Would Low Wireless Signal Affect Internet Speed?

Have recently moved my PC to another room, and am using my Netgear
DG834GT wirelessly now.

My internet connection is around 1.5mb and the signal strength from the
router varies between Low/Good and Very Good which seems to translate to
between 10mbs(?) and 30 something mbs(?) at the times I've checked it.

I've noticed some of the stuff I've downloaded since moving my PC
doesn't seem to run at full speed, mainly a couple of game patches and
demos. This may be a complete coincidence coupled with a slow server
that I'm downloading from.

How does the 1.5mb(?) of my internet connection relate to the speed of
the router, mb - mbs or are they the same? Or should I look at
repositioning the router to get a more optimum signal strength?
--
Sean Black


Sean Black

On 23-Apr-2007, Sean Black <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Or should I look at
> repositioning the router to get a more optimum signal strength?

Both signal strength and quality affect speed, adaptive rate
equalisation tries to get the best throughput for the conditions,
dropping the link rate to control the error rate.

Nothing can go faster than the slowest link in the chain,
so if you have 4Mbps to your ISP, and your wireless link
is 1.5Mbps, 1.5 is the fastest you will get, well less than
that due to overheads.

Depending on your setup, if it's a USB wireless
adapter put it on a USB cable and move it to find
the best position. If not USB you either have to
move the hardware (extend the phone connection?)
or use kitchen foil reflectors at one or both ends.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Sean Black <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Have recently moved my PC to another room, and am using my Netgear
> DG834GT wirelessly now.
>
> My internet connection is around 1.5mb and the signal strength from
> the router varies between Low/Good and Very Good which seems to
> translate to between 10mbs(?) and 30 something mbs(?) at the times
> I've checked it.
> I've noticed some of the stuff I've downloaded since moving my PC
> doesn't seem to run at full speed, mainly a couple of game patches and
> demos. This may be a complete coincidence coupled with a slow server
> that I'm downloading from.
>
> How does the 1.5mb(?) of my internet connection relate to the speed of
> the router, mb - mbs or are they the same? Or should I look at
> repositioning the router to get a more optimum signal strength?

The units are the same - mega-bits per second. Your wireless link at 10 is
still a lot faster than your internet connection at 1.5 - so shouldn't be a
bottleneck, even allowing for overheads.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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> I've noticed some of the stuff I've downloaded since moving my PC
> doesn't seem to run at full speed, mainly a couple of game patches and
> demos. This may be a complete coincidence coupled with a slow server
> that I'm downloading from.

Further to my thread asking for an FTP program with clipboard monitor,
I installed FlashGet the other day - it is now apparently spyware and
adware free.

I can confirm that i've seen my download speeds of the movies on
archive.org jump from 60-100k/sec to 660k/sec (which is about the most
i'd ever get given my connection speed)

*Well* worth a try !

On 2007-04-23, Roger Mills <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
> Sean Black <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Have recently moved my PC to another room, and am using my Netgear
>> DG834GT wirelessly now.
>>
>> My internet connection is around 1.5mb and the signal strength from
>> the router varies between Low/Good and Very Good which seems to
>> translate to between 10mbs(?) and 30 something mbs(?) at the times
>> I've checked it.
>> I've noticed some of the stuff I've downloaded since moving my PC
>> doesn't seem to run at full speed, mainly a couple of game patches and
>> demos. This may be a complete coincidence coupled with a slow server
>> that I'm downloading from.
>>
>> How does the 1.5mb(?) of my internet connection relate to the speed of
>> the router, mb - mbs or are they the same? Or should I look at
>> repositioning the router to get a more optimum signal strength?
>
> The units are the same - mega-bits per second. Your wireless link at 10 is
> still a lot faster than your internet connection at 1.5 - so shouldn't be a
> bottleneck, even allowing for overheads.

Though it could be a bottleneck, no matter what speed the wireless link
is running at, if it is dropping packets due to errors.

Repositioning the router to get better signal strength is always a
good idea. Listening to see which channels your nearest neighbours
are using, and adjusting your router to minimize interference, might
also help.

Dennis Ferguson

In message <S-(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed)
writes
>
>On 23-Apr-2007, Sean Black <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Or should I look at
>> repositioning the router to get a more optimum signal strength?
>
>Both signal strength and quality affect speed, adaptive rate
>equalisation tries to get the best throughput for the conditions,
>dropping the link rate to control the error rate.
>
>Nothing can go faster than the slowest link in the chain,
>so if you have 4Mbps to your ISP, and your wireless link
>is 1.5Mbps, 1.5 is the fastest you will get, well less than
>that due to overheads.
>
Thanks. At worst I was getting 11mbps on my router, with my ADSL speed
being 1.5mbps, so in theory I shouldn't have a problem, should I?

Yet, the highest download I was getting was 60-70K, whereas before I
moved the PC I was getting around a solid 160K.

Having experimented with moving the router around, I found it was
definitely affecting my download speed, despite never being more than
around 15-20ft away from the PC, signal strength and download speed
varied massively depending on the position of the router. I ended up
finding the best place was merely 3ft closer to the PC than where I
originally had it.

So, despite all the info and the nice pictures on the back of the box
showing large wireless ranges (I bought this router in preference to
another model, as it seemed to offer a better wireless signal), that
unless the router is pretty much right next to the PC, you're not going
to get optimal signal/speed, in which case you might as well leave it
wired, or have I just picked a crap router? Or am I missing something
else?

>Depending on your setup, if it's a USB wireless
>adapter put it on a USB cable and move it to find
>the best position. If not USB you either have to
>move the hardware (extend the phone connection?)
>or use kitchen foil reflectors at one or both ends.

I've got a PCI wireless card, so it's easier to move the router than the
whole PC.

Extending the phone connection is not really an option, the wife doesn't
want the extra wires.

Kitchen foil reflectors? Any tips?
--
Sean Black

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Roger Mills
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
>Sean Black <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Have recently moved my PC to another room, and am using my Netgear
>> DG834GT wirelessly now.
>>
>> My internet connection is around 1.5mb and the signal strength from
>> the router varies between Low/Good and Very Good which seems to
>> translate to between 10mbs(?) and 30 something mbs(?) at the times
>> I've checked it.
>> I've noticed some of the stuff I've downloaded since moving my PC
>> doesn't seem to run at full speed, mainly a couple of game patches and
>> demos. This may be a complete coincidence coupled with a slow server
>> that I'm downloading from.
>>
>> How does the 1.5mb(?) of my internet connection relate to the speed of
>> the router, mb - mbs or are they the same? Or should I look at
>> repositioning the router to get a more optimum signal strength?
>
>The units are the same - mega-bits per second. Your wireless link at 10 is
>still a lot faster than your internet connection at 1.5 - so shouldn't be a
>bottleneck, even allowing for overheads.

That's what I thought, for some reason, it doesn't appear to be the
case. I'd been getting download speeds of less than 50% of what they
should be, until I moved the router.
--
Sean Black

In message <(E-Mail Removed)> , Colin
Wilson <(E-Mail Removed) o.uk> writes
>> I've noticed some of the stuff I've downloaded since moving my PC
>> doesn't seem to run at full speed, mainly a couple of game patches and
>> demos. This may be a complete coincidence coupled with a slow server
>> that I'm downloading from.
>
>Further to my thread asking for an FTP program with clipboard monitor,
>I installed FlashGet the other day - it is now apparently spyware and
>adware free.
>
>I can confirm that i've seen my download speeds of the movies on
>archive.org jump from 60-100k/sec to 660k/sec (which is about the most
>i'd ever get given my connection speed)
>
>*Well* worth a try !

Thanks, I'll look into that.
--
Sean Black

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Sean Black
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>So, despite all the info and the nice pictures on the back of the box
>showing large wireless ranges (I bought this router in preference to
>another model, as it seemed to offer a better wireless signal), that
>unless the router is pretty much right next to the PC, you're not going
>to get optimal signal/speed, in which case you might as well leave it
>wired, or have I just picked a crap router? Or am I missing something else?
>
>>Depending on your setup, if it's a USB wireless
>>adapter put it on a USB cable and move it to find
>>the best position. If not USB you either have to
>>move the hardware (extend the phone connection?)
>>or use kitchen foil reflectors at one or both ends.
>
>I've got a PCI wireless card, so it's easier to move the router than
>the whole PC.
>
>Extending the phone connection is not really an option, the wife
>doesn't want the extra wires.
>
>Kitchen foil reflectors? Any tips?

http://www.freeantennas.com/


--
Peter R Cook

Sean Black wrote:

> So, despite all the info and the nice pictures on the back of the box
> showing large wireless ranges (I bought this router in preference to
> another model, as it seemed to offer a better wireless signal), that
> unless the router is pretty much right next to the PC, you're not going
> to get optimal signal/speed, in which case you might as well leave it
> wired, or have I just picked a crap router? Or am I missing something
> else?

It's hard to say really, there are a whole load of variables involved, like
the fact that you're not the only user of 2.4GHz spectrum [other wireless
networks, Bluetooth adaptors, microwave ovens, CCTV systems], and the
construction of your house.

> I've got a PCI wireless card, so it's easier to move the router than the
> whole PC.
>
> Extending the phone connection is not really an option, the wife doesn't
> want the extra wires.
>
> Kitchen foil reflectors? Any tips?

If the antenna unscrews from your PCI card, you could get one with a little
stand on the end of a bit of coax, which could then be repositioned to your
hearts content. There's loads on eBay:

http://computers.listings.ebay.co.uk...nents_Antennae
-Repeaters-Extenders_W0QQcatrefZC4QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentry pageZsearchQQ
copagenumZ1QQfcclZ1QQfclZ3QQflocZ1QQfromZR2QQfrppZ 50QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrt
Z1QQftrvZ1QQga10244Z10425QQsacatZ61816QQsaslcZ2QQs ocmdZListingItemList



--
<http://ale.cx/> (AIM:troffasky) ((E-Mail Removed))
10:01:53 up 10 days, 14:21, 2 users, load average: 0.83, 0.44, 0.23
Yes. I'm just guessing.