| WRT54G Increased transmission strength So with a bit of searching I found out a command to send to the WRT54G to increase it's transmission strength from 31mW to 84mW. Doing so increased my range and also the quality of my connections...
My question is why didn't Linksys ship it this way? Is 84mW out of FCC regulations or something? |
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ShootistPremium
join:2003-02-10
Decatur, GA
kudos:3 | So if it works for you why didn't you post a link for others to use. Thanks
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| Well, I was a little hesitant because I don't know if this hack violates FCC regs or not. I mean, it *can* transmit at 84mW, but should it? Why else would you ship it out at 31mW?
I quote from another web page:
"We just need to execute the command /usr/sbin/wl -i eth2 txpwr 84 using the "ping hack" already described."
The ping hack is done as follows:
1. Go to the System tab of the router config.
2. Hit the "ping test" button.
3. Anything that is included in the "IP Address or Domain Name" box will be executed once you hit ping, providing the command is enclosed with ` ` marks, ie `/usr/sbin/wl -i eth2 txpwr 84`
So, try it. I set it to txpwr 1, and the signal almost died. I tried different values all the way up to 84, and the signal quality bars increased as well.
Anyone out there with some educated guesses as to why Linksys would ship it out at less than half of its potential transmission power?
My concerns are about legality, and also about potentially frying the router by "overclocking" it. |
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 Camel ToeTrying Is The First Step Towards Failure
join:2002-12-25
Marlboro, NJ | Did anyone else try this out? |
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| reply to Oiler11
I tried this last week, but I didn't dare leave it at 84. If I had a spare one that I didn't care about frying I would leave it at 84. |
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ShootistPremium
join:2003-02-10
Decatur, GA
kudos:3 | Can you go to something lower than 84 but higher than 31.
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Camel ToeTrying Is The First Step Towards Failure
join:2002-12-25
Marlboro, NJ | I nominate Shootist to give it a try 
Anyone second this? |
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ShootistPremium
join:2003-02-10
Decatur, GA
kudos:3 | Thanks for the nomination but I must decline from the position.
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Vow9
join:2003-08-30
Australia | reply to Shootist
Actually the default output on the unit is 19mW.
I've played with the hack, and it is within FCC regs to do so, but there are two things I'm worried about:
1. Does the transmitter handle the extra power elegantly, or does the signal become dirty like in the WAP11 hack (see »melbourne.wireless.org.au/wiki/?SVECWLAP for a visual). Hard to know for sure until someone can put their unit on a spectrum analyser.
2. Will the unit overheat, considering you are more than quadrupling the output power? |
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tugrul
join:2000-11-23
Forest Hills, NY | reply to Oiler11
Heh, thats clever.
digiblur already posted a link to a hacked firmware for the WAP54G that does this. I was contemplating fiddling with the WRT54G firmware when I was bored, but this is a relatively safe way to get the same effect. Its not like the device is rebooted much.
As far as the legality of it:
What is the maximum output power allowed for wireless Ethernet.
The maximum output power allowed for wireless Ethernet (802.11, 802.11b, etc.) by the FCC at 2.4Ghz is 36dBm or 4Watts.
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/wisp?text=1
84mW is not much :/ |
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ShootistPremium
join:2003-02-10
Decatur, GA
kudos:3 | reply to Vow9
So the question is can you use a lower power setting in the hack. Something like 44-48-52??? to boost it a little bit.
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ShootistPremium
join:2003-02-10
Decatur, GA
kudos:3 Reviews:
 ·AT&T Southeast
| I put the WRT up to 48mW and i am getting a better signal all over my house. I did not use it much last night but I have not felt any excess heat. I will check the router when I shut down this morning.
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 DrunkulaPremium
join:2000-06-12
Denton, TX | reply to Oiler11
Does the setting in that command above represent mW or dbM?
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Vow9
join:2003-08-30
Australia | Definitely mW. Putting out anything near 84dBm from such a small unit would be impossible! |
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Camel ToeTrying Is The First Step Towards Failure
join:2002-12-25
Marlboro, NJ | reply to Oiler11
Set mine to 48 a few hours ago and all is well.
My signal went from 'very good' to excellent when idling. Speed is 54Mbs. I'm about 30 feet away from the WRT54G. Signal is passing through the typical wallboard.
Is there a way to have this take affect if I have to power off/on my router for some reason? Perhaps a script? |
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ShootistPremium
join:2003-02-10
Decatur, GA
kudos:3 Reviews:
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to Oiler11
When I shut down the laptop this morning I felt the router and it had no noticeable increase in heat output. I will do some heavy file transfers tonight between my two laptops both running 54g cards. Also I did not notice a real increase in signal to my old IBM laptop using a WPC54G card.
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 Armada1Heat Miser
join:2001-05-16
Chicago, IL
| reply to Oiler11
said by Oiler11:
My question is why didn't Linksys ship it this way? Is 84mW out of FCC regulations or something?
Law enforcement is allowed to use the higher power settings only. Its in the FCC rules somewhere, but those are the rules here in the States. Where I work day to day, the police departments are putting access points on water towers etc, so they can have hotspots all over, works really well with good higher quality antennas and the boosted signal.
By the way, what does the hack matter unless you can increase the strength of the card in your computer to match the strength of the access point?
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[text was edited by author 2003-09-11 12:22:30] |
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| reply to Shootist
what do u think its best to set it at? |
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ShootistPremium
join:2003-02-10
Decatur, GA
kudos:3 Reviews:
·AT&T Southeast
| said by DrX:
what do u think its best to set it at?
Don't know, this is my first experience with boosting the signal. I've only been doing wireless for about 2-3 months.
Someone else and I have gone to 48 and everything seems to be stable. I do overclock some of my PC hardware but I never go for the max. So if I can get a little boost that's fine with me. I will try it a little higher after I do some more testing. I will try to push it until I have to add more fans and/or bigger heat sinks then to me it's just not worth it.
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Camel ToeTrying Is The First Step Towards Failure
join:2002-12-25
Marlboro, NJ | reply to Oiler11
By the way, what does the hack matter unless you can increase the strength of the card in your computer to match the strength of the access point?
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I'm no electrical expert but I remember back in the CB days people uping their transmitters higher then the 3 Watts allowed (or was it 4). I could hear these guys way before I could if they were at the legal limit. My CB was not modified in any way.
Wouldn't this apply to the router and receiver card as well? |
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