Wireless Internet Woes

I am relatively new to networking. I was able to get the file sharing to work between all of our PC's in our home, but that's about it. In the last couple of weeks, I have been doing some reading, but it's still all kind of greek to me.

My father has a 3 megabit wireless internet connection coming into his house. Keep in mind that he has a 80 ft tower with the incoming radio up on it. I'm not sure exactly what it is. To pay for his wireless internet, he decided that he would setup a AP and setup my 2 aunts as clients and charge them 25.00 a month each. Both pay 20.00 a month for dial up now. BTW -- We live out in the middle of nowhere and we're lucky to even be able to get the wireless internet to begin with.

SO.. We purchased a SENAOU NCB-3220 model, a .42A POE Injector, put the modem in an AL cast box and run a 15dbi omni directional antenna to it.

I setup the modem AP.

We have a client setup, a Wavexstream WXS-400b/g-15 with integrated 400 mw 15 DBI antenna in the enclosed box.

I setup the box and it will log onto the AP. I can get it all up and working, but the silly thing shuts down for no reason (client). She can not get it back working.

I'm going to try changing the SSID and changing the channel in a variable of 6. Any other things to try? Be gentle, I'm a newbie, novice, whatever you want to call it.

Thanks.

Knox

 

hi end system
the windows wireless utlity will not tell you much of signals and interference
try netstumbler

http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/

it is more sensitive and will tell you more

change the channel from the default 6 ( i assume this is a rather standard setup of channels)
channels 1 and 11 are first bests but you can try any
make sure the router and / or antenna setups are high and clear of obstructions
you might want to try to set to "g" only rather than mixed signal
If security is not a real concern you might tell it to log on to any signal ( if you are the only major one around there) That way it will log on easily and relog on
If other signals are drifting in - change the ssid ( even if to add a digit to the default setup) and turn on the security wep is easiest wpa is more secure
Generally reception is line of sight although a lot is the bouncearound signal
Therefore move the router ( antennas) over a foot or two
The problem may be on the receiving end
Are the wireless adapters open and not shielded
PCI cards are easy to set up and always work
However if they are pushed behind a computer metal case m, and under a desk or in a basement the signal is shielded
a usb adapter can be placed on a usb extension far up and away from the desktop
built in laptop antennas are good in terms of range, credit card add on pcmcia cards are not that good in terms of reception

Try this program - network magic it can be quite useful as a networking utility

http://networkmagic.com/product/essentials-features.php


summary
change the channel to 1 or 11
change the ssid
make sure router/ antennas / and network adapters are open an not shielded

 

Hey Visionof --

Thanks for the reply to my post.

I'm not sure of the terminology that you guys use around here, so I'll try to describe what I'm talking about.

When I talk about Modems, I'm going to be referring to the Senaou Engenius modems that are inside of the outdoor boxes that we have. We have 2 client units that have integrated 19 dbi antenna's. Our AP is basically the same setup, but we have a 15 dbi omni directional antenna on it. The Omni directional antenna is up in the air about 85 feet.

I do not have any problem accessing the AP over the network. It's address is 192.168.1.2 We were not able to connect to it last night. Please keep in mind that we had about 8" of snow yesterday. Would this have a significant effect on the omni AP?

What really bugs me though is the Client units. When I first hooked them up, I was able to log onto the default address, 192.168.1.1 no problem. I changed the IP address to 192.168.1.9 on one of them. I was able to log onto the AP and it worked great. The next night it wasn't working. I can not communicate with the client unit in any way. When I go to the LAN connection, it says Acquiring address after I unplug the POE from power and the cable. It will search for an IP address and then the connection says that there is limited or no connectivity. What the heck... I am not able to do a hard reset due to the snow being up on the roof.

I have another client unit that will be going on another house. I hooked it up to the PC to try to access the client setup page in the modem and when I first hooked it up, it worked fine. Now it's giving the same fits as the other unit. What got me the other night, I took the client unit over to my house and hooked it up to my PC. I was able to access the modem no problem, found my wireless linksys router and connected. Worked fine, but when I took it back to my parents place, it gave me fits.

I'll try the tools that you suggested tonight and see what happens.

Thanks for the info and see what you think about what I have wrote so far. The client unit setup on the house is about 3 feet above the peak of the house.

Thanks.

Knox

 

Hi
Iam not famaliar with the unit you have, I have a motorola canopy system.
Can you do a spectrum analysis's and see if there are other devices out there that might be interfere with the signal?
Also what spectrum are you using? 2.4 ghz or 900mhz?
Not sure if yours uses the same terminology but what is your jitter, RSSI and your power levels.

Are you shooting through trees?
It seems it works then doesn't would lead me to believe that someone else might be on the same spectrum.

Wish I could help more
H

 

How do I do a spectrum analysis?

We are broadcasting on the 2.4Ghz range.

The AP is on a 90 ft tower. The Client unit is about .75 mile straight north. The Router/antenna on the client house is about 3 ft above the peak. There are a few trees in line, but I would think the height of the tower would work around that. I can see the AP from the client house.

Knox

 

A few other things I thought of while laying in bed with a fever.
Did you seal your outside connections? I have heard that any moisture in the connection will make your signal drop out.
Are you sure its aligned properly? Are you use your eyes to align it or an audible signal? Is the AP solar or plugged in?
The 2 people .75 miles away are on SM or AP?

You need to have a direct connection from the clients antenna to the computer, no router in between and acces the HTTP management configuration. Not sure what you will have but look around and see if there is anything that might help you.
Iam sure you have looked at the tech spec and data sheet?

Disclaimer: Iam no expert. Over the holidays my system was giving trouble and I was getting no response from my wisp so that is when I started researching and learning a little bit.

I went to the motorola web site and they have forums. Do you know the make of the AP and SM? Maybe the maker has some forums.

I just looked at the client product , I guess there called routers. Its a weird setup, compared to mine, just different, I guess.

So, Iam not sure if what I am saying is helping cause its so different.

Iam sick and have 2 kids need to go, but I'll check back later and see if I can find some info.
H

 

Hill --

Thanks for writing back on my replies.

Senao is the Manufacture of the Routers. The router can be configured as an AP or Client. All of the modems are in sealed boxes that are designed to keep moisture out. There is a nut that tightens down on the CAT5 cable going into the box that has a rubber crimp type seal to keep the moisture out.

At the AP, we have a 15 dbi omni directional antenna up there on the 85-90 Ft tower. At the (1) client that is .75 miles away, I have it alligned by sight. Keep in mind that this worked just fine the first 24 hours. The 2nd night, she turned her PC on and could not get on the internet using the wireless connection. I think part of her problem is that she also has a dialup connection on her PC. I got her back on the internet that 2nd night no problem. Now we can not even log into the router settings by typing in what the IP address should be. For example, the default IP address of the router is 192.168.1.1 The AP is 192.168.1.2 Our Linksys Router is 192.168.1.15
I had changed the address on the client to 192.168.1.9 because I didn't want any IP's to conflict. The next day I can not log into the 192.168.1.9 addy. No how. Now when I plug in the network cable on the client unit straight into the PC, it tries to acquire an IP address, but doesn't connect to anything. If you check the IP address after it says limited or no connectivity, it's odd, like a 169.XXX.X.X.

I've reset the routers by pushing the reset button on them for about 30 seconds, but that doesn't seem to work like it should. It's so **** frustrating because I know what it "Should" do. It is probably one small setting somewhere that is causing all of the headaches.

 

Maybe get rid of the static IP and check "ip assign by server" or something to that effect. Are you assign th ip from the AP or the client? Try from the AP

 

you are talking a fair distance not a run of the mill house install
You might try building more focused antennas - cantennas , some people build them out of the older Comstar dishes

Here is a link:

http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/how-to-build-a-wifi-biquad-dish-antenna/


antennas can also be placed behind the ap ( broadcaster) to focus its signal
This is not the standard run of the mill household wi fi setup

 

A little update....

We are able to now log onto all 3 routers. 1 setup as AP and 2 setup as Clients.

The was a setting that was incorrect. DHCP was set as client on the 2 client units and as server on the AP. We disabled that after my brother ran a DHCP program and forced an IP address on the routers.

Now we have a configuration dilema.

I wish I could draw a picture to show our setup a little better.

The AP is plugged into 1 of the 4 ports on a linksys router. That Linksys router has a static IP setup in it. Last night I was able to connect to the Senou AP with a wireless card in a PC.

The client that I mounted this weekend... Trying to eliminate wires, we ran the cat5 cable from the outdoor wireless router to a linksys wireless router up in the attic. We then hooked up a USB wireless adapter on a PC and was able to connect to the linksys.

With the senaou router plugged into 1 of the 4 ports, we can access the Client unit and it will connect to the AP that is about 1.2 miles away.

BUT I can not get any internet. After connecting to the AP, I unplugged the cat5 from let's say port 1 and plugged it into the Internet port on the Linksys. My father's PC shows her connected on the client list in the AP, but no internet.

Does something need configured in the Linksys?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Knox