Wireless Woes

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noosh

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Hi there,

I have a slight problem...

First up my wireless lan is setup as follows :-

Marconi 4 Port is connected to a Gigabyte B49G and then all the PC's connect to the B49G wirelessly. The problem is that one of the PC's which is upstairs has trouble connecting AP. So I added this Poynting 4dbi omni antenna (http://www.poynting.co.za/antennas/images/omni-a0004.jpg) to the AP and another one to the PC which has weak and unstable signal. Well it helped slightly that now I connect whereas before there was no signal, but it is very weak and very unstable. So I am a lot of money down and still dont have a solution.

What can I do to boost this signal?

I have heard about 802.11n which uses multiple antennas, but no official .11n gear has been released because the format has not been standardized and properly voted on. When that comes out I will definitely be selling all this equipment and going to .11n if it delivers.

But for now I need a solution for what I have got. Unfortunately I dont have LOS. What can I do to solve the wireless woes, at minimal cost preferably but I'm desperate..

Thanks
 
Sometimes wireless is not the best solution... running a netwrok cable can sometimes be cheaper in the long run but also sometimes not possible.

the only thing i can suggest is to try get a refund/credit for your omni's

signal appears to be the problem. so more powerful more directional antennas. try the 8dbi panel but see if you ca try before you buy. the other option is use a USB wifi card and a 5m cable to get to a better place for signal or as suggested a repeater in place that can "see" both AP and pc

is UTP not an option?
 
I bought a 3m cable for the omni and I needed that for signal. UTP may be an option but I am not sure where I can run the cable as I do not want it to be seen. Perhaps I shall run it through the roof.

I'll quickly go scope out the scene. I think UTP may be the best option until 802.11n comes out.
 
Okay it looks as if UTP is a no go because this is for my Mom's house and she won't listen to me :)

So perhaps would a patch antenna work for non LOS?
 
are you trying to use it with the turbo options on? Setup at standard 11g without turbo/super modes on. try switching/forcing the upstairs pc wireless card to .11b and using a directional ant. if you have any encryption setup, disable it for now just for testing. encryption does slow down the link. keep the omni on the ap. test and let us know.
 
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So I should turn off turbo G then? And why would .11b help? Does it have longer range? I see in options for .11b I can choose between Short & Long or Long only, would this just choosing long help?

And what would the point be of a directional antenna if I don't have LOS.

Also how does a patch antenna work?

Sorry for the questions I am a wireless amateur... :)

Thanks for the help so far!
 
to start, the patch ant. is a directional ant. it will focus the signal in a single direction rather than like a omni in all direction. less interference from outside noise. you need to keep the omni on the ap because if you install a patch on the ap the other computers will suffer from a drop in signal because the signal is being focus in the direction the patch is pointed (i assume pointed upstairs) I have found that running my AP with the turbo modes on reduces the range on the AP. with turbo switched on you are not able to select which channel you would like to run on. so start with 11b. 11b will increase the range on the remote upstairs pc. if it helps switch the AP to 11b if you can. if you get a good signal at 11b (11Mbps) that is better then no connection at all. any other questions? ask away
 
I switched my computer to .11b and am getting a more stable connection. No disconnects so far, but will have to test if for a little while more and report back.

Thanks for the help!
 
Its probably about 30m LOS if you bashed all the walls down, and this is in a downward angle. It is working much better with just .11b activated. Only had about 2 disconnects since ive tried it.
 
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