What router for more signal strength?

[RedFiveSW]

I have a piece of junk lowend netgear router. It has trouble connecting to wireless PCs only 20 feet and 30 feet away through one wall. I'm sure there could be some interference, and I've tried the changing the channels. I suspect that I need a router with more signal strength, or maybe I need the "N" instead of the the "g" I have now.

There are so many routers out there. Can you help with a recommendations? I just want something that works. I don't want to mess with firmware.

If you go "N" Can you recommend a matching PCI card for the PCs?

 

[imagoon]

start here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2274969&enterthread=y

Make sure it is actually signal and not 2.4 ghz band saturation. N may not "fix it"

 

[RedFiveSW]

Thanks. I have a laptop I can set in the same place as the wired PCs, and they pick up the signal okay and get internet. THe wired PCs connect, but get "limited local only" and not internet. If I move them within 6 feet, I get a full connection. Why would the laptop work but not the wired PCs in the same spot?

 

[RedFiveSW]

I used one of the sniffers in the other thread. The wired PC gets 70% signal strength while the laptop gets 100% in the exact same spot. I have a wireless PCI card in the PC, with a giant Dlink antenna attached.

Why is 70% not good enough to complete the connection to the internet?

 

[imagoon]

Again it might not be signal. What you describe is interference. Cetain cards are more sensitive to this than others. More than likely you should change channels and hope that the others are not being drowned out also. Microwaves, baby monitors wireless security systems and anything else that uses the 2.4ghz band are known to screw signals horribly.

 

[JackMDS]

http://www.ezlan.net/wbars.html