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So far I've been pretty disappointed with the 802.11g wireless receiver and router I purchased. It's just totally all over the place. Sometimes it is just as fast as a wired connection to the cable modem, other times it is excruciatingly slow.

Speed fluctuates wildly...sometimes as high as 36Mbps.....but more often it's as pathetically low as >1Mbps. Windows always tells me that the signal strength is always "Low", "Very Low", or "No Signal".

The manufacturers (D-Link) don't really have any tips in their manual about how to make things stable, so I'm curious how everyone else here has fared. Is this instability just the nature of the beast or is your network pretty solid?

What's the best placement for the router and receiver? Are there objects that they should or should not be next to? Does fiddling with the antennas really make a difference at all?

I've noticed that things are worse when my PC is next to an electrical outlet or power strip....but other than that it's difficult to say what's causing problems.

 

[bionic77]

So far I've been pretty disappointed with the 802.11g wireless receiver and router I purchased. It's just totally all over the place. Sometimes it is just as fast as a wired connection to the cable modem, other times it is excruciatingly slow.

Speed fluctuates wildly...sometimes as high as 36Mbps.....but more often it's as pathetically low as >1Mbps. Windows always tells me that the signal strength is always "Low", "Very Low", or "No Signal".

The manufacturers (D-Link) don't really have any tips in their manual about how to make things stable, so I'm curious how everyone else here has fared. Is this instability just the nature of the beast or is your network pretty solid?

What's the best placement for the router and receiver? Are there objects that they should or should not be next to? Does fiddling with the antennas really make a difference at all?

I've noticed that things are worse when my PC is next to an electrical outlet or power strip....but other than that it's difficult to say what's causing problems.

I think the security thing slows it down, also try and place the wireless router in a higher location, that will give you a larger area. At my parents house when I raised the router to about 7 feet off the ground it dramatically increased the area of coverage.

 

[Tekky]

I think the security thing slows it down, also try and place the wireless router in a higher location, that will give you a larger area. At my parents house when I raised the router to about 7 feet off the ground it dramatically increased the area of coverage.

That's BS about security. You should always have it enabled, unless you want to share your files with the world. On any decent hardware, it won't slow anything down.

You should be aware that 802.11b/g uses 2.4Ghz, and it will have problems with other 2.4Ghz devices, including cordless phones and microwave ovens.

Another variant of 802.11 (a?) uses 5.8Ghz, so it may have fewer problems, until 5.8Ghz appliances become common.

RF is not really that good for networking across rooms in some houses. In many cases, you're better off running wires, or at least relocating your access point(s).

 

[fart]

interference or just a weak signal. antenna or kill competing signals

 

[Ollie Pooch]

i only recently purchased a wireless router/card and i find that shutting the door where the router is completely boosts the signal when i am in another room in the house - probably a metal doorhandle acting as some kidn of antenna?? i have no idea.. all i know is it hovers around 24mbps usually, i shut the door, it shoots up to 36-48, occasionally 54, with a higher signal reading- weird. and probably no use to you whatsoever

one thing i was told with my router (netgear wgr614) was to turn off the SPI (packet inspection or something) - i've still got all the other authentication/encryption turned on but i switched that off and it dramatically improved the speed.. and stopped it crashing when i used bit torrent maybe if yours has this kind of option you could try it out?

 

[Marty Chinn]

Curious, how are you guys reading the speed?

 

[kikonawa]

do a site survey before you install your router/ wifi interface. walk around (hm, you don't have a portable don't you)

you must note, heavy metal, big walls etdc can block the signal. try to change the location of your antena.
make sure the 2 antenas point verticaly !

remember 54mb is peak theoretical speed.
max throughput will be 20-25 mbit /sec
try find the latest firmware for your router also, may help.
are you sure your wireles card is ok?
if you have a desktop tower pc, by way of test, put it on a table or so (raising the wireles adapter up in the air)
pci wifi adapters aren't that good for receiving signal acutally

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Sounds like you have some very dense walls where you are.

Also, expect 48Mbs for a maximum in most real-world situations.

 

[suikodan]

I'll be moving into a house where the router will be downstairs and the receiving PC will be on the 2nd floor (it's a basement/1st floor/2nd floor house). Will I get a good reception?

 

[Pimpwerx]

Trial and error, trial and error. As mentioned, try mounting the router high on a wall first to see if that works. If you notice any professional install, all access points are located high. Other than that, try different locations and fiddle around with the antenna. Do a range check after each change by checking the signal at various points around the house. Use the same points for reference.

I have mine under the futon in the den, and it reaches everywhere just fine. My sister gets a low signal in the guest room, but it's also passing through a wierd section of like 4 or more walls. If I could mount the router on the wall, I would, but I don't think I don't know if I have enough cable for a proper install. PEACE.

 

[border]

What exactly should I do about security? I've always heard that hackers can just ride around your neighborhood with a laptop and hack into any wireless networks they pick up.

Strangely, it does seem like closing all the doors helps. You'd think that it would be the opposite.

Curious, how are you guys reading the speed?

I don't know about everybody else, but there's a little networking icon that comes up in the system tray, and you just run the mouse over it to see the speed and strength of the signal you're getting.

 

[fart]

if you do a search, there was a thread like this a while ago. someone linked to some good, but illegal, homebrew antennas you can make with tin cans and the like. broadcast your porn through the whole neighborhood!

 

[tmdorsey]

What exactly should I do about security? I've always heard that hackers can just ride around your neighborhood with a laptop and hack into any wireless networks they pick up.

I was told that the best security is to just don't have your SSID set to broadcast.

 

[crumbs]

What exactly should I do about security? I've always heard that hackers can just ride around your neighborhood with a laptop and hack into any wireless networks they pick up.

I've always had trouble getting 128bit WEP to work correctly, so I set the MAC filter to only allow the addresses I want. I'm not sure how secure this is, but I haven't had any problems and it doesn't seem to effect performance.