Linksys.....what have I got here?

I went into PCWorld (I know!) and got a Wap11 (ver 2.2). I went to
upgrade the firmware and ended up downloaded something that told me
I need to plug in the USB cable.....erm...it doesn't have one, nor
does it have a socket for one.

Anyway - finally managed to get the right firmware upgrade. I have
upgraded it and I am disapointed with the range. The WAP11 is in a
downstairs office, and if I move my laptop to the lounge (a straight
line distance of about 30ft or around the wall, about 45ft), I get
almost no signal. Then the connection drops.

So - my basic question is: have I been sold an out-dated bit of kit
or just a cheap bit of kit? What is a recommended access point (I
already have the ADSL Modem/Router and 5 port switch, so just need
the access point) to enable me to get (let's say) 100ft away. Oh -
the laptop only has 802.11b

Many thanks,

--
Bryan Anderson <www.anderson-it.com>

On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 14:22:03 +0100, Bryan Anderson wrote:

> I went into PCWorld (I know!) and got a Wap11 (ver 2.2). I went to
> upgrade the firmware and ended up downloaded something that told me
> I need to plug in the USB cable.....erm...it doesn't have one, nor
> does it have a socket for one.
>
> Anyway - finally managed to get the right firmware upgrade. I have
> upgraded it and I am disapointed with the range. The WAP11 is in a
> downstairs office, and if I move my laptop to the lounge (a straight
> line distance of about 30ft or around the wall, about 45ft), I get
> almost no signal. Then the connection drops.
>
> So - my basic question is: have I been sold an out-dated bit of kit
> or just a cheap bit of kit? What is a recommended access point (I
> already have the ADSL Modem/Router and 5 port switch, so just need
> the access point) to enable me to get (let's say) 100ft away. Oh -
> the laptop only has 802.11b
>
> Many thanks,

You may have a bad unit. I've found the quality control on these cheap wifi
devices to be very poor.

On the other hand, there are some things you can try. A while back someone
in this group mentioned that he got better results from a poor performer by
trying all the channels, one at a time and finding the one that works best.
I tried it on a d-link access point that I had given up on, and found the
difference from one channel to the next to be considerable. I now have it
set to the one channel that outperformed all the others, and it's working
well.

Another factor is the material that the wall in made of. Wifi can go
through several walls well if they are plasterboard and wood studs. Other
walls may attenuate the signal quite a bit. What is your wall made of? BTW,
forget about 'round the corner', unless you have some sort of sheet metal
reflector (think billiards).

I couldn't tell from your post, but is the lounge on the same floor as the
access point? Floors seem to be more of a problem than walls. If the
antennae are vertical, the radiation pattern is a horizontal 'doughnut'
shape going out several hundred feet (with no obstructions). If you want to
send signal upstairs, tilt the antennae and imagine the orientation (tilt)
of the doughnut.

Finally, try moving the access point to a better spot. It's also useful to
mount it high up, to avoid losses through furniture, people, etc.

Good luck.

--
Barry

On Saturday, Barry Jones wrote:

> You may have a bad unit. I've found the quality control on
> these cheap wifi devices to be very poor.

Really silly question - but this is my first laptop with wifi,
so how do I work out if the access point is any good or not?

> On the other hand, there are some things you can try. A while
> back someone in this group mentioned that he got better results
> from a poor performer by trying all the channels, one at a time
> and finding the one that works best. I tried it on a d-link
> access point that I had given up on, and found the difference
> from one channel to the next to be considerable. I now have it
> set to the one channel that outperformed all the others, and
> it's working well.

Tried that and got what appeared to be a marginal increase in
signal strength (going by the indicator in Windows) when using
band 2 instead of the default 11.

> Another factor is the material that the wall in made of. Wifi
> can go through several walls well if they are plasterboard and
> wood studs. Other walls may attenuate the signal quite a bit.
> What is your wall made of? BTW, forget about 'round the corner',
> unless you have some sort of sheet metal reflector (think billiards).

Well - been doing a lot more fiddling around. The access point is on
the ground floor and I know that the line of sight is no good if it's
around the corner, but I figured a repeater of some kind at the half
way point, within line of sight of both would pass teh signal on.

I've looked at the walls and it seems that I have a problem there. I
have an office in the garage and the wall between that and the house
is two skins of concrete blocks, with plasterboard on the inside. I
think tha plasterboard is the main problem - in all, to get to the
lounge, the signal has to go through four, maybe five, sheets of
plasterboard and the stuff they used in this house has a metal foil
backing for insulation....I have no hope like that!

I have built a small cardboard/tin foil parabolic reflector and put
that on/behind the aerial and pointed it in the right direction and
again, that made some improvement, but then I lose a lot of the signal
in the garden as it's the wrong direction.

My options - wire the access point through the wall into the house,
but the missus won't like that.

Get another WAP11 and plug it n in the kitchen which is the mid-point
and in line of sight to everywhere I will want to use the laptop. But
the WAP11 is a big beast and there's no-where sensible to put it.

Find some wonderful device that plugs into a power outlet and relays
the signal onwards. I figure something the size of a mobile phone
charger that plugs direct into the wall, with a four inch aerial
on the top of it ought to do the job.....but no-one seems to have
come up with the idea yet!

--
Bryan Anderson <www.anderson-it.com>