Wireless utility Information + other information requested

On a related point regarding signal strength

I have noticed that the strength varies. Is this due to variations within say 50 yds of the house. Basically what people are doing. I can watch the signal rising and falling. What are likely to be the major cause of this variation?

Your posting host is still showing a "Plus.net" IP have you considered looking at their support site? I presume they supplied the router?

For example:- How to check or change Wireless Security settings on the Thomson 585v7 router

1. Open your web browser and go to http://192.168.1.254/ - if you're asked for login details, the user name will be Administrator and the password will be the serial number shown on the bottom of your router (unless you've changed them). 2. At the bottom of the page, under Home Network, click the Wireless link.Once you've logged into your router, scroll down to Home Network and click Wireless. 3. On the Wireless summary page click Configure - it's in the top right corner of the page. Go to the top right side of the Wireless Summary page and click Configure. 4.You'll now see the settings for your wireless network. Security settings are at the bottom of the page. You can change your Wireless password here (WPA-PSK Encryption Key) and the type of encryption you're using (WPA-PSK Version). Once you've finished making changes click Apply.

Thomson normally provide a CD with the router and it should contain guided help on how to set up their router and connecting to wireless clients.

The security pass keys?

I don't know your router personally. But I downloaded a copy of your manual from the web.

It says the default security pass key is printed on a label on the base of the router.

It's a different kind of firewall than your PC's security package. Your Internet provider allocates you a "world wide" IP address.

To the outside world "you" are the router not your PC.

The router allocates your PC a local IP address within network, and forwards messages to this new address which the outside world doesn't know.

So it protects your computer from the outside world. It has some simple settings like whether or not to respond to a ping. This is a command anybody can send to an IP address or a URL to see if anything is there.

Open a command prompt and do "ping google.com" or "ping 4.4.4.4" and you will get responses from those locations. Hackers ping address ranges to see what responds. If you turn off responding to ping they won't see your router at all.

There are a few other things it can do but this is the most important.

It's the sort of firewall that wouldn't normally get updated.

You should still have a security package that prevents things piggybacking on incoming data, up-to-date lists of locations you don't want to go to, etc.

Yes.

It's the kind of broadband connection the telephone company uses. From your router to the outside world.

Because it uses the telephone wires you get a direct copper link from the router to the phone company which isn't shared with any other router.

The other way uses the cable TV connection. All the houses in the same locality listen in to the same cable in the same way different TVs do. This isn't a problem because cable has much higher bandwidth and throughput so it works out three or four times faster than DSL for the end user.

But both of these work out slower than your wireless connection to the router.

Data goes through a lot of steps to get from your computer to a web site and back again. The whole thing is only as fast as the slowest link in the chain. Which is the DSL connection down the phone line, not your local wireless.

Distance, what it has to punch through to reach you including walls, reflection from metal objects, etc.

Hi, Don't help this lazy bugger. Let him learn how to fish don't give him fish.

h.- Hide quoted text -

Thanks for the help in understanding the processses.

The router did not come with a CD

I have found that the height of the antenna (at the PC) seems important for the strength of the signal. Although raised height has also increased the noise level, but it (noise) is still recorded as low. The antenna is now a little closer to a TV which might account for the raised noise.

Best wishes

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Hmmm, Maybe your antenna coax is of poor quality then. There is no such thing as noise free signal. Experience is best teacher. If you want to, go use -a channel router. I have cascaded dual channel routers.

"species8350

The antenna is now a little closer to a TV which might account for the raised noise.

turn down the volume (or turn the TV off)

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TVs emit a large amount of radio frequency noise, especially the ones with tubes. As do microwaves. Also electric motors. Shave while listening to the radio and you'll see what I mean.

fish.- Hide quoted text -

Hi,

I have been investigating the router, and found most of the settings, but I can't find Ping?

My router is set for b/g. Some have said that setting the router to g is best. Any thoughts on this idea?

I also note that the Network Name is broadcast. Could this be a security issue?

Looking at the Link Quality and Signal Strength in my Wireless Utility, I see that the Link is excellent, yet the signal strength is normal. Should not one follow the other?

Best wishes.

fish.- Hide quoted text -

I did a google on this because it wasn't in the user guide.

Don't respond to ping is set by default.

It seems you can run scripts or issue commands at the router, and change configuration variables you wouldn't normally see.

This is probably in the reference manual but I didn't download that.

It's not something I would recommend at this stage.

If neither of you have B then set it to G only. This means it won't try to respond to anybody using B. Which probably isn't likely because that is old and slow but there might be somebody who still uses it.

Remember, it examines everything on your channel to see if it's a message for it.

Not really. It helps you select which network to connect to. You can make it invisible but this means when you want to connect you have to input the name.

You should be encrypting anyway so it shouldn't matter unless you don't want anybody to know about that router. Unless yours is the only house in the vicinity they won't know where it is.

Not necessarily. One is the quality of the signal and the other its strength. Like a radio picking up a strong station that also gets interference from a nearby motor.

Sounds like you're getting there - well done!

im fish.- Hide quoted text -

Yes, I think I am.

You are playing an important role in my progress.

My PCI card supports both b and g. I'll check on the other's card

Thanks

fish.- Hide quoted text -

Next time, you'll be the one helping somebody new because you've got experience of this particular router.

That's what this group is all about.

e him fish.- Hide quoted text -

Couple of question:

Is the wireless PIN for WPS only? (I do not use WPS). I see the PIN listed under WPS does not match the Wireless PIN for the Thomson?

I asssume that changing the WPA key will mean that all pc's connected to the router will also need to change their key to the new key ? Is the Wireless Key a euphemism for the WPA key?

If the password for the router is changed, I assume that only those who login to the router will need the new password. It will not affect their access to the Net.

Thanks

him fish.- Hide quoted text -

I haven't used WPS. It's a recent system to make wireless setup easier. But I'm on my 4th router now so doing it manually isn't a problem - it just automates exactly the same things anyway.

My router doesn't support it and I only found out about it when I got a new adapter for the laptop.

It's more of a "that might be nice" than a "must have".

Your manual says under Connecting Your Wireless Client without WPS

"Where can I find the encryption?

You have not yet configured your Thomson Gateway

In this case, no encryption is used.

You have already configured your Thomson Gateway using the Guided Installation

If you choose to use the wireless settings proposed by the Setup wizard, you can find the encryption key/passphrase on the label on the bottom of your Thomson Gateway.

If your router was previously used elsewhere the previous user probably changed it.

I think you said you got it from the phone phone company when DSL was installed? They just use what they have. This could also be why it took a long time to arrive if the company neeeded to upgrade the line for it.

Yes.

But the latest routers support a "network within a network" with a second password to isolate guests from the owner's equipment and data. This is definitely a useful feature that neither you nor I have.

Yes.

Once upon a time you it used a hexadecimal string instead of a word or phrase (digits and letters in the range 0-9 and A-F) so the terminology has changed over time.

Correct.

PS.

I said I'm on my 4th router. Apart from my first way back when 802-11A at 11 mbps was the state of the art and I only had a dial-up connection, I made the mistake of buying for what I needed at the time when ten dollars more would have given me what I later needed when I added more devices onto the network.

Originally I either re-plugged the printers into either the desktop or the laptop until I attached them to the network, and I didn't need gigabit wired ethernet until I started using a shared external disk drive for regular files as well as backup. Saving $10 when I bought my first 802-11N router cost me $100 to replace it with the gigabit version later.

After which my network has to be as fast as possible because the comparatively slow broadband connection is only a small part of it - most traffic is to and from the shared disk.

Just you wait until you discover what home networking can do - you've only scratched the surface!

And a tip. If you ever upgrade keep the old kit because it can help trouble shooting. If something stops working, swap the old unit in to tell you whether or not that is the part that failed.

te:

give him fish.- Hide quoted text -

As always, good advice.

Best wishes

e:

rote:

t give him fish.- Hide quoted text -

When I type in the router's url, am I communicating directly with the router in the house, or is the interface on the Net which then makes changes to the router in the house?

Can I password protect my pc to prevent other pc's on the network from accessing my pc

Thanks

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n't give him fish.- Hide quoted text -

When we setup the router, we included the splitters on the lines that also had phones connected.

There was one probelm, one of the phones is very old and uses a dial. It does not have a plugin connection. This phone has been left without a splitter.

There is noise on the line when using this phone. I assume that no damage can be done to the router or pc's in the house, and that the only problem will be noise when using this phone. Am I correct?

Thanks.

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n't give him fish.- Hide quoted text -

I've just noticed that I am using a different channel form the channel that I used yesterday. I have checked in the router and have found that channel selection is set to automatic.

Any idea what controls which channel the router selects?

Would it be better for me to set the channel manually such that I use a channel that is unused by others. Obviously, I can't control which channels others use.

Thanks.