Router/thermostat interference?

[Tim+]

My mother recently bought an iPad. In order to let her go on line it in the
front room of her house I moved her router into the hall.

Since the move, the wifi connection to any device seems to disappear every 5
minutes or so for about a minute. This didn't happen before I moved the
router.

I noticed today that she has a wireless thermostat also installed nearby in
the hall (only about 4' away). It's labelled "British Gas RC Plus".

is it possible that the thermostat is causing the problem? The loss of
signal even happens when the CH/HW is off but I guess the thermostat might
still be "chirping" to the boiler regularly.

I should add that she lives in a tennement flat and there are quite a lot of
other wi-fi networks around. I have tried changing the channel once but
this made no obvious difference.

Tim

[Paul D Smith]

"Tim+" <timdow...@nospampleaseyahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:jurjla$hcf$1...@dont-email.me...

Can you whip the battery out of the thermostat and see if that helps?

Also, can you borrow a PC with WiFi and see what channels are in use around
you? Try to be 3 channels different with yours.

Also, some routers have an "if you see interference, automatically change
channel" feature and this can give the same symptoms. I rely on a manual
check and lock down my channel otherwise SWMBO complains when US radio
(she's a yank) drops out during her favourite streamed radio show.

Paul DS.

[The Natural Philosopher]

+1 to all of this. Rf stats use the same band as wifi.


--
To people who know nothing, anything is possible.
To people who know too much, it is a sad fact
that they know how little is really possible -
and how hard it is to achieve it.

[Tim+]

Thanks. I'll try pulling the battery next time I'm up. A longer term
solution might be to just replace the stat with a ordinary bi-metal stat.
My mother neither wants nor needs a digital stat, wireless or otherwise.

She like a big dial that she can twist and see what it's set to.

What's the easiest (preferably free) software to use to scan for other wi-fi
network channels in use? What's the optimum channel separation?

Tim

[Owain]

On Jul 26, 4:17 pm, "Tim+" wrote:
> She like a big dial that she can twist and see what it's set to.

Get an old one on ebay and stick it to the wall. Don't connect it to
anything ;-)

> What's the easiest (preferably free) software to use to scan for other wi-fi
> network channels in use?  What's the optimum channel separation?

try inSSIDer
http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/

Owain

[Tim+]

Owain wrote:
> On Jul 26, 4:17 pm, "Tim+" wrote:
>> She like a big dial that she can twist and see what it's set to.
>
> Get an old one on ebay and stick it to the wall. Don't connect it to
> anything ;-)

Nah. She uses it to turn the heating on and off when she feels like it.
Even timers are a bit too much for her. ;-)

>
>> What's the easiest (preferably free) software to use to scan for
>> other wi-fi network channels in use? What's the optimum channel
>> separation?
>
> try inSSIDer
> http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/

Cheers That's the one I was thinking of. Couldn't remember the name.

Tim

[The Other Mike]

On Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:03:46 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
<t...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

>Rf stats use the same band as wifi.

Do they? All the ones I've seen have used 432 - 434 or 868MHz

Wifi can also be blocked by a microwave oven (non leaky, fully functional)


--

[Man at B&Q]

On Jul 26, 4:43 pm, The Other Mike <rootpassw...@somewhereorother.com>
wrote:

> On Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:03:46 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
>
> <t...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> >Rf stats use the same band as wifi.
>
> Do they?  All the ones I've seen have used 432 - 434 or 868MHz

+1

> Wifi can also be blocked by a microwave oven (non leaky, fully functional)

+1

MBQ

[Brian Gaff]

Some of the more modern room stat thingies do use the same band as I believe
some systems allow you to control the thing from the network. Blimey, I
dread the day when the fact that the toaster has popped up flashes a message
on the screen!

Brian

--
From the Bed of Brian Gaff.
The email is valid as bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user.
"The Other Mike" <rootpa...@somewhereorother.com> wrote in message
news:h6p2185pob2nl90vc...@4ax.com...

[The Natural Philosopher]

Brian Gaff wrote:
> Some of the more modern room stat thingies do use the same band as I believe
> some systems allow you to control the thing from the network. Blimey, I
> dread the day when the fact that the toaster has popped up flashes a message
> on the screen!
>

Been done already

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuJDkP5dmLg

> Brian

[Woody]

If you have an Android smartphone there are several free apps that you can download that will turn your phone into a wi-fi sensor and show their signal strengths and SSIDs on the screen.

 

That might give you some pointers.

 

 

--
Woody

 

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com

[Rod Speed]

Brian Gaff <bri...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote

> Some of the more modern room stat thingies do use the same band as I
> believe some systems allow you to control the thing from the network.
> Blimey, I dread the day when the fact that the toaster has popped up
> flashes a message on the screen!

I don’t. It would be quite handy when doing some of the slower cooking
and with the washing machine in spades, I can't quite hear when it stops
at the end of the cycle some of the time.

[tony sayer]

In article <h6p2185pob2nl90vc...@4ax.com>, The Other Mike
<rootpa...@somewhereorother.com> scribeth thus

868 MHz is becoming the frequency of choice for this sort of gear now.
2.4 Ghz is too polluted nowadays with the amount of wi-fi gear around
and 433 has interference issues...

--
Tony Sayer

[Jim]

When I read that statement, I checked my own (Honeywell) and the spec
says 868MHz. If the OP's is a Drayton (as I read in a search result),
it will operate on 433MHz. Neither should interfere with Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz.

After complaints from a user in my own Mum's house, I took my laptop to
the seat outside the front door and found 17 networks - this in a low
density area with a lot of elderly neighbours. If you let your signal
level drop, it's likely to be swamped by low-level noise from other
users, especially in a tenement where routers may be only a few metres
apart.

[Graham J]

[snip]

>
> After complaints from a user in my own Mum's house, I took my laptop to
> the seat outside the front door and found 17 networks - this in a low
> density area with a lot of elderly neighbours. If you let your signal
> level drop, it's likely to be swamped by low-level noise from other
> users, especially in a tenement where routers may be only a few metres
> apart.

Fundamentally wireless technology is doomed, simply because everybody
wants it. Domestic powerline networking might well go the same way.

The solution is to use cat5 cable.

Pity about all those people who bought hand-held devices lacking an RJ45
connector ...!

--
Graham J

[The Natural Philosopher]

3rd harmonic is close at 3x868 Mhz or 2.604Ghz and ths of 433 is close
as well.

> After complaints from a user in my own Mum's house, I took my laptop to
> the seat outside the front door and found 17 networks - this in a low
> density area with a lot of elderly neighbours. If you let your signal
> level drop, it's likely to be swamped by low-level noise from other
> users, especially in a tenement where routers may be only a few metres
> apart.
>

--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I cant even get wifi from this office here to the kitchen about 6m line
of sight - if there was a line of sight,..too much foil backed
plasterboard in the way..

Ne[hew has been and gibe and parked his car near the oil tank. Bang went
the fuel gauge signal as well,.