Periodic disruption of wireless

[Pulsar]

Hey guys,

Just started using wireless and I was hoping some of you have seen this symptom before. Every 2 to 3 minutes I get a short but nasty spike in response time.

It looks likes this when I run a constant ping

1ms
1ms
1ms
1ms
1ms
1ms
140ms
100ms

then 3 minutes later, the same thing.

I'm not sure where to even start looking for the cause.

 

[JackMDS]

Is there any power saving feature that kicks in after 3minutes, or the Screen saver etc. starts at this time?

 

[Pulsar]

Nope, not that I'm aware of. I currently have my power scheme set to "always on" - and this happens while I'm actually using the network as well with steady traffic. It happens with no traffic as well.

My setup is

Modem -> Router -> Voip + 2 wired computers + 1 wireless computer

For some reason my signal strength is bouncing from "low" to "excellent" - back and forth.

I have a Buffalo HP router and my computer is 8 feet above the router - router in the basement and computer on the floor directly above it.

The outer has dd-wrt flashed onto it and I have QOS turned on for the voip - but the phone isn't in use when this is happening.

 

[Pulsar]

I have also noticed that I am getting an annoying balloon that says "Wireless Network is now connected" that keeps coming up every once in a while. I suspect I'm losing connectivity, but when I check "duration" it shows it's been connected for hours.

 

[nweaver]

It's interference. Try changing channels, stick to 1, 6, or 11. Could be microwaves, 2.4 Ghz phones. odd power stuff, who knows. It's so hard to diagnose wireless with anything short of a spectrum analyzer.

 

[JackMDS]

In addition to mweaver advise make sure that the SSID is On.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: nweaver
It's interference. Try changing channels, stick to 1, 6, or 11. Could be microwaves, 2.4 Ghz phones. odd power stuff, who knows. It's so hard to diagnose wireless with anything short of a spectrum analyzer.

yep, classic sign of interferenacne or noise.

You can't control the air. Also don't believe the "excellant" or "very good" or the bars. They lie.

If it is EXACTLY 3 minutes or 180 seconds that might help you locate the source. But it has to be precise and exactly 180 seconds, not a guess. Measured with a stopwatch.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Pulsar
I have also noticed that I am getting an annoying balloon that says "Wireless Network is now connected" that keeps coming up every once in a while. I suspect I'm losing connectivity, but when I check "duration" it shows it's been connected for hours.

yet another sign of interferrance.