My wife has Her office upstairs hooked to our DSL modem/router.It works great. I have my laptop downstairs in the kitchen but signal strength is weak, I loose connection a lot. Can I hook another Modem to the phone line down stairs? I've tried a booster antenna on the modem.
"Can I hook another Modem to the phone line down stairs?" No, you can't. You need another phone line. DSL is a Point-to-point technology. One DSLAM port at the Central Office talks to one endpoint (DSL modem) You need a range booster or a wireless repeater if your signal strength is too weak.
how about two wrt54gl routers? they can be configured ( with appropriate open source firmware ) to speak to each other as repeaters. either that or install a higher gain antenna for both the router and the lappytop.
In addition to dailun and lubricant's replies, see my signature for a couple of methods to extend wireless coverage
I am using the following HWRN2 - Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Router HWABN1 - Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Access Point/Bridge I get full N connectivity with 70-90% signal strength through 2 walls and a floor over a total distance of about 50 feet.