Erractic Reception in a house - recommendations.

I am asking these questions for a friend who is somewhat resistant to my advice . The experts on this forum are more knowledgeable than me . Linksys G Router ( pre ver 5 no firmware upgrade). The router is on the 2nd floor in a bedroom. Encryption in not turned on. DSL high speed connection. The router is set on g . Channel is 6 . The homeowner is reistant to changing the channel even though there are at least another

3 Linksys routers on the block all set at defaults . Claims that the channels 1 and 11 resulted in worse reception. Reception on a Toshiba laptop with a built in antenna is fine on the main floor . The homeowner insists that reception on the 2nd floor is erratic. This is only being judged by reception not even signal strength on the Windows XP utility He is insistent that reception is fine on the main floor kitchen which is further away than being in somewhat adjacent bedroom. The house is approx 15 years old with gyproc walls not heavy metal pipes or brick. I have talked myself blue to no avail . The homeowner has convinced himself that he needs to buy the Linksys range extender which will certainly help his problems ( or to my mind at least benefit Linksys and Best Buy monetarily the fellow is a good friend of mine but as I have said I have talked myself blue in the face . Any sugggestions and advice would be appreciated . .
Reply to
frankdowling1
Loading thread data ...

As well there was a relatively major power failure about a week ago which seems to be timed around the start of this somewhat erratic reception .

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Reply to
frankdowling1

Nothing worse than someone who wants advice but won't even try you proposed solution. Perhaps best leave him to sort it out himself.

Try turning off his wireless system and use Netstumbler to see if there are any others in the area?

Reply to
CWatters

If your friend doesn't want your advice - take the hint and leave him alone. It's his house, his PC, his equipment, so he's probably thinking of a polite way to keep your nose out, or he doesn't trust your advice will be any good. maybe you have given bad advice in the past. Leave him alone and stop getting so worked up.

Reply to
Ian C

Walk away. Google for "teaching a pig to sing".

Upgrade to latest firmware. Also, latest laptop drivers. You probably should turn on WPA, but that's a rathole, and not the primary problem.

Change the channel. It sounds like he can't see the other sources of interference when he's on the first floor, but can if he increases his elevation.

[Or maybe he's connecting to one of his neighbor's routers and doesn't know it.]

Do not validate his conviction, or you'll be on the hotseat when it doesn't work (or makes things worse). Repeaters are the worst solution possible for his situation, as they are likely to repeat his neighbor's networks and make his worse. Even when they work they are awful.

He either wants your help or he doesn't. If he wants your help on a wild goose chase, play dumb and refuse to help (that's your weekend to polish the dog). Your friendship will not be strenghened by your attempts to assist.

Reply to
William P.N. Smith

A full power cycle probably wouldn't hurt.

Reply to
William P.N. Smith

Reply to
Peter Pan

" snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com" hath wroth:

I have friends and I have customers. The difference is the customers pay me. You might try turning your friend into a customer.

Actually he has a point. Too bad he doesn't understand the numbers involved. With high gain antennas and filters, the bandwidth of the antenna or filter becomes sufficiently narrow to cause a slight decrease in gain or attenuation at the band edges. Note the VSWR graph at: |

formatting link
VSWR is much better at midband (ch 6) and is slightly worse at the band edges (2400 and 2483.5MHz). The total effect might be a small fraction of a decibel and is hardly noticeable.

Well, he might be correct if there's something in the walls blocking the signal to the 2nd floor, or that there's a better view of possible sources of interference: |

formatting link

Foil backed insulation in the walls? Chicken wire backed stucco on the outside?

Some medical oxygen will help. Avoid hyperventilation.

I like this homeowner. His method of spending money to solve all problems is my kind of customer. Is he involved in government spending or policy? Perhaps this might help. |

formatting link
also have a few amulets, charms, rabbits feet, and secret incantations that will improve wireless performance. Unfortunately, his method of asking you to fix things without being allow to change anything strikes me as a bit limiting. I would advise you use the "change everything" method by declaring everything he owns and has done to be defective. They you can sell him a total replacement designed to maximize your profit margin. That will also allow you to change the channel before he notices or complains.

Like I said, medical oxygen and avoiding hyperventilation will help.

Free advice is worth what you pay for it. Charge him for your advise. It tends to make people listen better.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

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.