DLink DWL-900AP won't go 30 ft thru walls.

[DrJeff]

A quickie for you wireless geniuses...

:disgust: My D-Link DWL 900AP access point talks to the laptop with D-Link PCMCIA card (DWL-650+). Problem is that if I go down the stairs adjacent to the computer room, and into the adjacent den, probably less than 30 feet through wood frame and sheet rock walls, the signal strength drops to nothing and it will not connect the internet. I am baffled. There is not much wiring in the way, no microwave radiation interfering, no 2.4 Ghz phone in the house, yet the distance stinks. I bought this bundle with the "150 feet through walls" hype prudently cut in half in my mind, which should still let me roam around outside or in the basement 2 floors away with a decent DSL feed still going strong. But this is ridiculous.

What could be wrong? Do I really have to get a high gain antenna just to reach to the floor below, or run my AP to the floor below via CAT5? Is D-Link junk?

Thanks

 

[skyking]

It would be prudent to move the WAP to the same floor you are going to be using the laptop on. Keep in mind, if you go through the floor or a wall at an angle, it effectively becomes several floors or walls worth of interference. trying to pass a signal through a 4 in. wall at a very shallow angle is like tring to get through a wall that is a couple of feet thick.
If you do decide to drop a cat 5 down, do two runs while you are at it. same amount of work, and you can hook another device directly to your router or switch that way.

 

[DrJeff]

Good idea on the shallow angle. That is precisely what I am asking the signal to do. I could move the WAP or over ride the problem with a high gain antenna, correct? D-Link makes 6dBi and 14 dBi omnidirectional antennae or I could go for a different brand. Any ideas on antennae, good websites that sell the things?

 

[DrJeff]

Also, on Cat5 runs, they can go a long way without degradation of signal, correct? Anyone know a practical distance figure for a single run? That might allow me to drop two floors to the basement and mount one repeater or move the WAP to the basement ceiling to serve the living area of the floor above.

 

[RustyNale]

Originally posted by: DrJeff
Also, on Cat5 runs, they can go a long way without degradation of signal, correct? Anyone know a practical distance figure for a single run? That might allow me to drop two floors to the basement and mount one repeater or move the WAP to the basement ceiling to serve the living area of the floor above.

100 meters ( approx 365 ft) is the max length for cat5 before needing a signal booster. Moving the WAP to the ceiling should help, getting a signal booster will do the same thing.

 

[skyking]

If you plan on using it mostly on one floor, put the WAP on that floor. Unless you are directly over the WAP, you are trying to go through that 2 foot thick wall I mentioned, and floors are worse. I'd mount it high in the same floor you will have the lappy on most of the time.