High Gain Wifi Help!

Hello,

I have a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router, connected to comcast Zyxel
prestige 900 cable modem router, and a 15DBi omni-directional antenna
hooked to the linksys router.

My dilemna is that the High gain antenna seems to be giving me little
or no signal. I've attempted the following.
-disable/reneabled DHCP on Linksys
-Changed through all channels on Linksys
-disabled mixed frequency mode on Linksys
-Tried two different Antennas on Linksys(to include the ones it came
with)

Here's the thing, I can stand right next to the router with the high
gain antenna hooked up, walk 30 feet away in a direct line of sight and
then the signal drops to two bars. 50 feet away signal is 1 bar and not
enough strength to get on the net.

Any clues/help will be greatly appreciated. This one is throwing me for
a loop. I've set up wireless networks in the past and haven't this one
before!


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"xxxsnowboards" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
|
| Hello,
|
| I have a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router, connected to comcast Zyxel
| prestige 900 cable modem router, and a 15DBi omni-directional antenna
| hooked to the linksys router.
|
| My dilemna is that the High gain antenna seems to be giving me little
| or no signal. I've attempted the following.
| -disable/reneabled DHCP on Linksys
| -Changed through all channels on Linksys
| -disabled mixed frequency mode on Linksys
| -Tried two different Antennas on Linksys(to include the ones it came
| with)
|
| Here's the thing, I can stand right next to the router with the high
| gain antenna hooked up, walk 30 feet away in a direct line of sight and
| then the signal drops to two bars. 50 feet away signal is 1 bar and not
| enough strength to get on the net.
|
| Any clues/help will be greatly appreciated. This one is throwing me for
| a loop. I've set up wireless networks in the past and haven't this one
| before!

Off the wall questions:

Are you using one or two antenna? Have you made any changes to the WRT54GS
to allow it to work on a single antenna?

I'm guessing here but I would expect you might get the same performace if
you disconnected the anteann from the WRT54GS.

So you are saying that you get the same results with various
antennas? You know that omnis radiate to the sides and not from the
tip?

Check your firmware at the linksys site- may need an update. Try a
reset on the router. Go back to factory antennas connected directly
and test.

Steve

> So you are saying that you get the same results with various
> antennas? You know that omnis radiate to the sides and not from the
> tip?

Think of the pattern as a donut. It radiates outward in a VERY tight
circle. If you're not right inside that circular plane you may get NO
signal at all. Higher dB omnidirectional antenna are not as useful as some
people might assume. I've got an 8db omni on my boat, about 12' above the
water. I get pretty good wifi coverage provided I'm not too close to the
access point. If I'm a couple hundred yards offshore it's great, move into
a slip right next to the AP and the coverage is sometimes worse. Basically
because the tight donut pattern "misses" the location of the access point.
It's even worse when we're close and waves are rocking the boat. I can only
imagine how much worse it'd be with a higer gain antenna.

> Check your firmware at the linksys site- may need an update. Try a
> reset on the router. Go back to factory antennas connected directly
> and test.

Indeed, what results do you get with the factory setup?