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Gumby
Fishnologist


Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 26,656
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Wifi question...
#8632680 - 07/14/08 08:05 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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I'm having a lot of trouble picking up the wireless signal from my building's router lately. I have admin access to the router, so I tried changing the channels manually and seeing which had the best link quality and S/N ratio. Now that channel seems to be full of interference or my landlord moved the router.
I was wondering if there was a program that was made that could scan the channels and see which ones have the least interference. This could be a stretch, because I'm guessing the router has to be broadcasting on a given channel to assess the interference issues. If thats not the case, a program of some sorts would be
If not, I am getting a new wireless NIC today. This cheap TrendNet card is the biggest piece of shit I've ever owned as far as wireless goes. Awful reception, always drops the connection. If you were thinking about buying TrendNet's wireless cards... DON'T.
Another brand in wireless company that I've had horrible luck with: SMC. Their routers are built to fail.
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Aiko Aiko



Registered: 05/13/05
Posts: 6,426
Loc: Lazy River Road
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Gumby]
#8632703 - 07/14/08 08:18 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Have you checked for any firmware updates for your card?
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Gumby]
#8632704 - 07/14/08 08:27 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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One thing to remember about WIFI... a tiny move can make a huge difference in reception, even when the two devices are very close together.
Imagine a wall with a device on each side, across from one another. The signal has to travel through a few inches of material; no big deal. Now, move the two devices as far apart as you can along the same wall (on opposite sides, just like before). Although the devices are still only a few feet apart (ten to twenty feet), and although the wall is the same thickness, the signal now has to travel through the wall for the entire distance due to the angle of the wall with respect to the devices. Moving your computer a foot away from the wall, in this case, can improve the signal dramatically. (I don't know that this is your problem, but when calculating distance between devices, you have to be clever about it.)
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Gumby
Fishnologist


Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 26,656
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Seuss]
#8635905 - 07/14/08 11:39 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Good point about the wall Suess. I have a wall that runs perpendicular to where the router is. My computer was about 4" from the wall. I only moved it out to about 10" and my link quality inceased by 10 percent and the Tx rate went from 1.0Mbps to 2.0Mbps. Not a huge difference it wouldn't seem, but webpages load almost instantly for me now and my connection rarely drops.
Excellent advice! My new NIC comes with an antenna on a wire. I'm going to move it to the far side of my desk and my reception should be MUCH better.
Gracias
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Gumby]
#8636112 - 07/15/08 01:00 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Consider a directional antenna.
I have a laptop that I have a USB antenna/NIC combo connected too that I use to recieve a signal from two houses down. Which is through the equivalent of three houses and three lots (one of which is empty).
I get from the mid -70's to the low -80's in dBm usually.
Right now I'm at -81 at 18 Mbps. Before I got the directional antenna/card combo I couldn't even get the Beacon... Now the signal blasts through the walls no problem, including a whole sepperate house and half of two others.
Considering I'm connected to a general crappy access point with many other wifi points around, I think that's pretty good.
You might wanna consider it.
I got my USB powered antenna/NIC card combo for about 80 bucks.
Directional makes a big difference over the low-gain shitty omni NIC's that are default on most adapters, so consider it.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Gumby]
#8636370 - 07/15/08 04:11 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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> Gracias 
De nada
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Gumby
Fishnologist


Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 26,656
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Gumby]
#8638689 - 07/15/08 04:25 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Alright, I got a new WiFi card with an antenna on a 2 foot cable. I placed the antenna on top of my subwoofer, bringing the distance away from the wall to about 3.5 feet. I was curious if the magnet in the sub would interfere with the signal, but it doesn't seem to. I'm not sure how a magnetic field would alter the radio waves of WiFi.
Anyways, now I get between 11-24Mbps with about 70% link quality and 0 noise most of the time. Much better. With the old card I was connected at 1mbps with the slightly higher link quality, but I was only pulling about 300kbps, which is unacceptable. At least now I am able to get the full speed available for my DSL.
New question: Do you think it would be possible for me to lengthen the wire myself some how? Are the hook ups for antennas on the back of cards universal or card/brand specific?
BTW: The card I got is made by MSI, model number PC60G. It has performed excellently so far, I'd recommend it. I still stand by my opinion that TrendNet cards are horrible pieces of shit, even after driver/software upgrades.
Edit, I just played around with moving the antenna and checking the link status. I managed to find a sweet spot on the underside of my desk that gets a signal strength of -66db to -72db with 88-94% link quality. Tx rate jumps between 36 and 48Mbps. Horrah!
Edited by Gumby (07/15/08 04:46 PM)
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 3 months, 8 days
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Gumby]
#8638873 - 07/15/08 05:03 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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> Do you think it would be possible for me to lengthen the wire myself some how?
No. You would mess up the impedance of the cable.
If anybody else is in the same market, I've heard good things about these:
http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=19&FamID=33&ProdID=379 http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=19&FamID=33&ProdID=308
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Gumby
Fishnologist


Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 26,656
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Seuss]
#8639960 - 07/15/08 09:07 PM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Seuss said: > Do you think it would be possible for me to lengthen the wire myself some how?
No. You would mess up the impedance of the cable.
If anybody else is in the same market, I've heard good things about these:
http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=19&FamID=33&ProdID=379 http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=19&FamID=33&ProdID=308
I'm taking Physics II right now and we're learning about circuits and such, I'll get back to you on that impedance thing
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 3 months, 8 days
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Re: Wifi question... [Re: Gumby]
#8641119 - 07/16/08 03:51 AM (15 years, 10 months ago) |
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> I'm taking Physics II right now and we're learning about circuits and such, I'll get back to you on that impedance thing
Might be a while, cable inductance is a complex topic that is usually covered in electrical engineering classes rather than intro physics classes. In the mean time...
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/wiring/cable_impedance.html
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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