Wireless network hassles

[rober...@comcast.net]

We recently moved to a new (for us) home. I have a Belkin wireless
router connected to a DSL modem in my office at one end of the house.
My wife's desktop is at the opposite end of the home, about 120 feet
away and through three walls, one of which is cement block.

Her PC connects to the wireless LAN for a while then cuts out. This
happens at random with no apparent pattern. The home is typical
Florida construction -- drywall over firring over cement block, wrapped
in stucco. Inside walls are ordinary wood frame, but there's a
fireplace directly in the path between the router and the problem PC.

I don't mind buying a new RF access point or adding better antennas
(there are three of them on the Belkin). The attic is tall enough to
walk around but unfortunately there's no connection between the space
above the main house and my wife's office, which was originally the
"bonus room" by the pool. Any suggestions?

Regards,
Robert L Bass
www.BassBurglarAlarms.com

[Frank Olson]

Do you have security protocols enabled? Using the security features may
cause your connections to cycle sporatically. If you're concerned about
turning them off, I'd suggest hard wiring your connections and ditching
the wireless ones. Sounds to me like you could do it quite easily (just
don't make any connections in the attic which you may wind up having to
trouble-shoot at some point in the future).

[BruceR]

Try an Airlink Wireless Repeater. No Ethernet connection required. After
setting it up while plugged into a PC it can sit in a closet or attic
with just a wall wart. You might also try moving the existing router to
a more central location.

[Dave Houston]

Frank Olson <Use_the_e...@yoursecuritysource.com> wrote:

I would try HomePlug from any of several well known sources.

http://www.homeplug.org/en/index.asp
http://www.broadbandhomecentral.com/bbhl/homeplug.html

Google "HomePlug" to find suppliers. Many are not in the "HomePlug
Certified" program. Higher speed devices are beginning to ship.

http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/16/netgear-xe104-85-mbps-wall-plugged-ethernet-switch-adds-speed/
http://www.corinex.com/web/wcx.nsf/o/eng-enter

[Gemini]

If it is just a matter of a weak signal, I have had excellent results with
this little free antenna.
http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template2/index.html
I just point it towards the direction that I need a little boost, and it
just about doubles range. It is simple,free and works for me.

<rober...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1135416218....@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

[Robert Green]

Move the router higher up, say to a top shelf on a tall bookcase. I found
that once above the height of an average person, the intermittent
connections decreased markedly. YMMV

--
Bobby G.

<rober...@comcast.net> wrote in message > We recently moved to a new (for

[w_tom]

Stucco implies a fine wire mesh - a problem for high
frequency wireless signals. Dells can be so useful here.
Dell provides a signal strength monitor program that reports
dB of signal strength - none of the ballpark and not
informative '5 bars' stuff. How the antenna is oriented on a
wireless router can make a difference. For example, a metal
frame of an adjacent chair can substantially reduce signal
strength. But again, another reason why a true signal
strength meter (software) is so useful for solving signal
strength problems.

If using the wireless in secure mode, S/N ratio must be
higher to maintain a connection. IOW test the system in
insecure (open) mode (no WEP, etc). If this improves a
connection, then suspect too little S/N. Of course orient the
antenna to maximize field strength in her direction while
testing.

Simplest solution is a hardwire connection to her system or
a second wireless unit located on her side of the house.
Experience dictates that a few hardwired ethernet ports in
various parts of a building make wireless changes and
corrections painless, flexible, and therefore more reliable.

[Robert Green]

"w_tom" <w_t...@hotmail.com> wrote in message

> Stucco implies a fine wire mesh - a problem for high
> frequency wireless signals.

I saw that. But IIRC the OP said that all the transmission paths were
through normal cinder block walls. Maybe the OP can clarify whether this
problem involves signals passing through stucco.

I thought the comment that the "fireplace [is] directly in the path between
the router and the problem PC" was more likely the problem. Fireplaces have
metal flashing and may have metal chimney components. If elevating the
router didn't work, I would at least try changing the path to eliminate the
fireplace.

<much interesting stuff snipped>

> Experience dictates that a few hardwired ethernet ports in
> various parts of a building make wireless changes and
> corrections painless, flexible, and therefore more reliable.

Amen brother. You can never run enough CAT5 and here's another reason that
many wouldn't think of to begin with.

I still think that if he moves it above the "ground clutter" of tabletops,
countertops and people that he'll have no problems. It's certainly an easy
enough thing to try!

--
Bobby G.

[Bill Kearney]

> Move the router higher up, say to a top shelf on a tall bookcase. I found
> that once above the height of an average person, the intermittent
> connections decreased markedly. YMMV

Bear in mind that most 802.11 device antennae produce a pattern that does
not favor vertical. The spread tends to be no more than about 10 feet
vertically. So if you're expecting to cover more than one floor it often
helps to have the device higher/lower to better suit the 'other' floor.

I've also found that 802.11g devices tend to work better in older
construction than 802.11b. Probably an unscientific observation but no
amount of added antennae made our 802.11b router work anywhere near as
reliably as a replacement 802.11g unit. Regardless of card in the PC.

We went so far as to find the ideal place for the wireless router and then
ran wired ethernet there to support it. Turned out to be a 1st floor window
near the 'L' of the 2 story house. That provided effective coverage to both
the mainly underground 1st floor along with coverage to the outside rear
patio and the 2nd floor.

Your situation might entail using a rather long ethernet cable and a signal
strength indicator program on the PC. Move the base station around until
the signal covers the needed areas effectively and then run wire to that
location. This would likewise be true, placement-wise, for any wifi
booster/repeater devices. I've had mixed success with them.

-Bill Kearney

[anon]

you don't mention the model, but let me tell you what i did with my Belkin
router. Belkin is horrible about never updating anything -- firmware,
drivers,
etc. They are essentially a remarketer, though -- they don't design or
engineer
any of it. The OEM often does provide updates that are SUBSTANTIALLY
better.

so go to dslreports.com and look in the Belkin forum. I found that my
router
has the same motherboard as a particular Linksys model. Well, they do
update
the firmware they get from the OEM. So by changing two bytes, i was able to
flash my router, turning it into a Linksys. For my Belkin wireless PCI
adapter,
I got the drivers from the OEM, which were a big improvement over the ones
Belkin made available.

world of difference, it truly is. I used to get constant disconnects, and
now with
these changes, i've kept up VPN connections and remote control connections
for days without a hiccup. I was ready to throw in the towel on wireless &
wait
another couple of years.... it's working pretty well now, it just depends on
your
vendor's willingness to make it so. I won't buy Belkin again. Let me
mention I
am using wpa2/aes (best level of authentication/encryption). Another poster
who
said enabling security protocols can cause this is correct, but it's not the
protocols
themselves that are the problem, it's the implementation.... that's what
updates do,
fix bugs. Belkin doesn't seem to care.

find out who makes your stuff. The chipset mfr. often changes from revision
to revision, so that's very important. For instance, the Belkin F5D7000 PCI
card uses a Ralink chip (ralinktech.com) for revision 300x, whereas revision
500x uses Atheros (Google for the drivers v.4.2.0.82, they don't make them
publicly available).

a benefit is that newer and better security (like WPA2) is enabled by the
driver,
so using a generic can get you new features. I've seen several wireless
cards go
from supporting only WEP (easily cracked) to WPA/WPA2 with a new driver.

and for anyone reading this, if you cannot deal with a "blue screen of
death," don't
change your card's driver without verifying it works. It's easy to back
out, but
the generic drivers won't work in all (most, yes) cases. The integrated
Atheros
on a Toshiba laptop, for instance, blue-screened with a newer generic
driver. I
had to go back to the one Toshiba provides, which supports only WEP.

[rober...@comcast.net]

Much thanks to all. I was puzzling over this problem today when it
occurred to me to test the location using one of my laptops.
Curiously, the LT gets a consistently good signal whereas the desktop
drops out much of the time. I moved the desktop unit around in the
general area but its performance stayed pretty much the same -- lousy.
I've decided to try a new wireless PCI card as I suspect that may be
the weak link.

I appreciate all of the help, guys.