Wireless signal having a hard time going more than 10 feet in my townhouse...

[aphex]

I have my cable modem/wifi router/vonage under the stairs in the closet.

My desktop upstairs is wirelessly connected to the router, a total distance of less than 10 feet or so almost straight up at an angle.

Any idea how i can improve my signal? The desktop keeps losing connection.

The whole house is made out of wood, so i wouldnt anticipate a problem with the signal travelling upstairs.

 

[irwincur]

Move the router. I have worked with enough wireless to tell you that sometimes problems really do not make much sense. Also moving the antenna(s) may help. My router at home will drop connection with my server if I move the left antenna an inch. Move it back, and it is flawless. Another thing to try would be different channel settings. Worst case, exchange any 2.4GHz phone models for 900MHz phones. 2.4GHz phones can wreak havok on a wireless network - however normal symptoms of this only usually occur during a call while the phone is scanning available channels.

 

[ScottMac]

2.4G doesn't penetrate well. It bounces like a mother* but it can't penetrate woth a damn.

"All Wood" means nothing. If the wood has even a minimum moisture content, it'll will significantly reduce the signal. Water in any form will kill signals at these frequencies.

Move the AP out into the opening. Altitude is your friend.

Good Luck

Scott

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: ScottMac
2.4G doesn't penetrate well. It bounces like a mother* but it can't penetrate woth a damn.

"All Wood" means nothing. If the wood has even a minimum moisture content, it'll will significantly reduce the signal. Water in any form will kill signals at these frequencies.

Move the AP out into the opening. Altitude is your friend.

Good Luck

Scott

Well i live in FL where the humidity levels are usually 80% and above

The problem lies in where to move it, i have it running in the closet under the stairs... I really dont have many other choices to get the modem on its own cable feed...

Are they any other routers than can throw their signal better through walls, or is moving it my only option? I even have those damn +6 decibal gain antennas on both the router and my wireless card...

 

[spidey07]

try changing the channel to 1, 6, 11. These are non-overlapping channels so you may be running into interferrence....its common.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: ScottMac
2.4G doesn't penetrate well. It bounces like a mother* but it can't penetrate woth a damn.

"All Wood" means nothing. If the wood has even a minimum moisture content, it'll will significantly reduce the signal. Water in any form will kill signals at these frequencies.

Move the AP out into the opening. Altitude is your friend.

Good Luck

Scott

Well i live in FL where the humidity levels are usually 80% and above

The problem lies in where to move it, i have it running in the closet under the stairs... I really dont have many other choices to get the modem on its own cable feed...

Are they any other routers than can throw their signal better through walls, or is moving it my only option? I even have those damn +6 decibal gain antennas on both the router and my wireless card...

Most Florida homes even though they are wood have a metal mesh just under the roofing material, basically turning the house into a faraday cage.

Will be hit or miss most likely no matter where you move the device if in fact you have that mesh. Good luck

 

[JackMDS]

When having a Wireless Coverage problem that seems to be out of boundary. I.e. The distance is much less then expected.

1. Get an Hold of a Computer that gas Wireless card and can be easily moved around (Like a Laptop or PDA).

Read this: What the Signal Strength Bars mean in Wireless hardware?

Install Netstumbler on the client computer.

Put the Wireless client in a distance and start to play with positioning of the Wireless Source (Wireless Router, or an Access Point).

It might be you would find a spot that would provide better propagation. While using the client with Netstumbler as your reference device.

2. If it does not help or the spot that provides better signal is not a practical place to put the Wireless Source you might need additional hardware to provide better coverage, the content of the following links might help:

Link to: Extending the Distance of Entry Level Wireless Network.

Link to: Hi Gain Antenna for Entry Level Wireless.

Using a Wireless Cable/DSL Router as a Switch with an Access Point

Link to: Wirelessly Bridging Home / SOHO Network.

:sun:

 

[aphex]

Excellent, thanks for all the info guys.... Installing netstumbler on the T41 as we speak.... Question though, what SNR is deemed to be acceptable?

I guess providing more info would be useful;

My whole setup is D-Link 108mbps hardware. Running on channel 6 (according to the router, the only channel that it supports at 108mbps).

Here is a pic of my netstumbler on my desktop (that has connectibity issues): http://aphexii.com/pics/netstumbler.jpg (electricavenue is my network)

 

[aphex]

On another note, i think my neighbor's cordless phone may be interfering... Anything i can do to combat this?