Rexcellent
join:2003-01-08
Chicago, IL
| [wireless] Options to Extend My Wireless Connection
Hi,
This probably isn't an unusual question, but I thought I'd give my specific example to get opinions on what solutions might be possible for me. Here are the details:
I'm trying to extend my wireless connection over to my brothers house four doors down. The townhomes are in an "L" shaped pattern with my place being the base of the "L" and my brother being at the tip. We are approximately 30 yards away from each other. Now when I'm outside, with my laptop, I can walk over to his place and still get a signal. Maybe with about half the signal strength. When I walk inside his place, I get no signal. When I walk onto his deck, I get about half a signal again. The BEFW11S4 sits on the third floor of my townhome and the signal has to travel through my brick wall. I think that accounts for the low signal when I'm outside in front of his house. Having to travel through his brick wall, would explain the complete signal loss inside his house.
Given this setup, what are some of my options to receive a signal from my brothers place? Do I need a new router with better range? Do I need some type of hardware at my brothers house? Or would the WSB24 resolve the situation? Any opinions are welcome.
TIA
Fun_Rexy |
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aholmes5
join:2003-01-10
Houston, TX
| Fun_Rexy,
Let me give you some ideas. First, what type of interface cards are you using? If you are using Linksys wireless cards, scrap them and buy yourself some Lucent/Agere/Wavelan Orinico Silver or Gold cards. They have much better range. Also, if your BEFW11S4 is a version 1, sell it on ebay and buy a version 2 or version 3. They have much more powerful transmitters.
If this still doesn't give you enough power, you can add external antennas to the Orinico cards via their little belly button.
Don't waste money on the WSB24. It is only helpful on the BEFW11S4 version 1 and for the price you can buy a new befw11s4 version 3. It doesn't help on the version 2/3 routers.
If possible try and move your router in front of a window. Most external walls have insulation with a foil backing that shields wireless signals from passing through. This will increase your range. Even if you can't move it in front of a window, try moving it around the room. Sometimes moving the router 5 feet can make a huge difference. Get your brother on a cell phone and have him watch the signal strength on your laptop while you move the router. There is usually a hotspot. |
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kmp38
@12.3.x.x
| if all else fails you can go to these two links to buy range
extender antennas. I also found a lot of good info on these
two sites about wireless transmission in general.
»www.hyperlinktech.com
»www.hdcom.com |
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Rexcellent
join:2003-01-08
Chicago, IL
| This is all good info. Thanks. Yes, I do have the version 1 Linksys router. It sounds like that is my weak spot. So if I replace that and also get the Orinoco Wireless PC Card (which I have heard good things about), I should theoretically have a connection at that range and through those walls.
Of course, that opens up the question, what router should I go with? Should I stay with 11b or go with g? I like g's performance increase, but it's not really standardized yet is it? Also, which router has the best range and signal? Does the version 3 BEFW11S4 offer that much better performance, or should I consider other brands?
Thanks for your opinions.
Sorry for the additional questions. |
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Asterix
Premium
join:2002-09-18
Scotch Plains, NJ
clubs:  
| WRT54G has a good range too. I am sharing my wireless connection with my cousin 4 houses down. I have kept my router in mixed mode as my cousin uses B devices still. He gets a signal strength of "Good" and some times "Very Good". And yes believe me its going through more than 4 brick walls.
I think it all depends on the environment too, like 2.4Ghz cordless phones, microwave ovens, the way you keep your wireless router (face smacked down or in L shaped style), etc.
Try keeping your router in "L" shaped style, many times it does the job superbly and you can run away from the hassle to buy new stuff, when you already have all the things you need. You just need to fine tune your wireless structure before going into buying new cards and routers.
Well just a suggestion here. 
[text was edited by author 2003-04-26 15:07:42] |
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