Problem with pc in kitchen

[LABachlr]

I have a client who has four computers in the house:

1 desktop in the bedroom
1 desktop in the kitchen
2 laptops

The laptops don't have any issues at all, but for some reason, the desktops do. Originally, each desktop had a linksys PCI wireless adapter. Those did not get great signal at all. Both PC's had issues with the signal. And when the bedroom desktop was able to connect, it would kick the kitchen one off.

And even when the router was in the kitchen, about 20 feet away, the desktop in the kitchen would drop connection a lot. They replaced the router twice (Linksys WRT54G), but are still having the same issues.

And again, the laptops don't really have issues in the kitchen, at least mine didn't. They never really tested the latops in the kitchen.

The thing is, they do have 2.4GHz cordless phones all over the house. Will that make a difference? I know that they say that it may affect the signal, but I'm not sure why it would just affect it in the kitchen.

Does the microwave affect the signal as well? Even when it is not being used?

I suggested that he unplug all of his cordless phones, and then try the signal. Haven't talked to him yet to find out the results.

I did have them replace the PCI wireless adapters with USB wireless adapters. They were able to get much better signal, but it still runs really slow. At least the one in the kitchen does. I guess the one in the bedroom is fine. And I know that it is the wireless connection, as I had them hard connect the desktop in the kitchen to the router, and it ran fine.

Any suggestions?

 

[nweaver]

Go to A band radios, or replace the phones. The microwave is sheilded (somewhat) and uses a wide spectrum wave, not focused on the 2.4 Ghz range, like the phones. 802.11 B/G use the 2.4 spectrum, and you will have spotty performance it with those phones.

To check this, I would move the AP or the desktop to the same room, and check the hardware (i.e. no range, nothing between the 2 devices, no security/encryption/key managment). If you have good bandwidth/signal, then add your encryption/security and test again. If it's still working, move the AP and try again.

 

[LABachlr]

I'll check and see if disconnecting the phones helped. He said he was going to try it last night.

And he actually did have the router in the same room as the desktop in the kitchen. It was about 15 feet away. He was getting 100% signal, but it was browsing really slowly.

 

[ktwebb]

.11a WLAN gear uses 5 to 5.3 Ghz. 5.8 phones are not really "a band" phones though .11a does have bridging equipment up in that range. I would personally go down to 900 Mhz phones rather than up to the 5 Ghz spectrum but that is personal preference. Microwaves won't affect .11g or .11b gear. if they do you have serious issues with the microwave or the worst WLAN gear on the market. The phones on the other hand can definitely cause you issue, especially if they are frequency hopping phones. There are some direct sequence 2.4 Ghz phones and you should be able to change the channel on those.

Signal strength is not as important as signal quality, or signal to noise ratio. SNR. You can have 100% strength but if your SNR is poor your association will match it. Conversely you can have moderate to weak signal strength but if the SNR numbers are good you should have a decent link. I wouldn't worry about moving the PC or network gear. Just unplug the phones for a period of time and hammer the laptops/PC's. Pretty easy way to see if that is your problem right?

 

[LABachlr]

Cool. Thanks. Actually, they just got the high gain antennas for their Linksys router, and it works really well now. Also, I reformatted the drive, because they were having major issues. The deal was, they were running WinXP SP2 with an outdated BIOS. Plus, Dell had them on the phone uninstalling and reinstalling things to fix their issues. So who knows what went on. Periodically, a message stating "Windows has just recovered from a serious error", or something of the like.

Anyway, everything is running beautifully now since all that was done. Thanks for the info, though.

And btw, the phones remain. I guess it's just how their place is constructed. They needed stronger signal. And the main reason why it was browsing slow was on account of the cache an cookies needing to be cleared in Firefox. Once that was done, everything sped up!