Wireless signal strength sucks in my house.

[KK]

Basic layout

Okay, the far right box would be the room where the linksys WRT54GL router is. There is a little box in that room, that is the location of the router. The next rectangle to the left is our dining room/kitchen, then the next room to the left would be the living room. The rectangle in that room is the couch, when sitting on the couch with the laptop, the signal strength is about 38-40% per the routers wireless status screen. Now the next room to the left has a small rectangle in it, this is a pc with a wireless PCI card. This connection shows about 6-8%, which is really the issue PC as it will drop the connection alot. Now the total distance from router to couch is about 20 feet, the distance to the PC is no more than 35 feet. Also another thing is, in the room with the router I got a tivo unit that has a wireless usb device that is about four feet from the router along the same wall, it's power per the router page is 40%. I don't believe it's an issue with the router as we have had a wcg200 cable gateway and the level we were getting were about the same. I got the 54gl in hopes that the ability to change the transmit power would benefit, it didn't. What do y'all think? What pisses me off is that we can see the neighbors wireless just as good as ours, and their house would be probably 100 feet away.

 

[spidey07]

Change channels to 1, 6, 11 and see what works best.

 

[KK]

This channel change thing is done just a the router side? The PCs will scan for all channels?

 

[spidey07]

Correct. Also keep your antennas straight up and down, don't "point" them at each other. And keep your anntennas as far away as you can from other 2.4 sources like bluetooth, video game controllers, microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc.

Or you could play around with the placement of the problem machines, try to remove as much barriers as you can like walls, etc.

If I'm reading your diagram as a house move the machine up vertically in the diagram so you aren't trying to go through brick, or alternatively move the router/access point into the room next to it.

 

[ScottMac]

... And 2.4GHz is ~5" wavelength ... so moving the AP or clients of just a few inches can make a big difference (not always, but often enough to warrant a try).

Good Luck

Scott

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Correct. Also keep your antennas straight up and down, don't "point" them at each other. And keep your anntennas as far away as you can from other 2.4 sources like bluetooth, video game controllers, microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc.

Or you could play around with the placement of the problem machines, try to remove as much barriers as you can like walls, etc.

If I'm reading your diagram as a house move the machine up vertically in the diagram so you aren't trying to go through brick, or alternatively move the router/access point into the room next to it.

I've thought about putting the router in the attic but thought it may get too hot up there. I do have a cordless phone base about 6" from the router, I'll have to move that and see what happens.

 

[spidey07]

If that phone is 2.4 then that is likely your problem. The reason is it's strongly interferring with your AP, at the source, very close to the source. Phones screw up the entire spectrum no matter what your channel and the closer to your AP they are the more they hurt.

As a test completely remove power from the phone base station. I do spectral analysis of places and wireless designs all the time (not a brag, just to point out some things) - and 2.4 phones can kill a wireless network.

It's not signal strength you want, it's signal to noise. And that phone is shouting so loud next to your ears/mouth that you have a hard time hearing/talking to somebody 50 feet away.