wireless internet timeouts just dont stop

Hi all, this is my first ever post in a usenet newsgroup, so I hope I'm
not violating any policies or anything.

PC setup:

Downstairs we have a SpeedTouch DSL modem constantly connected, which
is connected to a Belkin Router. Upstairs in my room I have a pc with a
wireless adapter which is able to connect at maximum signal strength.
I've tried all thirteen wireless Channels in the router setup but all
channels give me timeouts. Only channel #1 gave me some stability (no
timeouts at first) but after doing some streaming (shoutcast) my msn
messenger suddenly died along with everything else on the pc. Then
timeouts started on channel #1 as well.

Question:

What should I do to fix this? Get a new wireless adapter?

On 17 Aug 2006 06:45:53 -0700 (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

| Downstairs we have a SpeedTouch DSL modem constantly connected, which
| is connected to a Belkin Router. Upstairs in my room I have a pc with a
| wireless adapter which is able to connect at maximum signal strength.
| I've tried all thirteen wireless Channels in the router setup but all
| channels give me timeouts. Only channel #1 gave me some stability (no
| timeouts at first) but after doing some streaming (shoutcast) my msn
| messenger suddenly died along with everything else on the pc. Then
| timeouts started on channel #1 as well.
|
| Question:
|
| What should I do to fix this? Get a new wireless adapter?

This could possibly be the result of reflections in the signal. Move the
wireless devices around to various random positions. Change the orientation
of the antennas.

How well does it work with the PC about 1 meter from the router?

--
|---------------------------------------/----------------------------------|
| Phil Howard KA9WGN (ka9wgn.ham.org) / Do not send to the address below |
| first name lower case at ipal.net / spamtrap-2006-08-17-(E-Mail Removed) |
|------------------------------------/-------------------------------------|

On 17 Aug 2006 06:45:53 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed) .com>:

>Hi all, this is my first ever post in a usenet newsgroup, so I hope I'm
>not violating any policies or anything.

Nope.

>PC setup:
>
>Downstairs we have a SpeedTouch DSL modem constantly connected, which
>is connected to a Belkin Router. Upstairs in my room I have a pc with a
>wireless adapter which is able to connect at maximum signal strength.

Probably not anything close to that -- signal penetrates floors poorly
at best. The problem is that many wireless adapters report good signal
when idling -- it's only under load that they realize the signal is
actually crappy.

>I've tried all thirteen wireless Channels in the router setup but all
>channels give me timeouts.

Probable interference and/or weak signal. See wikis below.

>Only channel #1 gave me some stability (no
>timeouts at first) but after doing some streaming (shoutcast) my msn
>messenger suddenly died along with everything else on the pc. Then
>timeouts started on channel #1 as well.
>
>Question:
>
>What should I do to fix this? Get a new wireless adapter?

Eliminate interference first, and then if needed, better antennas are
the best way to go. Again, see wikis below.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

On 17 Aug 2006 06:45:53 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Hi all, this is my first ever post in a usenet newsgroup, so I hope I'm
>not violating any policies or anything.
>
>PC setup:
>
>Downstairs we have a SpeedTouch DSL modem constantly connected, which
>is connected to a Belkin Router. Upstairs in my room I have a pc with a
>wireless adapter which is able to connect at maximum signal strength.
>I've tried all thirteen wireless Channels in the router setup but all
>channels give me timeouts. Only channel #1 gave me some stability (no
>timeouts at first) but after doing some streaming (shoutcast) my msn
>messenger suddenly died along with everything else on the pc. Then
>timeouts started on channel #1 as well.
>
>Question:
>
>What should I do to fix this? Get a new wireless adapter?

simple things first, korjin. experiment by moving the wireless router
around a bit and/or change the orientation of the antenna(s) on the
router. at the frequencies used by the router sometimes moving the
router no more than a few inches one way or the other or slightly
changing the way the antenna(s) is/are oriented can make a difference.

if the laptop's wireless adapter is built-in and not an add-on try
moving the laptop to a different space in the room or orienting it in
such a way that more of the laptop's lid is facing in the general
direction of the router. if you've got the door closed to the room
where the LT is try opening the door. i think you get the idea.
generally, most wireless routers that i am familiar with output a
strong enough signal to cover the average home.

are there other wi-fi signals in your neighborhood which might be
causing interference? netstumbler <http://netstumbler.com/> can give
you loads of information including what channels those systems operate
on.

report back on your results.

73,
rich, n9dko

Rich schreef:

> simple things first, korjin. experiment by moving the wireless router
> around a bit and/or change the orientation of the antenna(s) on the
> router. at the frequencies used by the router sometimes moving the
> router no more than a few inches one way or the other or slightly
> changing the way the antenna(s) is/are oriented can make a difference.
>
> if the laptop's wireless adapter is built-in and not an add-on try
> moving the laptop to a different space in the room or orienting it in
> such a way that more of the laptop's lid is facing in the general
> direction of the router. if you've got the door closed to the room
> where the LT is try opening the door. i think you get the idea.
> generally, most wireless routers that i am familiar with output a
> strong enough signal to cover the average home.
>
> are there other wi-fi signals in your neighborhood which might be
> causing interference? netstumbler <http://netstumbler.com/> can give
> you loads of information including what channels those systems operate
> on.
>
> report back on your results.
>
> 73,
> rich, n9dko

I tried everything you all said, and tried to do the ping test in an
MSDOS prompt (250 pings to the router) on various times, and came to
the conclusion the interference is only present every now and then.

For example, right now (20:00) I have no timeouts, and last night at
02:00 I had no timeouts either, but two days ago at 23:00 I had 40%
timeouts.

I've checked the entire house and I can't imagine anything interfering
but perhaps the floor or the heating.

On 19 Aug 2006 11:34:33 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed). com>:

>I tried everything you all said, and tried to do the ping test in an
>MSDOS prompt (250 pings to the router) on various times, and came to
>the conclusion the interference is only present every now and then.
>
>For example, right now (20:00) I have no timeouts, and last night at
>02:00 I had no timeouts either, but two days ago at 23:00 I had 40%
>timeouts.
>
>I've checked the entire house and I can't imagine anything interfering
>but perhaps the floor or the heating.

Possibly a neighbor?

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

On 19 Aug 2006 11:34:33 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>
>Rich schreef:
>
>> simple things first, korjin. experiment by moving the wireless router
>> around a bit and/or change the orientation of the antenna(s) on the
>> router. at the frequencies used by the router sometimes moving the
>> router no more than a few inches one way or the other or slightly
>> changing the way the antenna(s) is/are oriented can make a difference.
>>
>> if the laptop's wireless adapter is built-in and not an add-on try
>> moving the laptop to a different space in the room or orienting it in
>> such a way that more of the laptop's lid is facing in the general
>> direction of the router. if you've got the door closed to the room
>> where the LT is try opening the door. i think you get the idea.
>> generally, most wireless routers that i am familiar with output a
>> strong enough signal to cover the average home.
>>
>> are there other wi-fi signals in your neighborhood which might be
>> causing interference? netstumbler <http://netstumbler.com/> can give
>> you loads of information including what channels those systems operate
>> on.
>>
>> report back on your results.
>>
>> 73,
>> rich, n9dko
>
>I tried everything you all said, and tried to do the ping test in an
>MSDOS prompt (250 pings to the router) on various times, and came to
>the conclusion the interference is only present every now and then.
>
>For example, right now (20:00) I have no timeouts, and last night at
>02:00 I had no timeouts either, but two days ago at 23:00 I had 40%
>timeouts.
>
>I've checked the entire house and I can't imagine anything interfering
>but perhaps the floor or the heating.

what other wi-fi signals are in your neighborhood?

73,
rich, n9dko

Rich wrote:
> On 19 Aug 2006 11:34:33 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>
> >
> >Rich schreef:
> >
> >> simple things first, korjin. experiment by moving the wireless router
> >> around a bit and/or change the orientation of the antenna(s) on the
> >> router. at the frequencies used by the router sometimes moving the
> >> router no more than a few inches one way or the other or slightly
> >> changing the way the antenna(s) is/are oriented can make a difference.
> >>
> >> if the laptop's wireless adapter is built-in and not an add-on try
> >> moving the laptop to a different space in the room or orienting it in
> >> such a way that more of the laptop's lid is facing in the general
> >> direction of the router. if you've got the door closed to the room
> >> where the LT is try opening the door. i think you get the idea.
> >> generally, most wireless routers that i am familiar with output a
> >> strong enough signal to cover the average home.
> >>
> >> are there other wi-fi signals in your neighborhood which might be
> >> causing interference? netstumbler <http://netstumbler.com/> can give
> >> you loads of information including what channels those systems operate
> >> on.
> >>
> >> report back on your results.
> >>
> >> 73,
> >> rich, n9dko
> >
> >I tried everything you all said, and tried to do the ping test in an
> >MSDOS prompt (250 pings to the router) on various times, and came to
> >the conclusion the interference is only present every now and then.
> >
> >For example, right now (20:00) I have no timeouts, and last night at
> >02:00 I had no timeouts either, but two days ago at 23:00 I had 40%
> >timeouts.
> >
> >I've checked the entire house and I can't imagine anything interfering
> >but perhaps the floor or the heating.
>
> what other wi-fi signals are in your neighborhood?
>
> 73,
> rich, n9dko

Our neighbour's have a wireless network, but I use a different SSID and
a different Channel (they use 1, I use 2) so that shouldn't be a big
interference. That's all for our neighborhood.

I also tried a ping test on the other machine using a wireless
connection while my own machine was having timeouts. It got straight 1
ms pings. The machine connected to the router with a cable always has
<1ms pings. But my own machine still has lots of timeouts.

On 20 Aug 2006 08:07:01 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed) .com>:

>Our neighbour's have a wireless network, but I use a different SSID and
>a different Channel (they use 1, I use 2) so that shouldn't be a big
>interference. That's all for our neighborhood.

That's actually a recipe for interference, because channels 1 and 2 have
a great deal of overlap. For minimal interference, separate channels by
at least 5 numbers (e.g., 1 and 6), more if possible (e.g., 1 and 11).

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

John Navas schreef:

> On 20 Aug 2006 08:07:01 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
> <(E-Mail Removed) .com>:
>
> >Our neighbour's have a wireless network, but I use a different SSID and
> >a different Channel (they use 1, I use 2) so that shouldn't be a big
> >interference. That's all for our neighborhood.
>
> That's actually a recipe for interference, because channels 1 and 2 have
> a great deal of overlap. For minimal interference, separate channels by
> at least 5 numbers (e.g., 1 and 6), more if possible (e.g., 1 and 11).
>
> --
> Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
> John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
> Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
> Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

I've read a great deal of the Wireless Wikia link in your signature,
and came to the conclusion it might help if I switched the bluetooth
function of my mobile phone off, and changed the channel to 11, since
our neighbours use 1.

I tried more ping tests, and I see little improvement. Although most of
it is lower than 4 ms, there are occasional peaks of about 1800 ms. The
peaks never come in pairs or more, too.