D-Link Wireless Router: I hope it get's better than this...

[Caveman]

Maybe my novice expectations are too high. I'm hoping that someone with some experience can help me out

I was all excited to get Wi-Fi up and running at home. Bought a D-Link DI-624 AirPlusXtremeG 4 port wireless router w/ a matching DWL-G650 cardbus adapter to slide into a laptop. Cable modem signal is fed to the WAN port on the Router and the computer is pugged into one of the 4 ports. The laptop is a Compaq X1050 (1.4 GHz Centrino). I've disabled the built in 802.11b wi-fi in the Laptop. Main hardwired desktop and the wireless router is in an upstairs room. I have no 2.4 GHz devices in my house that I know of (phones) and the nearest appliance to the router is the desktop computer that is about 3 feet away. Initial tests don't have any incription, WPA, etc enabled; trying to run "lean and mean first to get the bugs out". All the firmware and drivers are the latest version.

I've established a Super G "connection" between the wired computer (a desktop) and the wireless computer (the laptop).

But... It seems like a "bad connection" based on what the D-Link utility reports for "signal strength". The highest I've ever seen it get is 50% and that's when I've taken the laptop downstairs and I'm below the wireless router on the floor above me. Upstairs, with the laptop in the same room as the router I get about 20-30%. Signal Tx rate varies between about 10 and 50 Mbps. Max Tx throughput is supposed to be 108 Mbps and I haven't even been able to get 1/2 of this in what I'd consider to be "ideal conditions". Of note is the fact that I can watch streaming video through the wireless connection from Yahoo's music video section...

So, what's going on? Do I have a defective Router or are my expectations too high? Is this as good as it gets? I expected to see Tx rates and signal strength rates at least in the 90's under ideal conditions.

Any ideas, thoughts, or comments are appreciated. I'm cross posting in the Networking forum for more and varied exposure to pulse the folks that don't hit "General Hardware".

 

[NokiaDude]

First, how old is your house? Sometimes some houses have walls that act as barriers for wireless signal to travel through, it seems like something is seriously affecting your signal. Second, have you tried to adjust the anttena on the cards? Sometime if you tweak it it'll improve reception. And third, do you have WEP or anything like that enabled? I know that some router cut performance in half for WEP. BTW, can you watch streaming videos if you hook up your laptop with a cable?

 

[Caveman]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
First, how old is your house? Sometimes some houses have walls that act as barriers for wireless signal to travel through, it seems like something is seriously affecting your signal. Second, have you tried to adjust the anttena on the cards? Sometime if you tweak it it'll improve reception. And third, do you have WEP or anything like that enabled? I know that some router cut performance in half for WEP. BTW, can you watch streaming videos if you hook up your laptop with a cable?

House is about 3 years old and has some extra metal corner bracing in a few places but no more really than a standard house. I don't know how to adjust the card antenna... I thought the card is the antenna. I have experimented with changing the orientation of the wireless router card with respect to the adapter card with no real change in signal. No WEP, encryption, etc enabled right now since I'm debugging the "basic system" first.

 

[JBT]

Try a different firm ware without the "SUPER G" many people are complaing about it over at dslreports.com or check the dlink forum over there for tweaks or way just to get the stupid thing to work