Wireless signal booster

[slikk]

As the title suggests really. I have BT wireless network at home, but my daughters PC doesnt receive a strong enough signal in her bedroom. Is there a way of boosting the signal from the router?

Thanks in advance

Kim

[Skier]

You can buy new antenna that will give from around a 3 to 10dBi gain. Search Google for something like 'netgear wifi high gain antenna' replacing netgear with whatever make of router you have. Many antenna from various manufacturers will fit as a direct replacement for your existing one but check.

Good luck.

Skier

[byff]

I use a D-Link DWL-G710 range extender to reach the back of my house. Only paid £28 for it off eBay but it was a swine to set up - took me two months to figure out how to get it to talk to the network.

My mate was so impressed with it, he bought one aswell, but paid nearly £70 for it through the Canadian Misco website as it's not available in this country. Just aswell he did as it stopped repeating the signal after a month and he had to send it back for replacement.

I have also seen a Netgear range extender that uses your home wiring for about £60 in Makro.

[slikk]

Thanks chaps

kim

[bogie]

sticking a high gain antenna on is not always reliable - the higher the gain, the more directional they become ...which is why most consumer products have an 18dBm radio and 2dBi antenna...because thats very omni directional and gives good coverage in both horizontal and vertical planes i.e. upstairs and downstairs.

If you use an 18dBi patch for instance it may only give you 45deg coverage in teh horizontal and 20deg vertical.

I know quite a few people whove gone and bought hi-gain antennas thinking they would 'amplify' the signal..and they then complain it dosent work as well...not realising you have to aim both ends of the link etc ...antennas dont amplify anything - they just focus the input energy in different more concentrated way.....so you gain in one direction, but lose in another

If its just one room in the house you want to reach, buy a pair of powerline ethernet adapters etc.

www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=2821

[that daddy]

slikk,do yourself a favour,get a 1 metre aerial extention cable with magnetic base mount easy to find on EBAY,puts the aerial higher(stops it radiating into the back of the metal pc case)i have one on the router and one on my daughters pc upstairs and WOW what a difference about £12 the pair from memory highly recommended.if you have no joy finding let me know.

[monkey boy 1]

I had a similar prob. Netgear wireless Router & 3 pc's. 2Gb broadband
One pc is hard wired in to the router, the other two are wireless. All 3 are in the upstairs of the house. One pc receives a good signal, the other one gets a poor one.
I managed to boost the signal by getting a metal sieve, poked a hole in the wire mesh, then covered it in kitchen foil. I then put the aerial from the router through the hole in the sieve. this now liiks like a home made satalite dish.
I angled the sieve towards the farthest pc, the signal was boosted from very poor, to very good. now regularly gets either 56 or 112 kb/s download speeds. before I was lucky to get 28 kb/s.

It sounds odd, but it was a route I thought about taking before spending money on boosters or Hard wiring in the other 2 pc's & it didn't cost me anything.