advice required re wireless

I'm intending to help a friend with the following problem and would
appreciate any advice prior to making a pigs ear.

background:

NTL cable connection to Airport access point. Ground floor. Machine 1 (Apple
Mac, ground floor) gets consistent good connection.

Machine 2 (PC, belkin Wireless network card, 1st floor, directly above)
fails to get connection at all.

Machine 3 ((PC, belkin Wireless network card, 1st floor, in-directly above)
intermittent connection.

Question 1. Am I likely to find that connection between the Airport and PC
hardware is not viable?

If so, would it make sens to place a hub between the Airport and the NTL
cable modem and run a connection from the hub to both the Airport and a
Belkin (or other PC based) access point

2. anyone else solved this type of problem?

polly

"polly" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:cb1l6k$u5u$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I'm intending to help a friend with the following problem and would
> appreciate any advice prior to making a pigs ear.
>
> background:
>
> NTL cable connection to Airport access point. Ground floor. Machine 1
(Apple
> Mac, ground floor) gets consistent good connection.
>
> Machine 2 (PC, belkin Wireless network card, 1st floor, directly above)
> fails to get connection at all.
>
> Machine 3 ((PC, belkin Wireless network card, 1st floor, in-directly
above)
> intermittent connection.
>
> Question 1. Am I likely to find that connection between the Airport and PC
> hardware is not viable?

Polly,

I initially had high expectations of WiFi as I believed what it indicated on
the box that ranges of
up to 25 meters could be expected in a closed office environment; and that
was described as walls
and floors.

I soon found out that normal household items such as fridges, water pipes
and tanks, insulation and
other objects all affect the signal. My system virtually stops when my
microwave oven is on.

Your options are initially to alter the aerial on the access point, if is
sticks up like a car aerial lay it flat
as the signals are strongest radiating out like a donut and you want the
signals to go up and not sideways.

Try moving the devices slightly, on one of my portable computers moving it a
few inches away from a
corner wall gets me a signal.

If that doesn't work there are numerous other options, you can use two
adapers that plug in to the mains
(like the baby alarms do) as a normal wired system, trouble is the two
adapters are about 70ukp each so it
would cost about 140ukp to get the signal upstairs. These devices use the
household wiring to route the
signal.

Bottom line is proper network wiring is the fastest and at the moment, most
reliable but wireless is easier
if it works.

Geoff Lane

try a reflector on the aerial.

mike

"polly" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:cb1l6k$u5u$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I'm intending to help a friend with the following problem and would
> appreciate any advice prior to making a pigs ear.
>
> background:
>
> NTL cable connection to Airport access point. Ground floor. Machine 1
(Apple
> Mac, ground floor) gets consistent good connection.
>
> Machine 2 (PC, belkin Wireless network card, 1st floor, directly above)
> fails to get connection at all.
>
> Machine 3 ((PC, belkin Wireless network card, 1st floor, in-directly
above)
> intermittent connection.
>
> Question 1. Am I likely to find that connection between the Airport and PC
> hardware is not viable?
>
> If so, would it make sens to place a hub between the Airport and the NTL
> cable modem and run a connection from the hub to both the Airport and a
> Belkin (or other PC based) access point
>
> 2. anyone else solved this type of problem?
>
> polly
>
>


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