Wifi network - signal boosting
Discussion
I have 3 pc's in the house, all on the same level (ie upstairs) in 3 separate rooms. One pc is hardwired into a Netgear ADSL modem Router with an extender aerial (approx 7" long compared to the std 4" aerial that was supplied)
The 2 other pc's , one has a good to excellent signal which the closest pc to the Router which is in the bedroom next door, the other pc has a very poor signal, 2 rooms down the landing, Sometimes it's as low as 11 mbps.
The distance from the Router of pc #2 is about 8 - 10 feet, signal through a breeze block wall, and pc#3 is about 15 - 18 feet through a breeze block wall & another stud work wall.
What I would like to do is boost the signal so the pc's get a reasonable signal
(line speed is broadband 4Mb line)
Has anyone got any solutions to this, or been in a similar predicament.
I have seen network repeaters of differing types, any advice on what ones to get or how to boost the signal
just as a foot note, the signal is encrypted so cannot be accessed without the relevant p/words
The 2 other pc's , one has a good to excellent signal which the closest pc to the Router which is in the bedroom next door, the other pc has a very poor signal, 2 rooms down the landing, Sometimes it's as low as 11 mbps.
The distance from the Router of pc #2 is about 8 - 10 feet, signal through a breeze block wall, and pc#3 is about 15 - 18 feet through a breeze block wall & another stud work wall.
What I would like to do is boost the signal so the pc's get a reasonable signal
(line speed is broadband 4Mb line)
Has anyone got any solutions to this, or been in a similar predicament.
I have seen network repeaters of differing types, any advice on what ones to get or how to boost the signal
just as a foot note, the signal is encrypted so cannot be accessed without the relevant p/words
Try a 2 metre extender cable on the aerial output of the router this as worked fine for me and means the aerial can be situated higher up on my computer cabinet,this can be used on the pci cards of the other computers too,to get aerial away from looking at the wall(what most pc,s rears generally see)Ebay about £6 each money well spent in my opinion the longer mast did nothing for my signal by the way,try using an extender cable it may be your answer
oh my one come witha a magnetic base and you just screw your aerial into that.
oh my one come witha a magnetic base and you just screw your aerial into that. Edited by That Daddy on Saturday 31st March 23:11
there isnt really a good solution as you are always limited by the legal power output of 20dBm - high gain antennas become more directional and you really need them both ends to work.
..youd be better off getting a Powerline extender kit - NETGEAR WGXB102 etc - put one end near the router and the other in any plug socket in the house - it has a built in wireless access point and DHCP server
www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=2823
..youd be better off getting a Powerline extender kit - NETGEAR WGXB102 etc - put one end near the router and the other in any plug socket in the house - it has a built in wireless access point and DHCP server
www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=2823
I had tried getting a kitchen Seive (sp?) and covering it in tin foil, poking a hole in it and puching the aerial through it, to look like a cheap home made satelite dish, That did up the signal slightly, but it wasn't too reliable, plus because of the size of the seive, the router was at a very odd angle. So that was the cheap option.
Get the Aerial extenders on both ends with 5db omni directional aerials, and then make a couple of directional parabolic reflectors like I did to extend my range to 50m across the road to my elderly 85 year old neighbour, he could not afford broadband etc but now shares my connection
www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/CompSci_p010.shtml
extenders and other range enhancing stuff will help for point to point links, especially in free air
...it wont help much in trying to get through breeze block walls though Im afraid.
..you cannot amplify the power output by these methods...all you are doing is focusing the existing energy into a smaller beam...
...it wont help much in trying to get through breeze block walls though Im afraid.
..you cannot amplify the power output by these methods...all you are doing is focusing the existing energy into a smaller beam...
I don't suppose you can suffle things around?
I had a weak signalled PC in the dining room, but by relocating the router to the sittingroom and feeding a cable to it, then swapping the wireless ariel to an upstairs PC, I've now got all PC's working at nominal speeds.
Didn't cost a penny, but had to drill holes in two walls.
I had a weak signalled PC in the dining room, but by relocating the router to the sittingroom and feeding a cable to it, then swapping the wireless ariel to an upstairs PC, I've now got all PC's working at nominal speeds.
Didn't cost a penny, but had to drill holes in two walls.
spants said:
two linksys routers, dd-wrt software set up as a wds bridge and the tewak to raise power from 28 to 70
had powerline stuff but it failed after a day
I agree. The Netgear Powerline stuff is pants. Mine got sent back.
There are much better products out there, they don't look as pretty, but work "out of the box", encryption included!
The DECT phones comment by BliarOut is spot on - Microwaves do the same - you can also try changing the wireless channel on the router to see if that can help.
I think the Netgear default is channel 6. Try setting it to channel 1 or 11 (less frequency "overlap" ).
Also think about things like book cases... especially all those thick car manuals you have... ;-)
Edited by LordLanky on Wednesday 11th April 08:57
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