Competing Wireless Access

Living in an apartment, I have many very close neighbors. After setting
up a wireless network, that went smoothly, I occasionally get knocked
offline. When I check for available networks to connect to, mine will
not be listed and others will be. I have a linksys and I'll see
connections available for Netgear, Belkian, and other private named
connections. After a few minutes (usually) my actual connection will be
available again and I can connect.

So my question is, can competing wireless routers cancel each other out
if they cover the same area with their signal or should you always be
able to connect to your router regardless of how many wireless access
points are located around you?

Thanks for any info,
John

"John Carbone" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Sq7xd.28027$(E-Mail Removed).. .
> Living in an apartment, I have many very close neighbors. After setting
> up a wireless network, that went smoothly, I occasionally get knocked
> offline. When I check for available networks to connect to, mine will not
> be listed and others will be. I have a linksys and I'll see connections
> available for Netgear, Belkian, and other private named connections. After
> a few minutes (usually) my actual connection will be available again and I
> can connect.
>
> So my question is, can competing wireless routers cancel each other out if
> they cover the same area with their signal or should you always be able to
> connect to your router regardless of how many wireless access points are
> located around you?


I'd get a program such as network stumbler - which is free I think, and see
what channel their wireless networks are running on and run on a different
channel. Most seem to run on 6 or 1, and the 3 networks near me are all on
channel 6 or 1, I'm running on channel 11 to reduce interference.

Daniel

John Carbone wrote:
> Living in an apartment, I have many very close neighbors. After setting
> up a wireless network, that went smoothly, I occasionally get knocked
> offline. When I check for available networks to connect to, mine will
> not be listed and others will be. I have a linksys and I'll see
> connections available for Netgear, Belkian, and other private named
> connections. After a few minutes (usually) my actual connection will be
> available again and I can connect.
>
> So my question is, can competing wireless routers cancel each other out
> if they cover the same area with their signal or should you always be
> able to connect to your router regardless of how many wireless access
> points are located around you?
>
> Thanks for any info,
> John
A flooded channel is often the culprit for erratic or dropped signals.
In your situation, you should try changing to a different channel with
your router. If you are using the windows wireless zero configuration
utility, make your network a "Preferred" network and uncheck the box
that says connect to non preferred networks. This will aid in your
adapter seeking only your network. Still, a stronger signal from a
neighbor "might" cause problems for you.

"John Carbone" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Sq7xd.28027$(E-Mail Removed).. .
> Living in an apartment, I have many very close neighbors. After
setting
> up a wireless network, that went smoothly, I occasionally get
knocked
> offline. When I check for available networks to connect to, mine
will
> not be listed and others will be. I have a linksys and I'll see
> connections available for Netgear, Belkian, and other private named
> connections. After a few minutes (usually) my actual connection will
be
> available again and I can connect.
>
> So my question is, can competing wireless routers cancel each other
out
> if they cover the same area with their signal or should you always
be
> able to connect to your router regardless of how many wireless
access
> points are located around you?
>
> Thanks for any info,
> John

Wireless adapters sit around and listen for Beacons with the best
signal strength,
and will atempt to connect to that network. If you are using the same
channel
as someone else under the right conditions it could distort or cancel
your signal altogether. You might try netstumbler (free download), it
will show all the available
networks and what channel they are on, then hopefully there is an
unused one
and you can switch to it.

John Carbone <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Living in an apartment, I have many very close neighbors. After setting
> up a wireless network, that went smoothly, I occasionally get knocked
> offline. When I check for available networks to connect to, mine will
> not be listed and others will be. I have a linksys and I'll see
> connections available for Netgear, Belkian, and other private named
> connections. After a few minutes (usually) my actual connection will be
> available again and I can connect.

I just recently noticed that there are three WAPs visible from my place.
All three are on channel six. Three different SSIDs. The other two have
WEP keys. I haven't noticed any connection or throughput problems. I
connect to "mine" quickly and easily.

I tried a connection to each of the others. One pops up a WEP key request
box. The other one just gives me a "failed to connect" box.
I've noticed the "failed to connect" box on some of the secured WAPs at
work. I don't know if that's caused by MAC filtering or not. I don't
think that it's signal strength causing the message.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5