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Message |
    
MM
Citizen
Username: Melandmike
Post Number: 87
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 6:08 pm: | 
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Can someone help me out? We have our main computer on our 2nd floor in our office. We have Verizon DSL and we have a wireless router. Signal strength on the 1st floor and attic were almost always "very low" and we got bumped off the internet or had no signal so often that we bought a Linksys signal booster. We do get better reception on the 1st floor (not always great) but the attic is still a huge problem: sometimes we get "good" signal strength and other times we get no signal at all. It's about 50/50, making use of thelaptop in the attic (my husband's office) very frustrating. Is this because the house is older? Do we need a computer person to come out and evaluate the situation (and if so, any recommendations)? Thanks. |
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1803
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 7:09 pm: |
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Hmm. First, don't equate signal strength with a good wireless connection - even a 'low' strength signal can be just fine, provided that it is not interfered with... unfortunately, in an older house (like mine) you're probably getting a lot of signal scatter, which is the REAL culprit.
Just a thought - it might not be too dificult to run an ethernet cable from the 2nd floor to the attic, at which point your wireless issue becomes a moot point. If that's the route you take, I think there have been recommendations for people who can do low-voltage wiring on MOL... an electrician could certainly do it, but it might be prohibitively expensive.
What wireless router do you have? (Make and Model would be helpful).
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vermontgolfer
Supporter
Username: Vermontgolfer
Post Number: 477
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 9:51 pm: |
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MM
One suggestion I can make is DON'T get a second 'extender'. I did that and it literally took me about 6 hours on the phone with tech support to get either of them to work.
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Monsterİ
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 3853
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 10:13 pm: |
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attic> wireless router> angle antennas 30 to 45 degrees pointing away from each other> position near window (preferably on side of house with the most wireless use)
second floor> extender> repeat as above except put booster on opposite side of house> if needed position booster closer towards router side of house, if you can keep near window
check signal coverage. |
MM
Citizen
Username: Melandmike
Post Number: 88
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 10:14 am: |
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Case- when I get home tonight I'll post makes and models of router and booster. Any way (besides ethernet cable) that you know of to reduce scatter?
Monster- a few follow up questions:
1. In your scenario, do you mean moving the main computer to the attic? My understanding is that the router has to be attached to the main computer. Am I correct? In our case, since we have no phone jack in the attic and we use DSL, we can not move the main compuer to the attic. I have considered getting a phone jack installed in the attic but am concerned then that the 1st floor will be 2 full floors from the main computer, thus making our signal issues there even worse!
Also, in your scenario:
attic> wireless router> angle antennas 30 to 45 degrees pointing away from each other> position near window (preferably on side of house with the most wireless use). What are the 2 things w/ antennas? only the router (in this scenario) has an antenna. Or do you mean the antennas on the booster? i have to check tonight and see how many antennas (antennae?) there are.}
second floor> extender> repeat as above except put booster on opposite side of house> if needed position booster closer towards router side of house, if you can keep near window . Are you recommending a booster on the floor WITHOUT the router?? |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 14834
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 10:30 am: |
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Nothing needs to be connected to the router. And there is no such thing as a main computer. The router has no idea what that is. There is no computer that acts as a traffic cop on the network. They are all peers.
The brand and model wireless adaptors you have in your computers might matter. Some models might receive better than others. So please list the adaptors you are using.
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Politicalmon
Citizen
Username: Politicalmon
Post Number: 187
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 10:39 am: |
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Scrap the Linksys trash and get a 802.11n or pre n router, I would recommend Belkin since I've installed 5 at this point that use the Airgo chipset and provide true MIMO - they all rock. I have 3 floors and have been using the pre N - MIMO system for almost a year without issue. I receive 100 Mb/sec wireless communications on my network regardless of where I am in the house or in my year (1/2 acre) or even in my neighbors yard. You will always have intermittent problems with the other systems - moving furniture, as human density traffic fluxuates (water absorbs the RF signal) even the change of seasons has an effect on the older systems. MIMO resolves this by using an intelligent antenna array - it may cost slightly more but its well worth the elimination of the headaches and guesswork. |
Monsterİ
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 3860
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 11:50 am: |
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On the other hand I have a Buffalo WBR2-G54 wireless router (no external antenna) in my attic and get full coverage throughout my house, and yard, and into my neighbors house and yard.
I re-read your post, you have a Linksys booster which sets on top of your router, right?
So the scenario I posted above won't work, I was thinking that you have a repeater which isn't connected directly to the router, also assumed that it probably has at least one external antenna.
I'll just wait until you tell us exactly what you have. |
Glock 17
Citizen
Username: Glock17
Post Number: 1297
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 12:13 pm: |
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Easy fix to that problem...stop getting ripped off for DSL and get cable. |
MM
Citizen
Username: Melandmike
Post Number: 89
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 4:24 pm: |
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Ok, here'w what we have:
1. Desktop Dell ~ 2yrs old. I call this the "main" computer.
2. Dell Inspiron 1150 Laptop (~1 1/2 yrs old)
3. Linksys wirless 2.4 GHz router- model WRT54G v.4- hooked up to desktop; it has 2 antennae; it is placed near a window but this window is on the opposite side of the attic than where the laptop is. There is no window "under" the attic laptop in the room that the desktop is in.
4. Linsys wirless G-range expander, model WRE54G- it has one antenna; it is currently plugged into wall in the room w/ the desktop that is closest to being "under" the laptop in the attic.
Any further ideas? |
Glock 17
Citizen
Username: Glock17
Post Number: 1308
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 4:38 pm: |
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See above ^^ |
Monsterİ
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 3882
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 7:31 pm: |
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try this
First turn off WEP on all computers if used, and then turn off the computers, then do the following,
1) Turn off WEP on your router, & expander
2) Plug the WRE54G in the same room as your router
3) Hit autoconfig button
4) Browse to 192.168.1.240 and make sure the settings match your router
5) Change the WRE54G SSID to something DIFFERENT than your router *
6) Turn WEP back on, on the WRE54G
7) Turn WEP on, on the router
8) Move expander to desired location, turn on computers and configure WEP, check signal strength.
*SSID change, this way you know that you are actually connecting (or trying to connect) to the wireless expander, and not the router.
If you can move the router to the attic it will afford you the best coverage, expander on second floor (or first if it picks up signal) on the opposite side of the house will help to give you maximum coverage.
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Shanabana
Citizen
Username: Shanabana
Post Number: 657
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 10:11 am: |
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I think MM calls the desktop the main computer because s/he is not using wireless on that one.
I'm piggy backing here...
I'm not willing to ditch my fairly new Linksys router, but I've been having similar trouble. I have two antenae and can try what Mosnter suggests, as the router is already in the attic. I'm wondering if it's worth it at all to get a "repeater" (what exactly is a repeater?) to get service everywhere, so I don't have to do the laptop-on-the-stairs routine. What's the best one to get? |
Smarty Jones
Citizen
Username: Birdstone
Post Number: 864
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 4, 2006 - 2:23 pm: |
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How do you turn WEP on/off? |
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1833
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 4, 2006 - 4:04 pm: |
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Range Extenders -
This is my first choice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833124037
I just think this one is cool because its very low profile:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833122086
WEP -
This is the nicest 'how to' I could find:
http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/support/wireless/wirelesswep.html
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Smarty Jones
Citizen
Username: Birdstone
Post Number: 868
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 5, 2006 - 7:48 am: |
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Interesting....when I walk through the 'How To', for some reason all elements within my Windows XP that would normally point to something saying "Wireless Networks" are missing....is there a reason my XP would be any different from anyone elses XP? Because of this, I cannot do the how-to beyond step 5.
Any suggestions? |
Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 1570
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 5, 2006 - 9:34 am: |
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One wireless router is usually enough to cover the regular Maplewood house. If you get a signal, check for what might be disturbing your signal.
- Make sure the router is not to close to any computer, computers often create a lot of signal noise and can interfere with the router signal.
- Do you have a cordless phone in the house? If yes, make sure that it's using a different frequency spectrum then your wireless network. (2.4 Ghz for 802.11g)
- See if changing the channel that the router is using makes a difference, if it's using 6 try 1 or 11.
I used to lose the connection everytime we used our cordless phone, changing the channel fixed it. |
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