What is Digg?67 Comments
- weijie90, on 10/12/2007, -5/+751. Position your wireless router (or wireless access point) in a central location.
2. Move the router off the floor and away from walls and metal objects (such as metal file cabinets).
3. Replace your router's antenna.
4. Replace your computer's wireless network adapter.
5. Add a wireless repeater. (or more, if you need them)
6. Change your wireless channel.
7. Reduce wireless interference. (get cordless phones that don't use the 2.4 Ghz frequency range)
8. Update your firmware or your network adapter driver.
9. Pick equipment from a single vendor.
10. Upgrade 802.11b devices to 802.11g. - DeskFlyer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17If only airports would utilize these tips.
- pinniger, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2011. install dd-wrt
- evilTak, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Because my wireless devices communicate with more than just teh intarblag?
- ozziegt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7If you don't need the advanced features of DD-WRT I have found I prefer Tomato.
- crossmr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Some of these are not so subtle. Like moving your router out from behind a couple filing cabinets or changing the channel. I get 65 networks in my apartment if 45 of those were on channel 6, my switching to channel 1 which had nothing on it, would make a huge difference.Centrally placing the wireless AP is also important. I had a friend who couldn't get a signal in her bedroom, turns out it was because they had a washer and dryer between the computer room and the bedroom, Placing it up high on a closer wall solved the problem.
- Finster63, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8@pinniger got it in before I could:
http://dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/index.php
Allows you to increase the power of your signal and many, many other enhancements.
If your router can be upgraded with dd-wrt, do it... - chingy1788, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4To reflect some of those radio waves away from the ground and wall
Use some AOL CDs - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@snowbusiness
Don't worry. You get more irradiated by going outside on a sunny day! - ibjhb, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Because most "routers" today are also hubs. If you want to transfer data between computers, the speed difference is needed.
- crossmr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Because its a theoretical maximum, and you never really get that much throughput. My B router was giving me only about 120K/sec transfer speed, while the G is giving me near 300, which is much closer to the actually speed I get on my desktops.
- jtown, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3While 802.11b has a maximum speed of 11mbps, you'll never see that kind of performance. At best, you'll be able to sustain 3-4mbps. Similarly, 802.11g will never be able to sustain it's theoretical maximum speed of 54mbps. Not even close. Also, many people in urban areas are getting far more than 1-5mbps from their ISPs. Heck, I set up a relative with a cablemodem out in the sticks and the slowest service available was 4mbps. I have something like 14mbps at home. (I forget the exact advertised speed but it's up there.)
If I connect to the network with my old laptop's built in 802.11b adapter, I can download at 4mbps at most. If I use the 100mbps ethernet connection, I get 13-14mbps. Switching to an 802.11g adapter would certainly benefit my internet access when connected wirelessly. - sirgolf82, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Microsoft stopped selling their branded wireless products.
- wozley, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Either drop the E and add a D on Fine, or put a comma after Good.
- dagr8tim, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I never had any problems with my Microsoft wired router. It worked well until I got my wireless router. It's also been pressed back into service afew times with no ill effects.
- fuckingusername, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This is a real way, forget the newb top 10 tips
http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/ - Antwan718, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6They forgot the most important thing "encrypt your wireless"
- crossmr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"Add a wireless repeater."
While extending the range this will actually degrade performance. since the cost of an Access point is similar to that of a repeater putting in another AP on a non-overlapping channle (1, 6, 11) with the same SSID and security settings will allow your laptop to roam to the one with the stronger signal and not degrade performance.
"Change your wireless channel."
Instead of doing this randomly, use netstumbler to scan your area and see what channels already have the most signals on them, especially important if you're in a dense apartment building (I can see 65 different networks from my apartment). Pick a non-overlapping channel which has the fewest other signals on it. - kosmoX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3B routers don't work well with the tubes that make up the Internets.
- wozley, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3The B adapters I got from Woot! were gawd awful.
- wozley, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Good fine, I might try the 'change fequencies' tip when I get home.
- BigglesPiP, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7Can't be as bad as Belkin.
Edit: wehay, someone beat me to it. - kosmoX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Anybody have a link to the dozens of article showing how to make your own hi-gain antenna?
- MASmediaspace, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Another DD-WRT vote. I'm running a v3 Linksys that would constantly drop my internet connection when running Transmision on a MacBook. I've been getting much faster downloads AND have not even had 1 dropped connection in 2 months. HAIL DD-WRT!
- sven007, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Dd-wrt fixes many problems with the original linux firmware because of how it keeps connections for 5 days. anyone using many connections or bittorrent will crash their wrt-54g if they don't upgrade to dd-wrt and fix that problem. (unless linksys fixed the problem)
- xs650, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1snowbusiness, unless the high gain antenna is aimed at you, you will get less radiation to your person from a high gain antenna. Haigh gain antennas don;t increase total signal, they focus it so there is less signal everywhere except where they direct the signal.
- radiofrequency, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"picking equipment from a single vendor."
I gotta laugh at that one. - wozley, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@kosmox
But it was only ten bucks! I *had* to buy it. You just don't understand! - geehossiphats, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Ive had great luck with dd-wrt. Using the WDS function makes it extremely easy to add expanded range too. Basically, I go into a facility and set my wireless routers up and if I need extra range in another room, I just plug a pre-configured dd-wrt router in the wall in the area. Thats it!
The only drawback to using WDS is that the bandwidth is cut in half for clients that connect. So it may or may not be the best solution for your setup. Also with dd-wrt you can jack up the wireless signal strength almost twice to whats legal in the U.S.. The default setting is 28mW and you can go up to 200mW!! but if you go beyond 70mW, you risk burning up the chip. Add fans. Also, a simple fix to expand range is to jsut get a better antenne. I got a 15dbi omni-directional outdoor for about $65 at www.wlanparts.com. It aint the prettiest looking antennae but it does a good job. - kampanye, on 04/24/2009, -0/+0tx for sharing info
http://kampanyedamaipemiluindonesia2009.theblogosf ... - norapers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hmm, my Linksys w/ Speedbooster works great, even if I'm like, 30ft away. If you use plastic antennas, good luck wth tin foil, it is better with metal antennas. Or, you can use range boosters, the cheapest one I found was around $40.00 US. Sorry, I don't have the link for it. It can be placed at least 5 ft. closer than the max. range of the wireless router, and can boost the signal at least 20 ft. Not bad for 40 dollars....
- thelastemperor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1not that i wanted to double post but i just caught this after the edit time was over... its a 327W not a 427w
- ozziegt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You won't find a router with 5 ports. You probably need to buy a router and attach a switch to it. I would recommend the Buffalo WHR-G54 with some aftermarket firmware (DD-WRT or Tomato).
- thelastemperor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1my modem has a router built in.... a westel 427W, any tips for that... im not sure if some of the stuff u put up their are specific to modems or routers so i was curious
- crossmr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1However the other networks, especially if its a lot are important. Its better than willy nilly choosing a channel. It won't show you cordless phones or other sources of interference, but it will also help you map for dead spots.
- intense321, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1There are some routers that are much more powerful than others. I remember there being a Netgear router that was so powerful that people were saying it should be banned. If running on the same channel as any other router within a couple of miles of the source, it would stomp on all the other routers and degrade their signal quality so much that they were pretty much unusable.
Maybe someone with more knowledge about this than me can post their knowledge about which routers are stronger than others? - oDin420, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2the submitted article is pretty useless. that is unless you have your AP hidden in a drawer because you don't like the way it looks. then maybe you should read the article hell read it twice.
like everyone else here i suggest trying DD-WRT. it doubles the value of you $80 Linksys Wireless Router. - demizu, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Really good. I dont get it.
- j_bellone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I am looking to upgrade my main router right now anyone have any suggestions? I will be buying an AirPort as a repeater (because it has a/b/g/n) but the main router will only be b/g and I am looking for best performance. Need at least 5 ports for hardwired computers. DHCP, firewall, etc.
- TimDigg, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5DD-WRT.......nuff said
- kcpwnsgman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1You forgot to include the fancy pictures
- Crasoum, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0It may be different with different routers, but my Edimax, and Linksys wireless routers both say same channel, same SSID/ESID; as well as a USR router I had.
- csuper163, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0These tips were quite basic. If you want me tips on your wireless implementation check out below link.
http://blog.super-networking.net/?cat=7 - cpcouvillion, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Netstumbler and the like show other networks, but don't show other sources of interference. I had problems with my router dropping connections when it was on a clear channel. I changed to a different (clear) channel and the dropped connections stopped. It was probably a cordless phone or my wireless alarm system interfering.
- swordedge, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Read it, opinion.... DUH!
- hutectro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1most routers are rated at half watt in order to increase range you need a bigger antenna and also put router at the
highest frequency possible and try to keep it away from ALL electrical devices. - Gatorbyte, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I agree with everyone of those suggestions but the last one. Upgrade to 802.11b.
B offers more of a range and better through walls and some interference. Now taken that G has more bandwidth then B does, but for most of the noobs out there that use the wireless as a way to get on the internet. You aren't even using a fraction of that on your cable/dsl connection. 1-5mbps at the most.
grrrr,
gatorbyte - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1sweet i printed this article when it came out Feb 9 2005, but lost it, I'm wireless baby
- rickwhois, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3interesting...for a 10 year old
-
Show 51 - 64 of 64 discussions
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is