Wireless Networking 101

[cmassa]

hoping someone can help out here cause im a little stumped. basically, the problem is that i cannot chain 2 wireless routers together-- heres my setup:

static ip
|
modem
|
Gentoo Box
|
Wireless Router
(cabled) | | | (wireless)
gentoo desktop | XP laptop
|
| (wireless)
another floor in my house gets good signal in one small area-- so ive had this other machine there XP box
but id like to put another router
in its place.
so it ould look like:
Wireless router 2
| |
cabled device wireless device x2

however, i have more devices that i wanted to connect, via both cable and wireless on the lower floor that gets signal in one area. i got a decent deal on a wireless router today thinking that i could set it in this area and increase coverage to include the lower floor. the problem is that the 2nd wireless router doesnt seem to communicate to the other wireless router (the one connected to the modem) unless i cable them together. if i do that i can access both routers without problems and ping out through a utility in the 2nd router. (so it seems configured correctly-- like its using the first router as the gateway and its able to get out without using the WAN port)

but as soon as i unplug them i can no longer ping the router. the first router is 192.168.0.1-- and dhcp is running form ...2 to ...192

i have the second router's ip set to 192.168.0.193,(no dhcp) and like i said its able to ping out and use the first router as the gateway when they're cabled, but it drops off and cant be pinged when i remove the cable. i have the routers within 2 feet of each other, so it cant be signal strength--

(should the ip of the second router be in the dhcp pool on the first router? i can reserve it if its an issue of the 1st router assigning it elsewhere)

i thought i would have no problem using the wireless router as just an access point, but 4 hours later its clear i was wrong. if anyone can give me any direction id be very grateful--

thanks!

[cmassa]

cmon- someone has to know how to configure 2 wireless routers to play nice...

[CHAOSACES]

Unless your trying to configure more than 4 wireless systems, why not just get a wireless signal booster? It acts like a dummy access point, without taking up an ip address, and passes the signal along further.
I think that using 2 routers, especially if they're made by different companies, might conflict, becuase they're trying to broadcast over the same wireless frequency. You'd have to play around with their broadcast settings so they operate on oppisite sides of the spectrum. You would also need to do the same with your various pc access points, essentially setting up two separite networks for each respective router. And keeping them close together won't boost your signal anyway.