I currently have an Atheros AR5212A minipci wifi card installed in my T23 laptop. I ran my own coax cables to two Linksys 7dbi antennas on the back of the LCD. Works OK but sometimes I have to get closer to my router, aquire the signal then go back to my desk where the signal "holds" better. If I loose my connection, I have to repeat that.
I also have a VERY old Pentium MMX 150mhz PC running a Linksys WUSB11 external wifi radio. The two systems' antenna are pretty close and the router (WRT54G v4 running DD-WRT) reports about 9 db better signal from the laptop.
The problem is that while the laptop has better performance, I have to aquire the signal in a better location before it'll work at my desk. It's kinda like a squelch type issue.
So, are there better minipci cards out there? I googled a bit and it seems like the Atheros based cards are the best but is there a mod to tweak the squelch just a hair?
You should NOT have to do that. My guess(tm) is that your Linksys client software is scanning around for a better connection and not locking onto your router. The scanning is by SSID. Does your router have a unique SSID? Does your Linksys client software have a "preferred" SSID? Any possibility of local interference from other WLAN networks that are causing the disconnects? If so, try a different channel (1, 6, or 11).
I also question using two 7dBi antennas. These have plenty of gain in the horizontal plane, but not much going up and down. If your wireless access point is not on the horizontal plane with the laptop, the added gain is not being used because it's outside of the antenna pattern.
DD-WRT v23 SP2 ?? or one of the experimental versions? Just curious.
The reported signal levels are not very accurate for absolute levels. You can use the signal strength to determine if changes in location or antenna are doing anything useful, but comparing two completely different devices will not work. However, the differences reported by DD-WRT are valid. 9dB is a huge amount of difference in signal levels. However, you're also comparing an 802.11b connection with an
802.11g connection. That's good for a few dB of difference.
Well, an improvement in antennas will work better than an allegedly better card. You could go to one of the higher power Atheros based MiniPCI cards from Ubiquiti:
but that won't do anything if there's a receive problem. You'll get lots of transmit range, but the receive range will be the same. Don't bother.
What might be useful is changing the antenna configuration at the access point. Perhaps a simple reflector will help:
Well, you can create such abrupt transitions if you set the wireless speed from the usual default of "auto" to some specific speed. Is that what you've done?
Atheros is good for no better reason than they cooperate with the open source driver authors while the other vendors vary from ambivalent to belligerant. However, methinks you might be chasing the wrong problem. You should be able to initiate a connection at the same location that you can normally use that connection. If not, something is wrong and should be found before juggling hardware. It's likely to be a problem with whatever you're using.
If not interference, then it seems like there is something about your custom antenna/cable configuration that is working against you.
Besides the 7 dbi being overly narrow, I wonder about the cableing.
Also the antenna location. Is your screen or something acting as an RF shield?
1) pull the antennas off of the screen and move them around from the screen. Sides point to the AP/router, right? This is a fairly thin disk that you are pointing.
2) take a critical look at your cabling and connectors. Is it possible that they are poorly connected or crimped and there is actually no antenna? What is the cable? I'm trying to imagine how you could get serious loss with a presumed very short coax.
On Sun, 06 May 2007 09:06:37 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote in :
I agree that it _should_ not be necessary, but my experience is that it sometimes _is_ necessary, that connection sometimes cannot be made without better signal, whereupon it will continue to work (slowly) with poor signal. SSID seems to have nothing to do with it. Perhaps the client software is too intolerant of errors during the initial connection process and/or trying to connect at too high a speed. Perhaps the access point is failing to shift speed down during the initial connection. I personally consider it a bug, albeit a relatively minor one. One of these days I intend to see if locking down speed would help.
Hi, Just durious, what disctance are you trying to cover? Vertical or horixontal? I never had problem in my house covering from the basement to loft upstairs; that's 3 and half levels of structure. Some with Atheros, some with Broadcom chips.
On Tue, 08 May 2007 04:21:37 GMT, Tony Hwang wrote in :
You're lucky. There's a huge variation in attenuation between different types of building materials, and many common materials won't permit that kind of coverage; e.g., lath and plaster, and foil-backed insulation, which are very effective signal blockers.
Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.