Ok, i just bought and set up a wireless network in my house today, and am very dissapointed. I didnt go all out, i just got a bassic Linksys setup because it seemed like a good deal. I have our main computer hardlined to the router. I was going to do a wired network, but the part of the house that has out main computer and den is an addition, and is built on a slab, so the only way to run the cable was going to be outside, and it would have been more expensive than this wireless setup. So i decided to go with a wireless, but the problem is reception in my room. I am about 50 feet away from the router and the signal has to pass through 2 exterior walls, neither of which have foil backed insulation, or any electrical wires to deal with. I wasnt expecting full signal, but i wasnt expecting 1 bar either.

My question is, is there anything i can do to improve it? Would a different PCMCIA card help out, or should i just go exchange this for a netgear super G setup? There really isnt anywhere i could move the router to that would help, i think i have it in the best place i can where it travels through the fewest obstacles. Any thoughts?

 

Are you consistently getting only one bar? I've been known to get one bar on occasion and the only thing between my router and computer is the computer itself. Distance is about 15' with near direct line-of-sight.

 

It will occasionally bouce up to 2 bars, and then back to 1 instantly. If i am in the same room as the router, then i get full signal. In the kitchen i get 1 bar because it has to travel through the fridge, in the halway i get 3, and when i get to my room its down to 1 with the occasional 2. Its about 50 foot run, and the way i have it set now it has to travel through 1 window and 1 exterior wall, but something i forgot about is the aluminum siding :pat:

 

How many ghz's is yours? I have an OLD 900mhz and it does about 30 feet through multiple walls. I would assume a newer one would be much better...thus I bet you have some sort of electrical interferance going on with it. Unplug everything in the room and see if it gets better. Does it work well outside? Are the antennas aimed propperly?

 

2.4 GHz, yes it works outside, it works decent througout the rest of the house, im in my living room right now about 30 feet away through a couple interior walls, both of which are plaster on both sides with both electrical and heat ducts running through them. I now think that its the aluminum siding, if i stick the computer out the window the signal jumps to 3-4.

 

It isn't necessarily a cheap alternative, but have you thought about adding one of these:

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...12926&pfp=cat3
At a point somewhere between the router and your most common point of internet access to bend the signal around your exterior walls? This is assuming there is such a point where such a device could be put. I don't imagine a wife, girlfriend, mom, etc. would like one sitting on top of her dining room table

 

Greetings,
2.4 can be tricky. Move the router around a bit and you should see some differences. Sometimes moving the router away from the PC helps alot since there is alot of electrical field around the PC. I find the higher in the room I go, the better the reception.

 

I got a Netgear 2.4 Wireless B/G router a while back. Most of the time it is pretty good, but having everything in one box has it's downsides.

For example, I've wired most of my house for Cat 5, so i could use wired if I had to, but the mobility is better with wireless. That being said, my patchpanel is downstairs in my basement. When I put the router downstairs, my wireless connection really suffers. I only get about 25 feet through floor/walls. So I brought the router to the first level, made a few direct connections and changed some jumpers on the patch panel and have seen a pretty good improvement. I'm getting about 75-80 feet through walls. But with this arrangment, I can't make many of the wall plates hot due to the physical location of the router.

I am likely going the route of getting a separate wireless access point/seperate router again (had this before - Bob is enjoying my access point, still have the router) and add a switch or two so all my jacks can be live. I only have 3 computers and two networkable printers now, but I plan to add some other home automation and surveillance goodies as time goes on.

BTW, when I was having some issues with dropping the line, Verizon (DSL) pointed the finger at the 2.4 Ghz wireless router saying that anyone using a 2.4 Ghz phone would cause it grief. Anyone know if this is fact or fiction?

 

Yes, it is true. I know a few friends of mine who had to buy some older 900mhz phones so their wireless internet would work. all we have in my house is 900mhz and leash phones, that was another reason i went with the wireless, we dont have much that would interfere with it.

I have moved the router everywhere in the addition that i could think of, and i think i have it at the best spot. Right now its a little better with mostly 2 bars and occasionally 1. I had thought of a relay, but with the layout of my house there isnt anywhere i could put it. Its a ranch house, but with aditions. I think 2 bars is gonna be best i can get here in my end of the house, and even though its pretty low, its still a ton faster than my dial up.