chewing my arm off!!!!

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 20:23:12 -0400, "lucky\\(one\\)" wrote in :

Yes (although 28 should still be more than fast enough). You're apparently going through floors, which really cuts down the signal, and wireless antennas work much better horizontally than vertically. Try orienting them horizontally. You also might have interference problems. See the links below.

WOW! thanks for the rapid response and good info links. also how much signal does one need to play a game like BF2, when I get on and play this I keep getting bad signal msg's?

Thanks again

and does the amount of content necessarily change the signal strength?

not to rattle on....but the horizontal position of the antenii improved the signal a bunch

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 20:32:03 -0400, "lucky\\(one\\)" wrote in :

There is no rigid rule.

Might be weak signal. Might also be interference.

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 20:33:36 -0400, "lucky\\(one\\)" wrote in :

It has no effect on signal strength -- you just notice any problems more.

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 20:43:07 -0400, "lucky\\(one\\)" wrote in :

That's because it changed the gain pattern from horizontal to vertical.

That speed test was made for a dialup modem. Please find another. Looks like Insight Broadband doesn't have a local speed test, so try one of these:

any case an online speed test is NOT a good test for wireless preformance. The problem is that you're measuring the speed of the broadband connection, not that of the wireless connection. To do the wireless, you need to use a CAT5 ethernet connected computah to use as a benchmarking server. The speed is that of copying files between this computah and your wireless connected computer. The assumption is that the CAT5 ethernet connected computer network speed is faster than that of the wireless. I suggest using Iperf for the purpose: It would be nice if you would kindly disclose the maker and model numbers of your wireless hardware. I don't like doing guesswork.

What you're seeing is rather common. The way some wireless routers work is that when you're NOT sending any data, it displays a maximum speed (54MBit/sec) connection speed. (Note that the router is what controls the speed, not the client). That makes sense because with no data moving, there are no errors, therefore the wireless can run at maximum speed.

However, as soon as you start moving data, the errors appear, and the access point slows down the system in a heroic attempt to reduce the errors. It would be a bad idea to have it permanently stuck at some slower speed, so as soon as you stop sending data, the errors disappear, and full speed is again achieved.

Hmmm.... This looks familiar. Do you have a Webstar modem? http://70.86.166.114/images/help/webstar_modem/WebstarModemReboot.pdf

no it's airlink on both ends...I'll post the specifics when I get off work.

What I did with the speed test was load that page from both pc's and the one upstairs with the main hookup was 3 times faster.

On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 04:48:31 -0400, "lucky\\(one\\)" wrote in :

Probably weak signal and/or interference.

"lucky\\(one\\)" hath wroth:

That's a rather crude test but effective in this case. The upstairs machine will be limited by the speed of the DSL connection.

Which InsightBB service level do you have? 256Kbits/sec,

1.5Mbits/sec, 4Mbits/sec, or 6Mbits/sec???

However, the wireless connection would need to be fairly slow and lossy to be 3 times slower than one of these speeds. I agree with John, weak signal or interference are the probable causes. List of probable interference sources and remdial hints:

If you manage to eliminate the weak signal and/or interference, you should get at least the same speed as the upstairs machine as 802.11g thruput is usually much faster than DSL. I suggest you drag the wireless machine close to the wireless access point, try your benchmark (or get a better benchmark) test again. That has to work correctly or there is something wrong with the hardware, drivers, antennas, local RF interference, etc. Then, move the machinea around and watch the signal level, S/N ratio, etc. At some point, it will be slower than your DSL. That's your range limit. Any farther and you will need to try replacement higher gain antennas or reflectors.

hmmm, well, thank you both very much. helpful stuff.

TRy "fixing" the speed of the connection at he PC end using the utlity software. That way it won't change speeds and add huge lag to the game during play.

Even 1Mbps speed will work fine.

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 10:20:17 +0100, Doz wrote in :

Except in ad hoc networks, speed is controlled by the access point, not the PC.

If speed is getting down that low, something is so seriously bad that it probably won't be fine.