Router and ham radio

Hi to all...

I need some help to solve a recurring problem: I am a radio amateur. I
also use a local wireless network. My modem is a SpeedStream DSL from
Efficient Networks. The wireless router is a Netgear WGR614 and a
Laptop is at about 20 feet from it.

The problem is that when I transmit, often the link is lost with the
Laptop so that I have to restart everything. I am aware that RF is in
cause.

I would like to know why the signal is lost even if the router is on,
and also how to reset the router in a simpler manner. Even if I
disconnect the router from the dc power supply and reconnect after 10
or more seconds, and/or close the modem, the problem still persists.
Only a complete reboot of the system can get the connection back.

Thanks for your help.

[group removed]

On 6/22/2005 12:22, Pierre Desjardins wrote:

> I would like to know why the signal is lost even if the router is on,
> and also how to reset the router in a simpler manner. Even if I
> disconnect the router from the dc power supply and reconnect after 10
> or more seconds, and/or close the modem, the problem still persists.
> Only a complete reboot of the system can get the connection back.

I'm a little unclear as to the problem. Is it the DSL connection or the
WiFi connection that is suffering from the interference?

If it's the DSL equipment that can't cope then you can try getting
shielded Cat5 or better (Cat 7) cabling from both the wall (telco cable)
and to whatever device is doing the PPPoE (typically either a router or a
PC running PPPoE software). I would also make sure that all your computer
equipment is well grounded (a HAM has a good ground bus in the shack,
right? Beyond that, you can try constructing Faraday cages around
susceptible equipment.

If it's your wi-fi connection that's dropping then you'll probably need to
put some kind of band-pass filter on the wi-fi equipment to shield them
from frequencies outside of what they use. You can also try re-orienting
your HAM equipment and/or making large shields between the incompatible
equipment.

~Jason

--
KB1IMD (inactive for now)

"Jason Gurtz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> PC running PPPoE software). I would also make sure that all your computer
> equipment is well grounded (a HAM has a good ground bus in the shack,
> right? Beyond that, you can try constructing Faraday cages around
> susceptible equipment.
>
> If it's your wi-fi connection that's dropping then you'll probably need to
> put some kind of band-pass filter on the wi-fi equipment to shield them
> from frequencies outside of what they use. You can also try re-orienting
> your HAM equipment and/or making large shields between the incompatible
> equipment.

All good suggestions, you may have to do both. That is, cage the equipment
AND filter out anything but the 2.4ghz signal the wifi gear uses. But
really, it its just 20 ft, why not just use a piece of cat-5? There is a
good chance that even unshielded cat 5 will work well in your situation.

--Dan

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Pierre Desjardins wrote:
> Hi to all...
>
> I need some help to solve a recurring problem: I am a radio amateur. I
> also use a local wireless network. My modem is a SpeedStream DSL from
> Efficient Networks. The wireless router is a Netgear WGR614 and a
> Laptop is at about 20 feet from it.
>
> The problem is that when I transmit, often the link is lost with the
> Laptop so that I have to restart everything. I am aware that RF is in
> cause.
>
> I would like to know why the signal is lost even if the router is on,
> and also how to reset the router in a simpler manner. Even if I
> disconnect the router from the dc power supply and reconnect after 10
> or more seconds, and/or close the modem, the problem still persists.
> Only a complete reboot of the system can get the connection back.
>
> Thanks for your help.

The problem is that if you are anywhere near the relatively low power
output WiFi router with your antanna for the HAM set, the HAM set will
completely overpower the signal and possibly flood the router with radio
waves causing it to malfunction.

What you can try to do, and I don't think it'll work, is specify the
channel the WiFi router uses so it doesn't have to find one. Other than
that, see if you can get some kind of damper for the computer room or
the laptop to help filter out the noise from the HAM set.

FYI, high powered CB sets do the same thing. Keep in mind that your
average WiFi puts out not even into the MegaWatts of power, in fact, the
signal strength on them 20 feet away is less than 1 mW. Your HAM puts
out how many watts?
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