Help, my D-Link 802.11b network keeps losing signal!

[parkbench]

Hey guys,

I recently bought the D-Link Wireless Router 614+ and the D-Link PCI Network Card DWL-520+ (both 802.11b). The router (which is located on the 1st floor of the house and on top of the cable modem) is connected to two computers, 1 is wired, the other is wireless via the 520+ pci card (which is located on the 2nd floor of the house).

I have 256bit encryption enabled with the key set up properly afaik. Link quality is 90-100%, Signal quality is 65-76%. Unfortunately, 3 or 4 times, within a period of 2-3 hours, the connection has been lost, only to come back seconds to minutes later, interrupting downloads.

Is this something wrong with my settings or is this part of the D-Link 802.11b experience? :-(

PS - The wireless card's antenna is kinda touching the monitor plug because they are both occupy the same vertical space.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Move the antenna away from other equipment, or buy an external antenna with a length of coax and place the antenna away from other equipment. Check any 2.4ghz phones you may have and either change channels on the wireless or lose the phone.

 

[parkbench]

The antenna on the wireless pc is not near any equipment, besides the aforementioned Monitor plug, which is unavoidable due to the fact that the AGP card is above the wireless card. I can tilt it sideways however, will that help?

The wireless router can either go next to the pc speakers, on top of the cable modem, on top of a huge printer, or on the floor next to the surge protector.

Suggestions?

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Like I said, a cable with an antenna, there are tons of options available. The router should be as far away as possible from large metal objects or electronic equipment. Other than cabling issues, I don't see why you can't locate it in a manner than would minimize interference.

 

[parkbench]

Thanks for the info

I'm not too familiar with wifi or external antennas, etc. Can you suggest a place to buy this equipment from, maybe a link?

 

[parkbench]

bump, can anyone link me to any information on stronger antennas, etc? this stuff is all new to me!

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Here's a bunch of antennas at the D-Link site. http://www.dlink.com/products/category.asp?cid=1

 

[parkbench]

Thanks so much gunrunner! Which one(s) would you recommend for the setup I've described above? Or if you're too busy, where can I do research to find out for myself?

Thanks guys!

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Well, I'd probably start with one of the omni-directional models, http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=51 appears to be a reasonable choice. It's listed on their website for $50, so you could probably check out www.pricewatch.com and find it for a bit less. It appears that your router has the correct connector for the antenna cable for this model.

If you have the router in a corner of the house and want more gain in that direction, you could consider a directional antenna, this one has a 70 degree pattern that might be suitable. http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=53