Wireless Range

[Juggy]

I have a bog standard DLink wifi router and because of my house design I don't get a signal more than 12 to 15 meter away.

Could I simply change the aerial to resolve this?

 

[[OUPA]MrNutz]

http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?products_id=10258

very nice antenna - i've added this to dlink dwl2100ap - and it makes a moerske diff

 

[fxit_man]

Try making a Parabolic Reflector

 

[fz1]

Or combine the above two - that's what I did!

Honestly, I was disappointed with the (little) improvement the antenna (I have the exact one linked to above) made with my Netgear router. I ended up building a reflector and that helped tremendously, but still not enough to provide signal throughout my house. Then, a few months ago (while in the US) I bought a wifi signal booster: you plug your antenna into it and then run the other end of it out to the antenna port on your router and the unit itself is plugged into the wall. It pumps more power out of your antenna. This did the trick and now I have "Very Good" signal everywhere in my house.

At about $80, it was pretty expensive - and probably will not work with newer routers that have multiple antennas (or internal antennas or fixed antennas...): http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=32&FamID=72&ProdID=187

My recommendation is that you try in this order: reflector, after-market antenna, signal booster.

 

[Obelix]

anyone using a signal booster should be shot! youre just spititng out noise in all directions.

Also, wifi comms is a two way street. Both units need to be able to talk to each other. If one has a pissie little transmitter then comms is going to less than favourable. Wifi signals need LINE OF SIGHT to work best. One brick wall might not affect it much, depending on the type of clay used in the bricks.

 

[lotus123]

anyone using a signal booster should be shot! youre just spititng out noise in all directions.

And you're just spitting (spititng?) out letters - it's all just bytes!

I had a similar problem with my house - double-story (reinforced concrete slab floors, double thick walls).

I installed one of these
http://www.poyntingdirect.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=PATCH-A0024
instead of a wireless repeater (cheaper at about R300, no admin needed). Drilled a hole through the stairwell wall (conveniently next to the room where the router is installed) and fitted on rotational bracket (supplied) facing into main part of house. Now we have a good signal everywhere (even on patio) but no spillover to neighbour's property.

When you order make sure about compatibility of connectors on antenna and router, and get a decent cable. A 3m cable is going to take a lot of power so the gain from the antenna is mostly going towards making up for cable loss.

Just one thing - when you boost your signal make sure you tighten up your wifi access security. I had a lot of trouble with WEP messing up connectivity, so I changed to MAC security. Everything works nicely now.

 

[bdt]

I have a bog standard DLink wifi router and because of my house design I don't get a signal more than 12 to 15 meter away.

Could I simply change the aerial to resolve this?

So, you considering a nice big-ass omni (clearly IN your house!) to resolve this?

 

[HavocXphere]

I've gotten solid improvements by changing the wifi channel.

Especially channel 13...but not all laptops can do CH13...only european ones, not US ones.

 

[Juggy]

So, you considering a nice big-ass omni (clearly IN your house!) to resolve this?

Yeah, I've already purchased the DLink mentioned in this thread. If it doesn't work 100% I will build a Parabolic Reflector to make it work better.

 

[Obelix]

And you're just spitting (spititng?) out letters - it's all just bytes!

refer to my tagline..... ;-)

 

[fragtion]

The parabolic reflector idea works like a DREAM. It adds a good 10dBi-14dBi of directional gain depending on your design. I use a pringle can that I split down the verticle and then folded open. Make sure its folded parabolic with the antenna at the focus. Get the template from the site above..

 

[Juggy]

And it's terribly geeky which makes it way cool

 

[fz1]

anyone using a signal booster should be shot! youre just spititng out noise in all directions.

Erm, okay, let me go decommission my signal booster, then come back here so you can "shoot" me. Not.

Considering signal penetration is already low in my house, I don't see how a consumer grade signal booster is so bad. As I said, I've already got a reflector on it, so I'm not "spititng" out in all directions. I've got it focused only where I need it. I doubt very much that it is so strong that it is interfering with other people's equipment in the area (again: poor signal penetration outside of my house).

Also, wifi comms is a two way street. Both units need to be able to talk to each other. If one has a pissie little transmitter then comms is going to less than favourable. Wifi signals need LINE OF SIGHT to work best. One brick wall might not affect it much, depending on the type of clay used in the bricks.

This may be, but most people are far more concerned with download speed than they are with upload speed. As long as your device (with the 'pissie little transmitter') can get a signal to your router on what it needs, your router will then transmit back that data at a reasonable strength and therefore decent speed.