine.

I also recently got a cheap dual-band adapter so that I can uplink to 5 Ghz networks. I haven't put much time into it yet, but in my initial attempts OpenWrt seemed to run into problems scanning for wifi networks with it.

I wanted to go with an AC adapter, but there seems to only be one chipset that everyone is using, and that chipset seems to have terrible Linux support (not in the kernel so you have to compile it in yourself)...

I seriously doubt that there's enough power for two USB drives. But you'll be able to make everything work with a powered USB hub.

-edit-
That link is for a 2.5A powered hub. If you've got older (or more power hungry) drives, you may want to get one with more power.

A slightly cheaper option is the WRT32x - it's the same hardware as the WRT3200ACM (only the flash layout differs) and it's supported by OpenWRT. There's a price difference because the WRT32x OEM firmware is quite limited but that's of no concern as you won't be using it.