Resolved What is a good solution for better wireless signal?

I have looked at bridges/repeaters/access points/hubs/switches/routers/hi gain antennas/phone line networking/and power line networking.

Right now I am using a cable modem with a wireless router. I have seen DSL modems with a wireless router built into one unit. Do they have cable modems with a wireless router built into one unit?

I live in an apartment and am trying to get internet to the apartment next door where my brother lives. Right now he has a laptop that is getting a wireless connection but it only gets 2 bars signal and drops the connection a lot.

I was planning on switching my router with a 802.11n router and getting a new 802.11n network card for his laptop.

What has worked well for you guys or what would you suggest I do? I think the problem right now is too many walls between the buildings. So what would be a good device that can make the wireless signal penetrate walls better?

 

Yes, I'm using one, it's a rebranded Netgear unit for Virgin Media.

Going the n route is probably your best option, when I was using b/g with my old router signal was flaky in some areas but with n signal is strong and clear.

You may also wish to experiment with changing channels, if close neighbours are also using wifi the signals can interfere with each other. Bear in mind the channels overlap slightly, I'd suggest trying 1 if no good try 6 and finally try 12.

 

Where I live we have condominiums, really just apartments. I have 2 one on top of the other with no entry point between the two. I have from our supplier a wireless / wired router, SMCD3GN. Have no problem with the wireless signal on laptop up stairs usually between 70-90 % signal strength. Don't know if this would help your situation or not.

Rob

 

What's the model of the rebranded Netgear unit? Can you purchase it online?

What does "channels overlap slightly" mean and how does this effect wireless signal? In the US I think its suggested to use 1,6,or 11 we do not have channel 12. I did this the other day and tried every single channel available and every time I selected a new channel I went to speedtest.net and tested out my speeds. Channel 1 gave me the best speeds. Is this the correct way of selecting the best channel to use?

Yes they are. I've been thinking of getting something like this RJ45 to RJ45 female adapter so I can place my router up higher. Right now my CAT5 cable is too short so I have to place my router on the floor. Is there a specific brand or adapter you guys recommend or do they all just work the same?

I believe most of the walls are made of wood framing and drywall. Wouldn't I need a 802.11g access point since my router currently is 802.11g? Where would be the ideal area to place the access point?

What do you mean you have "2 one on top of the other with no entry point between the two "? You mean two floors in your condominium?

Do you know where I can purchase SMCD3GN online? I can't find anywhere selling it. I have found SMCD3GN-RES and SMCD3GN-RRR models online, is one of these the models you have? Can't find anywhere online selling it either.

 

I purchased 2 condo's, one on 3rd floor one on 4th floor. My brother lives on 4th floor of the building and my wife and I live on the 3rd floor. Totally seperate areas. "RRR" means it is rogers cable propriatory.

Have a look at this link.

http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?event=whereToBuy.online&localeCode=EN_CAN

 

Placement of router as well as channel is important
First of all check out competitive signals
They can drift in out of the blue and you may not even be able to see them
Use netstumbler to check for interference and figure out what the other signals are
Channels 1 and 11 are best bets ( no overlap)
6 is default
make sure your ssid is different than the others and that it is not default out of the box
At the worst add a signal digit to make yours different
Some people say that setting to g band only rather than mixed will increase signal reception - you can try
Make sure router is high and uncluttered
Although signals generally travel in straight lines a lot of the received signal is bounce around - hence moving the router over a foot even may vary reception
Pipes in walls , brick , metal , file cabinet , ( wire behind stucco) or aluminum foil in insulation all reduce signals
Antennas don't increase signal strength they amplify and focus it

http://bit.ly/omhUVp

http://bit.ly/owU3P5

You can build very good receivers this way
Its a generic Zyadas based wireless network adapter not brand name linksys or dlink

http://bit.ly/nJdnem


use the software that comes with the adapter not the windows wireless utility
signal strength to the windows utility is weak yet functionality is off the scale
the windows utility won't know what to do with it
You have not said what type of computers - i.e laptop or desktop
The wi fi adapter with the antenna in the lid of most laptops are usually pretty good
Wheras with pci wireless network adapters while they always work - they are hidden down low and behind the metal case of the desktop
A usb wi fi adapter can be lifted up and high with a usb extension
Lastly for the router - don't be fooled by all the hooplah and fake numbers on new ones
Its bogus and fantasy island
To begin with overhead takes the rate down by 1/2 never mind distance
For my money the workhorse of the older Linksys WRT54G with the third party firmware upgrades - I use Tomato are a preference
Its the older pre version 5 that you want
You can boost power in the control panel big time
The older SRT54G is still sold ( brought back under pressure and duress from purists) as the WRT54GL
( L stands for the Linux based operating system)
It can be found here or on Ebay

http://bit.ly/nxSjg5

repeaters sound like a great high tech idea
You have to have the same brand as the router and I am told that they generally don't work well ( except to take your money)

 

How would I do this?

It is, I have also set it to not broadcast, don't know if that makes a difference or not though, do you know if it does or not?

Did not know this, I will try.

In my apartment, desktop has wired connection, two phones and two laptops on wireless connection. In my brothers apartment, one laptop on wireless connection.

I thought 802.11n was newer technology compared to 802.11g? I thought 802.11n would have better range and signal? So this is not true?

What does this mean?

Do you mean WRT54G? What about the WRT54GS model. Do you know if the SpeedBooster really helps or not?

I have a Linksys WRT54G v6 right now. The instructions to install a 3rd party firmware looks hard and I am afraid to brick it.

I heard you can change the Beacon Interval from 100 which is default to 50 and that would help. Do you know if this is true? I heard you could also change the Fragmentation Threshold and RTS Threshold numbers, do you have any experience in this?

I am trying to avoid this at all possible. Our apartments aren't connected wall to wall and the wire would have to run through outside somewhere. But if I can't get the signal strength good enough then I will have to figure something out with the CAT5 cable. Do you know if its possible to use a router as an access point? The Linksys WRT54GL has gone down a lot in price since the last time I checked.

What's the difference between an access point and a repeater?

 

sorry for my late night typing
It was a WRT54GL not the first letter S
I don't know about the version 6 of the WRT54G but the 5 was garbage
They cheapened the router to increase profit at Linksys
The old router was brought back under pressure and is now sold on Amazon and eBay as the WRT54GL ( KL stands for the Linux based operating system)
Apply a third party firmware to increase power greatly - Tomato is fine and donation ware

http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

Two other questions
- how to check out competitive signals

1) by ssid ( name of transmitting signal)
you can do that with the windows wireless utiltiy
if you see 5 ssids all out the box and marked Linksys or Default (D-link) its one way to have a signal that is hard for your laptop to latch onto
at the worst just add a digit after the ssid name

2) Channel
out of the box most routers are set to the middle channel - channel 6
so its a wise choice to change
there are 12 channels
three are distinct and don't overlap 1 , 11 and channel 6
you may have to move around from time to time
99% of wireless problems ( as long as they know the wpa / wep security code) are caused by interference
You may not even see it in the windows wireless utility , the signal can drift in out the blue you will see your signal , log onto it yet have no working internet
Find a utility to tell you the channels of your neighbors - windows won't tell you
Or easier yet just change the channel in the router to 1 or 11 as a start

Lastly in terms of my description of wi fi speeds as being hocus pocus and a con job
If you don't have a n capable wi fi adapter - it goes at g and no faster
Lots of people buy N routers ( go to your local best buy and hear the speech)
If you don't have a n wireless adapter you cannot use it
G is simpler - why add complexity if you don't have a n wireless receiver ?
N makes claims it goes further - I don't know
In terms of speeds
If its rated at 54 mbs - to begin with overhead takes 50 % of speed so its down to 1/2 speed off the hop
With G wireless speed drops off like a rock after 30 feet
So for most people they never get anywhere near their isp internet speeds so the whole thing is a waste of time
For some reason the older USRobotics Turbo G wi adapters with the upgraded software go amazingly fast with any G router

http://www.usr-emea.com/support/s-prod-template.asp?loc=emea&prod=5416

I could never figure out why
Perhaps someone could tell me why
Faster than what i saw with N
Even at 30 feet through walls and furnace rooms with pipes in the way

Good luck
One last thought - but i doubt it as you are in separate buildings and power lines are powerline network adapters
The only thing is if you install on a laptop you tend to bugger up the wi fi networking with the powerline adapter software
These work amazingly fast

http://bit.ly/howpowerlinenetworkadapterswork

http://amzn.to/powerlinenetworkadaptersamazon

Summary

1) Change the channel from default out of the box channel 6 to channels 1 or 11 as a start
2) If you SSID is the same as the factory default one - add a single number or digit ( and save)
3) Get a Linksys WRT54GL router on ebay or Amazon - install Tomato and boost up the signal power

Good luck

 

Are repeaters wireless only and access points wired only? I read that if you want to go longer than 300ft with CAT5 cable you need an access point so you can bridge the other 200ft of cable if you wanted 500ft altogether. Is a repeater basically the same thing except wireless?

There is DD-WRT Micro and Micro-plus for the versions with lower ram.

I've seen DD-WRT, Tomato, and OpenWRT. Are these the three main 3rd party firmwares or are there some other popular ones too?

You mean an antenna like this Linksys HGA7T?

Have you personally used these powerline adapters? My friend said when he used it he couldn't plug anything else into the power outlet with the powerline adapter plugged in. If you did it would interfere with the wireless signal and weaken or drop the wireless signal. Did you also have this problem?

Shouldn't this say 54Mbps because I have a 802.11g router? Is it only saying 6 because I only have 3 bar signal?
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/alfun/wireless1.jpg

Does this mean that my laptop can receive 802.11n signal? This laptop is maybe over 3 years old, do all new laptops have built in 802.11n wireless cards now? Under "Property:" is there anything I should change?
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/alfun/wireless2.jpg

Do I need to change this "Value:" to 1 since my router is set on Channel 1?
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/alfun/wireless3.jpg

I'm going to mark this thread as solved because the wireless connection doesn't seem to be dropping anymore. I changed to Channel 1 and that gave me another 1-2 bars signal. I also tried to set the router to broadcast as G mode only but that doesn't seem to affect anything.

All this is great information and I'll come back to read and try more of the things mentioned if I ever decide I want better signal. Please continue to add more advice if you can add to the discussion.