Community Newsletter: Q&A: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup?
- 7/13/07 1:36 PM
Increasing range on wireless router
by tomerous - 7/7/07 4:32 AM In reply to: Higher gain antrennas could make coverage worse by jtowle2001Thru trial and error I have found it best to add a signal repeater/extender. It looks like a regular router. Difference is takes the signal and repeats it from your existing router. Keep the 2 routers away from each other ie, base router in basement and repeater on second floor. WIth both with them on you will get great reception from both no matter where you are.They work great. Enjoy!
Extending Wireless Router Range
by ctrobins - 6/29/07 9:29 PM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi John,
This is the WiFi motherload question! Each new generation of WiFi touts greater range, so my first recommendation would be to spent a hundred bucks or less and upgrade equipment.
BUT, you probably already know that and would rather keep the hundred bucks. I don't blame you especially since there are so many solutions that don't cost nearly that much!!!
1) Rabbit Ears: Wearing a pair of these beauties will make you a hit at parties, and they will go with your rabbit's foot. After a few more upgrades you may have a whole rabbit!
2) Wires: Wireless - Shmireless I say. If I want LAN/WAN access from my garden nothing beats a long hunk of Cat5 cable with an exposed RJ-45 jack coming out of the ground near the tomatos. Just make sure you don't have a wireless sprinkler system on the same freq as your WiFi. We wouldn't want any aquatic accidents while surfing.
3) Homemade Dish: Ingredients: 1-Salad bowl, 1 piece of aluminum foil, 1- tripod, 3 feet of antenea extension wire. 1-Drill, 1 soldering iron. No, this is not the recipe for a fine dining experience (unless you add lettuce) Rather following these instructions you can build your own hi-gain WiFi signal collector!
First Drill a hole in your laptop until you find a flat circuit board with a wire on it. There is a 22% chance you'll find this on the first hole. If you already know how to open the case of your laptop to find the WiFi card and it's antennea you can just patch/paint the holes you've drilled. Once you've identifed the antennea lead, simply solder your wire to it. Make a dish, on the tripod and point it at your Linksys. If all goes well you'll enjoy an 'Excellent' Signal...
... If all doesn't go well, you'll need to spent a hundred bucks on a new router and a thousand or more on a new laptop. Upgrading is best when you have a legitimate reason to do it! And it's hard to find a better reason than having a laptop with a bunch of holes in it.
I hope this advice leads you to a better solution!
- Craig
Antenna, placement
by AmigoNico - 6/29/07 10:48 PM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I just bought one of these antennas for my Linksys WRT54G; there happens to be a good rebate right now, but it expires soon:
http://www.buy.com/prod/d-link-7dbi-omni-directional-indoor-antenna-802-11-b-g-base-ant24-0700/q/loc/101/10403540.html
It helped quite a bit in my case. Read the directions telling where to place the antenna -- away from electronics and electrical equipment, metal, etc. Part of the gain is the antenna itself, and part is the fact that it is on a wire, allowing you to move it away from objects that cause interference. Bring up the Status window for your wireless network so you can see how many bars you are getting, and move the antenna around (hold it in each place for a few seconds to see the effect).
Of course it helps if you can place the router so as to minimize 1) distance (signal strength decreases with the square of the distance) and 2) the amount and density of material the signal must pass through. You said you live in a 3-story townhouse, so I suspect you will want it on the second floor, near the wall to your back yard so that the signal doesn't have to pass through the floor and the wall to reach you outside. Since your arrangement is fairly vertical, you will probably want to put the antenna at an angle, not perpendicular to the ground. You will probably want to angle it a little toward the back yard, for starters. In general imagine looking at the antenna from all the places you are going to connect; you don't want to be looking at it end-on, so that there is little cross-sectional area.
If you do buy an antenna, make sure it has the kind of connector you need. The one I mentioned above comes with an adapter such that it fits the two connector types in common use, but not all come with such an adapter, so be careful.
Good luck!
Center Stage
by Frentix - 6/30/07 1:35 AM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First of all, congrats on the new house.
Anyways:
You will need to first place the AP (access point or router) in "center stage", the middle of everything, so if you need all three floors and a back yard, then I would recommend placing it on a desk on the second floor towards the back of the house. After this, I would also make sure your AP is transmitting at full power (check your model manual) and the receive sensitivity is maxed as well. If this is insufficient, I would recommend certain hardware upgrades. This includes long range antennas for the AP (ie. linksys HGA7S or other, depends on antenna connector), a range extender or repeater (linksys WRE54G or similar), high power/sensitivity network cards and better antennas for those too. I'm simply using linksys products as an example because you have one (I'm a D-Link guy myself). There are many, many other products that can help you but these are the most common. As for your security concerns, I don't recommend too much concern, I wouldn't leave it unsecured, but a low level encryption will do, a shared-WEP encryption is simple and doesn't slow the network (though WPA lag time is negligible).
Good Luck!
Keith
My recommendations
by Pcfreakske2000 - 6/30/07 3:23 AM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi John,
Well, you mentioned that you are on a three-story townhouse.
I don't have experience with wireless connections, but I guess it might be wise to set a wireless router on every floor, so that the signal covers all three stories of the house.
About the security issues : you need to use WEP or WPA to secure your wireless network.
That way nobody else can use your wireless network.
Add Access Points where needed
by jtowle2001 - 6/30/07 6:44 AM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Simplest solution is to run a wire to another floor, then hookup another wireless router (or access point, but routers are actually cheaper). Run the wire to one of the router's existing LAN connectors (not the WAN connection). This allows any connections to the wireless port to be visible on the LAN side, and to the internet if wired to your main router -- the one with the cable modem, or DSL modem.
TURN OFF DHCP on all secondary access points (ir using routers). Any wireless device connecting to any of your wireless access points will get their IP address from the main router, which should have DHCP turned ON of course, as you probably have it now.
You can then use that second and third and fourth wireless router (remember, use the LAN connectors, not the WAN port on the router) and interconnect all of these using cables that run to the LAN connectors on the wireless routers.
This trick avoids the need for more expensive Access Point only solutions, which are also great if you want to spend the extra money. But they too have to be connected to the wired network, to provide wireless coverage to an area, and then pipe the packets in and out of the wireless side into the wired network, that goes out on the internet through your main router and cable/dsl modem.
Another possible answer is to use wireless repeaters, that do not require a wired connection, but they DO require that they can connect by wireless to your main router. For 3 floors, this is unlikely.
If you setup the wireless devices to use different 'channels' (collections of frequencies) the wider the spacing, the less channel overlap. Channels 1, 6, 11 use a different set of frequencies for the spread spectrum, frequency hopping, but even a collection of wireless devices on the same channel will work, with some interterference, but still workable due to the frequency hopping approach.
A wireless client will switch to the strongest signal, so don't be concerned if access point (AP) 1 is on a different channel than AP 2, or AP 3, your wireless client (computer, handheld, etc) will find them.
Another side benefit if you wish: Use WEP or MAC address filtering to keep unauthorized access to your wireless system. However, you can add yet another Wireless router hooked to it's WAN port, to expose wireless connectivity through it for guests, be sure to set that router's base IP addres outside of your existing class C network (e.g. if your existing router hands out address in the range of 192.168.1.xx, set the new router to 192.168.2.1 and let it DHCP to clients passing out adddress in that block. Let it DHCP on the WAN side, it will get a 'public' address of 192.168.1.xx) This allows users to have use of your internet bandwidth, but their packets will be forwarded to your gateway router, and NOT into your existing LAN. It's a nice trick to expose some bandwidth, without exposing your computers. I do this with an older wireless router, that runs 10 Mbit Wireless-B, and my newer wireless system is Wireless G, providing more speed to my own client computers. On some routers, you can set QOS (quality of service) and degrade packet bandwith to your exposed 'public' access point that you setup for visitors.
PS: For your main router, you really don't need to use a wireless router, build your system around access points that can be located where they provide the best coverage.
A wireless router is just a plain old router with a built-in access point. You can accomplish the same thing with separate devices, a router, and a separate access point (but it costs more).
Jeff
Expanding Linksys Wireless Network
by drivered - 6/30/07 10:09 AM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I also have a three story townhouse. I have the Verizon FIOS network which enters my premise in the garage. My Linksys WRT54G router is connected to the Verizon FIOS modem in the garage and provides excellent coverage for my basement and first level as well as the outside area around the building. I use a Linksys WRE54G Wireless G-range expander on the second floor which provides an excellent signal for all the bedrooms on that level. Both units have been working flawless for a couple years. The initial set up of the expander is best done with all security disabled at first. Once it is communicating with the router, you can enable WEP and MAC filtering on the router and set WEP security on the expander. I haven't tested the range of my network outdoors, but I would say I could probably go at least 50 yards in any direction from my townhouse.
I also have a second wireless network for two Tivo recorders operating under a different SSID. They don't connect to the Internet, but they do transfer recordings back and forth at a very high speed using a combination of wired USB adapters with a wireless router and wireless bridge (that's another story). I used to have the Tivo's on my pc wireless network, but I seemed to lose connections more frequently when I was transferring recordings. It's been more stable since I separated everything.
Better WiFi performance in 3 story townhouse
by hchilds - 6/30/07 10:52 AM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
John,
You can do this easily enough, but you will have to shell out some more $$. Your router is basically a low power radio transmitter/receiver that uses 2.4 gig or 5 gig as the center frequency. The computer data packets are transmitted and received via very small antennae in the router (and your laptop adapter card). These are microwave frequencies with very short wave lengths that are easily adsorbed, blocked,or reflected by solid walls, wiring, plumbing pipes, and AC ducting.
Better antenna systems always give you better signals. 'Nuff said about that, but that is part of your solution.
I would place the router on the second floor, choosing a location near the center of the room but away from any walls that have a lot of the things mentioned above in them.
Check your signal strength with your laptop (look at the bars on the wifi utility that came with your card or laptop...the more the better). Check all floors to see if you get at least 3 bars. If you can, at least where you will use your computer, that's it. If you don't, the first thing to do is to get an external indoor antenna for the router and connect it in place of the little stubby antenna. Check your signal strength on all floors again. You should see an appreciable increase in signal strength.
If that does not give you enough, you will have try moving the router or changing the angle of the external antenna from vertical to off-vertical. Again, test as you change things.
As a last resort, you can add wifi repeaters on the first and third floors. These are easy to set up and use, and will almost guarantee good signal strength on each floor.
For going outside, try your laptap and check signal strength in the yard at your favorite spot. You may already have an adequate signal. If it is not adequate, you will have to place another antenna outside on the wall (preferably near a window). Be sure to get an outdoor antenna that can take the elements. Note that if your router only has one antenna connection, you will have use a splitter to connect the two antennae (one inside, one outside) to the router.
With a little trial and error, you should have every spot you need wifi covered with good signal strength.
Once this is done, you will have a wide open system, unsecured, available to anyone who wants to join your network unless you install a good security system. Think hard about buying a good wifi security program and setting it up on every machine in your household. Use 128 bit security, even if slows you down a little, and use a really random password. You might even consider a really strange name for your wifi network too, as additional security.
In closing, I encourage you to do this. It is not really hard to do, and you will enjoy accessing your wifi from anywhere in your house.
Networking in old properties
by Chichen_george - 6/30/07 10:54 AM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have a similar problem to John, namely 2 foot thick walls! Even cortdless phones won't work more than one room apart. I have purchased a pair of "home plugs" which conect through the earth wire of the mains. They do work and very successfully. You can get varying speeds and protocols from Maplins and other such vendors.
Good luck
Mike
Hardware is a possibility
by hhanley007 - 6/30/07 10:57 AM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You could try increasing your router's signal strength. I have a 2Wire 1701HG gateway router on the second story in the back of the house that I changed the power from 4 to 10 on, and now I can detect it from down the street and in neighbor's houses. I am not sure if this is a possibility for Linksys routers because while a few of my friends have them, I do not, however you may want to at least try this approach.
If Linksys doesn't support his kind of customization, you have a few other options. You could get a high gain antenna, and put the router in the middle of the second floor and see if that works, or you could use a wireless repeater or two. Personally, I would probably set up the modem and router on the first floor near the back of the house. In my experience, a Linksys router can effectively cover one floor through many walls, but floors seem to present more of a problem. With the router being sufficient to cover the first floor placing it near the back door or a window would give you greater signal strength in the yard as well. I would then place repeaters, such as the Linksys WRE54G, on the second and third stories in the same approximate place as the router. These WRE54G's should effectively repeat the signal to and from the router and computer on any floor.
Location of wireless router
by jlsquires - 6/30/07 12:11 PM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Three years ago I mounted a dLink router on top of a bookshelf near the ceiling in my office about 15 feet from my desk. It worked fairly well up to about 18' but I was never fully satisfied until I stumbled onto a 7db booster at Radio Shack. What is the point of having a wireless computer if you have to be really close to the router? The results of replacing the little standard antenna were very good. What is perhaps more significant is the variation in quality of the wireless technology in each of my three laptops. I have a dLink PCMCIA card in my 3 year old Toshiba M35 - that works very well. My HP dv4100 has a very weak built in wifi. It "sort of" works but is not dependable. My new HP dv9000 is excellent! I have a range of about 40',even through wood floors. Prior to the antenna change my cable tv company had replaced all cable tv wire ends and put in a signal booster with some improved service. The key was the 7db gain antenna. Good luck, I hope my experience has been helpful. Jim Squires
Antennas
by chuckblah - 6/30/07 2:29 PM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
John,
Did you know you can purchase larger antennas for the Linksys routers. You can get them at any electronics or department store that sell the Linksys routers. I installed one on my Wirless G 2.4 GHZ router and I can take my laptop all the way to the back part of my yard (not exactly how far but probabaly around 200' and it still works with an excellent signal. This signal has to go through the living room, bedroom, and back hallway and out to the yard. Not sure what the pct. is that it increased the signal but I know it imporved a lot. Hope this helps.
Chuck
Wireless Networking In a Multi-story House
by Wolfie2k5 - 6/30/07 10:33 PM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
John,
Let me start out by saying how strong a signal you will get in various parts of the house largely will depend on what it's made of. Some materials block radio waves better than others - which, in this case, is not a good thing. Your mileage will vary. If your walls are made of say, wood 2x4's covered with chicken wire that's covered in plaster, you've basically got what's called a Faraday cage which is a radio trap. The same wall made with drywall will be a lot less of a problem.
Now then, where you place your router largely will depend on the layout of your townhouse. Given the lack of blueprints and materials lists, it's pretty close to impossible to say exactly where to locate your router. However, common sense would tend to dictate that the 2nd floor would be the logical place to start. Of course, you will need to have at least two things available in close proximity of each other - 1.) a place to plug the router into the wall and 2.) access to whatever broadband source you've got - be it a phone jack for DSL, a cable from your cable service, etc... If you don't have access to the broadband source on the 2nd floor, you'll probably want to have it installed.
Ideally, you should be able to test for signal strength without the broadband connection in place. You just need to plug the router in and go to various spots in the house where you think you're likely to use your computer and check the signal strength. If the signal isn't very strong, move the router until you've got it's as good as it's going to get. If you're using Windows XP, checking the signal strength is as simple as opening the Connect to a Wireless network box. You should see the networks that are available to you. You may see more than one - your neighbors may have one set up as well.
Move the router around until you get the best possible signal in ALL of the spots you want to work with your computer.
Radio signal strength is measured in Decibels - just like sound. Most typical routers have a 2 or 3 dB rating. If you're still not getting enough strength in the locations you want to work, you may (depending on the model of your router) be able to replace the antenna with a more powerful one. Most of your better routers allow for the antenna to be unscrewed at the base. Most of your better electronics superstores will have more powerful (high gain) antennae in the 7 to 10 dB range. This will expand the ability of the router to punch a signal through walls, floors, etc... It's like turning up your stereo to 11. The benefit here is the high gain antenna produces a stronger signal going out but it's more sensitive to whatever your computer or laptop has coming back in. It also has the benefit of making connections closer to the router more reliable.
Another technology you might want to look at would be a wireless range expander. These are relay points that listen for communication coming from the router and relay the signal to the remote computer and vice versa. The downside to this, unfortunately, the remote side's speed is cut in half. With 802.11g wireless (54 Mb), this is an issue, though not nearly as bad as cutting an 802.11b (11 Mb) connection in half.
Additionally, there are companies that make outdoor antennae you can install outside, if you're still not getting enough of a signal when you're outside. If you've got two antennae on your router, you can use one for the inside and connect one to one you can hang outside and you should be good to go. Your better electronics stores should have these as well.
As far as security is concerned, make sure you've got WAP or WAP2 enabled and you're using it. It's far more secure than WEP which can be cracked in a matter of minutes by a determined hacker. WAP and WAP2, if your router supports them, are a lot harder to crack.
Wireless signal
by DJHRVV - 6/30/07 10:48 PM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
One thing I can tell you is before you activate your wireless, you had better turn on your fire wall and have the latest virus proction activated. Because the first time you go on line you going to get hit. If you are getting a low or no signal it usually menans that there is to much interference. I would highly suggest you go hard wired. Wireless is nice but if your in an area that has little or no signal then why have it? I have tried wireless and for myself I don't care for it. Because the least little interference and your siganl is gone. Just like a cell phone, if you are not in a good reception area then you can't get out. Wireless works on the same manner. Alot of it has to do with your cable company, Are they geared for wireless? Did you get the code from them to activate your wireless routher? I know wired is a pain as you are limited to where you can go, but in my expierence as a computer tech, I will stay with hard wired.Which version of Linksys router did you get? Hope you get your signal and the right setup for your wireless.
Perhaps this will work:
by forfun34 - 7/1/07 6:53 AM In reply to: How can I improve the range on my Wi-Fi setup? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Wireless routers work best the higher up they are. Place your router as high as possible to allow the "ocean waves of the internet" to spread out better. Another option that you may want to consider is purchasing an extended antenna, and attaching it to your router. This should increase the radius in which the waves travel. That's all I have, good luck.
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