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fompea
Can't Stop Posting
Joined: 16 Oct 2002
Posts: 650
Location: Las Vegas
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 Posted: 03/07/03 - 07:58 Post subject: Wireless network question
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Network guru's:
Any tips on how to get a stronger signal from the access point/router?
(using a DLink)
thanks!!!
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sinrakin
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 7044
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Posted: 03/07/03 - 08:16 Post subject:
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The thing that's most likely to work is sort of counterintuitive: get a better wireless card for your laptop, if you're using a Dlink card. A Lucent Orinoco, or other card based on the Orinoco chip (Dell TruMobile), will give you VASTLY better range with any access point: the difference between a "good" signal, and not even seeing a signal at all.
If you have builtin wireless in your laptop, you can't change the card I guess. Or if you've already got a good card in your laptop, you can get a little (~3 db) improvement with an external antenna, assuming it has a jack for one (Orinoco does, dlink doesn't, I think there's one other chip that's used that takes an antenna but I'm not sure what it is). You should see a tiny little rubber plug on the edge of the card that you can pull out to expose the connector.
If you can't do that, then it's either get a different access point, see if the access point can take an external antenna (I don't remember with dlink), move the access point to a better/more central location, or get a second access point and use whichever one is closer if you're in say a 2 floor house. Is it dlink that has the automatic repeater mode where you can get a second access point and it just relays the signals from the first one? That might help. Also some access points (Cisco) have a configurable power setting that you can raise if necessary. I kind of doubt that dlink does, but you could check the manual.
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halfbent
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2944
Location: Kentwood, Mi
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Posted: 03/07/03 - 11:54 Post subject:
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My NetGear MR314 acces point sucks! I get all kinds of connectivity loss between the access point and my LinkSys card even tho I'm sitting about 10 feet away from the access point with my laptop, no walls between.
Oh well, I guess that's what I get for going cheap with rebates. (only payed ~30$ each) =/
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