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| Thread ID: 77369 | 2007-03-07 05:48:00 | Just out-of-range wireless 802.11g - Booster Antennae or Firmware upgrade? | Chilling_Silence (9) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 530921 | 2007-03-07 05:48:00 | Oh gutted, just tried to post and lost everything coz I got logged out somehow :( Anyways, this post will be much shorter because of it So Ive got myself a nice cheap Acer laptop recently, figured it was time to get a wireless AP so I went out and bought a Linksys WRT54g v5 from Qmb today for $130, very pleased! Anyways, for now Ive setup MAC filtering and it works. Will do WEP / WPA / whatever at a later date.. its enough for the next day or two while Im out and about away from home. Now, I live right next to the church, and my father being the pastor and me the Youth pastor, itd be great for us on many occasions if we could wirelessly be online or connected to the home network on our laptops down at the church office. Dads laptop was fine when I was sitting next to the AP, walked down with it, and it had no worries reaching into his office and sitting on his desk right next to his Desktop machine. I also bought an ASUS WL-167G USB 802.11g adapter for his Desktop. Did some diagnosis and its basically only just out of range somehow :( Ive added the USB's MAC to the AP so that wont be stopping it. Id love to be able to get his desktop also linked up, and Im sure he would too.. thats basically my objective. So the way I see it, I have a few options: 1) I buy something like: qmb.co.nz 2) I run a Cat5 cable out of my bedroom window from the switch, up the side of the house to my parents room on the floor above and position the AP in their window instead of mine, giving a greater LoS and a higher point for the signal to originate from. 3) I get something like DD-WRT or Sveasofts Firmware Upgrade and boost the power to the existing antennae 3) A combination, most likely including 2) and something else Open to thoughts / comments / suggestions Cheers Chill. |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 530922 | 2007-03-07 06:01:00 | Hi, Ive tried those USB wireless devices before, in fact still have it lying around...I have discovered that they aren't really good enough as a NIC so ended up getting a PCI card wireless with a big aerial extension and problem solved. Understandably you already have a device, so option 2) would be my 1st course of action |
SolMiester (139) | ||
| 530923 | 2007-03-07 06:32:00 | Couldnt go PCI, he already has all PCI slots inside his box taken.. IIRC there was only two on that Mobo :( Why would you suggest Option 2 over the others out of curiousity? Im just hoping to make an informed decision here... :D |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 530924 | 2007-03-07 06:36:00 | To move the AP closer to and at a better height to spread the signal. | SolMiester (139) | ||
| 530925 | 2007-03-07 06:48:00 | Right (n00b alert), so the higher up the greater spread of the signal, meaning its more likely to get its signal over the Garage which is in between the Office and the AP? Sounds logical enough :) | Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 530926 | 2007-03-07 09:20:00 | I hesitate to suggest the obvious, but in your line of trade, aren't you supposed to get on the knees at the first sign of a problem? | R2x1 (4628) | ||
| 530927 | 2007-03-07 09:51:00 | HAHAHA :D If I do that, then there's even less of a chance of the signal reaching :P |
Chilling_Silence (9) | ||
| 530928 | 2007-03-07 10:31:00 | Maybe a directional antenna would be better than omni directional as well. And yes moving the AP higher than the garage would make a big difference. The other option would be one of these (ascent.co.nz) |
CYaBro (73) | ||
| 530929 | 2007-03-07 11:15:00 | Get the AP up high: better line of sight Boost it slightly with firmware (Hyperwrt or DD): 80-90 is my sweet spot, DD-WRT will let you go up to 251mw Bigger antenna: in this case it is the size that counts Give WDS a go. |
Rob99 (151) | ||
| 530930 | 2007-03-07 11:33:00 | Try CRC, it says right on the can "Makes things work". Two good squirts on an apprentice and though he still wouldn't work, he did start moving. :D The basic rule of thumb for antennas is that if it doesn't get blown down, it's too small and should be larger / higher. (If it does get blown down, it needs more guy wires, so make it bigger now the guy wires are upgraded. ) No guy wires? You aren't serious yet. |
R2x1 (4628) | ||
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