Not Ready For Prime Time

Wireless G technology is not ready to work in my household. I've found it
to be too flaky and I'm not willing to fight to get it to work.

I tried the Microsoft Wireless Notebook kit with my Dell, took it back and
tried the D-Link Air Extreme (woah! that's extreme! nice marketing dude)
only to have similar problems.

I'd lose my connection if I turned on the microwave, used my 2.4 Ghz
cordless phone or looked at it funny. Possibly due to interference from
other apartments?

I'll wait a while until the manufacturers come up with a more bulletproof
solution that's easy to set up in 'hostile' environments.

Is Wireless B any better? I don't really want to go to an older technology
but am curious if it is more reliable and proven. I'd pick one up to try
but I'm tired of banging my head against a wall to get this stuff to work
only to lose a connections mysteriously.

The B and G versions use 2.4 Ghz, Rick, so you're going to have the same
problems. The issue is you're using the cordless phones on the same
frequency. 8-) You'll have the same affects no matter which company's
product you use. You might try moving the channels on the phones, as high
as you can get them, and use Channel 1 on the wireless. And, yes,
electrical appliances do interfere.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone


"Rick Roubos" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Wireless G technology is not ready to work in my household. I've found it
> to be too flaky and I'm not willing to fight to get it to work.
>
> I tried the Microsoft Wireless Notebook kit with my Dell, took it back and
> tried the D-Link Air Extreme (woah! that's extreme! nice marketing dude)
> only to have similar problems.
>
> I'd lose my connection if I turned on the microwave, used my 2.4 Ghz
> cordless phone or looked at it funny. Possibly due to interference from
> other apartments?
>
> I'll wait a while until the manufacturers come up with a more bulletproof
> solution that's easy to set up in 'hostile' environments.
>
> Is Wireless B any better? I don't really want to go to an older
> technology
> but am curious if it is more reliable and proven. I'd pick one up to try
> but I'm tired of banging my head against a wall to get this stuff to work
> only to lose a connections mysteriously.
>
>

One other option is switch to 802.11a it operates in the 5.* range I
forget the exact band.

Chris H. wrote:

> The B and G versions use 2.4 Ghz, Rick, so you're going to have the same
> problems. The issue is you're using the cordless phones on the same
> frequency. 8-) You'll have the same affects no matter which company's
> product you use. You might try moving the channels on the phones, as high
> as you can get them, and use Channel 1 on the wireless. And, yes,
> electrical appliances do interfere.

The "pure" newer cordless phones use 5.8, but some manufacturers are using
5.8 one way and 2.4 return. 8-) 802.11a broadcasts on 5.0.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone


"joker" <no-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> One other option is switch to 802.11a it operates in the 5.* range I
> forget the exact band.
>
> Chris H. wrote:
>
>> The B and G versions use 2.4 Ghz, Rick, so you're going to have the same
>> problems. The issue is you're using the cordless phones on the same
>> frequency. 8-) You'll have the same affects no matter which company's
>> product you use. You might try moving the channels on the phones, as
>> high as you can get them, and use Channel 1 on the wireless. And, yes,
>> electrical appliances do interfere.
>

Great replies Chris. Thanks

I'd like to go wireless but right now it seems what I currently have (phones
and appliances) and where I currently live do not make it easy for
everything to work. How do businesses and/or industrial environments get
something like this to work?

I'll have to skip wireless until something changes, I have enough
frustration in my life already thank you very much ;-).

Thanks again for the great replies.

p.s. Someone should put this and other information together in a routinely
posted FAQ or website to save techies some grief.

"Chris H." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> The "pure" newer cordless phones use 5.8, but some manufacturers are using
> 5.8 one way and 2.4 return. 8-) 802.11a broadcasts on 5.0.
> --
> Chris H.
> Microsoft Windows MVP
> Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
> Associate Expert
> Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
>
>
> "joker" <no-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > One other option is switch to 802.11a it operates in the 5.* range I
> > forget the exact band.
> >
> > Chris H. wrote:
> >
> >> The B and G versions use 2.4 Ghz, Rick, so you're going to have the
same
> >> problems. The issue is you're using the cordless phones on the same
> >> frequency. 8-) You'll have the same affects no matter which company's
> >> product you use. You might try moving the channels on the phones, as
> >> high as you can get them, and use Channel 1 on the wireless. And, yes,
> >> electrical appliances do interfere.
> >
>
>

Rick, thanks. If you're not in the same room or just beyond a common wall
from the microwave, it shouldn't be causing "that" much of a problem. As
for the cordless phones on 2.4, you can sometimes get away from the issues
by figuring out which channel the phones are running on and adjusting them -
if they can be changed - very high in the spectrum, and running wireless on
a low channel.

The other thing is perhaps to look around of 900 MHz phones. I've got one
not five feet from my base station and have never had a problem. They're a
bit "old style" but work just fine. They're also probably less expensive
than the newer ones.

As for information on wireless, have you read MVP Barb Bowman's columns on
the Expert Zone in my signature line. Awesome information in there. Check
the archives, too. And it doesn't hurt visiting some of the networking web
sites on the Internet like www.practicallynetworked.com .
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone


"Rick Roubos" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Great replies Chris. Thanks
>
> I'd like to go wireless but right now it seems what I currently have
> (phones
> and appliances) and where I currently live do not make it easy for
> everything to work. How do businesses and/or industrial environments get
> something like this to work?
>
> I'll have to skip wireless until something changes, I have enough
> frustration in my life already thank you very much ;-).
>
> Thanks again for the great replies.
>
> p.s. Someone should put this and other information together in a routinely
> posted FAQ or website to save techies some grief.

going old school? Do you have one of those old Russian cell phones with the
'hand bag' too? ha ha. That is a good idea though.

I have had two Uniden (446-2) 2.4 GHz DSS phones for a couple of years now,
they're not the best but that's what you get when you don't research your
purchase (only one of the two can be used at the same time), it's not like
the marketing department will let them write "SUCKS" on the front of the
box. I can change the channel on the handsets but it gives no indication of
what it is, so I guess it is theoretically possible.

I kept running into problems regardless of the router brand and it was more
effort then benefit. The real reason I wanted wireless is for my laptop and
Xbox so it's not that important.

The Dlink router web interface would not let me change the channel for the
base station, it was greyed out. The Microsoft router client software was
lacking in that you couldn't easily turn on the highest level of security.
Actually trying to set up security on both routers was a nightmare.

I took the second networking kit back a week ago, I didn't want to run
across any ignorant return policies (two weeks, no soup for you!) and didn't
have time to wait for software patches.

I'll wait on this for a while before jumping back in. There has to be a
shake up coming to both the cordless phones and wireless networks soon...
perhaps even a merger of the two.

"Chris H." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Rick, thanks. If you're not in the same room or just beyond a common wall
> from the microwave, it shouldn't be causing "that" much of a problem. As
> for the cordless phones on 2.4, you can sometimes get away from the issues
> by figuring out which channel the phones are running on and adjusting
them -
> if they can be changed - very high in the spectrum, and running wireless
on
> a low channel.
>
> The other thing is perhaps to look around of 900 MHz phones. I've got one
> not five feet from my base station and have never had a problem. They're
a
> bit "old style" but work just fine. They're also probably less expensive
> than the newer ones.
>
> As for information on wireless, have you read MVP Barb Bowman's columns on
> the Expert Zone in my signature line. Awesome information in there.
Check
> the archives, too. And it doesn't hurt visiting some of the networking
web
> sites on the Internet like www.practicallynetworked.com .
> --
> Chris H.
> Microsoft Windows MVP
> Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
> Associate Expert
> Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
>
>
> "Rick Roubos" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Great replies Chris. Thanks
> >
> > I'd like to go wireless but right now it seems what I currently have
> > (phones
> > and appliances) and where I currently live do not make it easy for
> > everything to work. How do businesses and/or industrial environments
get
> > something like this to work?
> >
> > I'll have to skip wireless until something changes, I have enough
> > frustration in my life already thank you very much ;-).
> >
> > Thanks again for the great replies.
> >
> > p.s. Someone should put this and other information together in a
routinely
> > posted FAQ or website to save techies some grief.
>
>