Improving/increasing Wireless reception

[parabellum]

Two lap tops work very well indoors, about 30-50 feet from the Wireless capable router but once outside they don't work well at all. Have looked on Ebay etc, but most of the kit seems to have a co-axial connection and neither laptop can accommodate that, only USB etc.

What should I be looking for to boost range and improve reception, up to about 100 feet please?

[seacue]

I your house masonry or "sticks and cardboard"? If sticks and cardboard, is the insulation in walls backed with metal foil? You'll have a lot better chance of getting a signal through the walls if the construction is sticks and cardboard without metal foil. A window in the desired direction can help a lot. I have done the following (temporarily).

Make a corner reflector antenna for your wireless access point. Make it from three sides of a large cardboard box lined with kitchen foil. Sit the Access Point on the bottom of the corner on the bisector of the other 90-deg angle. Unlike a flat plane reflector, the exact distance from the corner is not critical - but I would choose between a quarter and a half wavelength, say 3 to 6 cm.

I hope that your access point has an external antenna, since that makes placement a lot more straightforward.

See picture. The corner is far larger than needed.

[PaperTiger]

Try a USB adapter, they are cheap ($25 or so) and I can now get reception at up to 100 yards from the router.

[cats_five]

If you can replace the ariel on the router, you can get a higher-power one at Maplins - and other suppliers of course. Putting the router as high as you can manage might help as well.

[parabellum]

Thanks all, following up suggestions. Got almost to the end of an Amazon order only to discover that the goods cost $39.00 and the postage was $69.00!!! I'll look up Amazon, or similar, in Oz.

[FullOppositeRudder]

The range you are experiencing seems much less that I would have expected. Is it possible that by going outside you are wandering into the influence of another network on the same channel? NetStumbler can be a helpful tool in these problems.

I use a magnetic base antenna from Jaycar (their cat number AR-3273) to extend the range of my system here. Its use assumes that your router has a removable antenna and that the cable from this device can be screwed onto the router wireless socket. They also have a higher gain version at increased cost. The advantage of these external antennas is that it may allow placement of the antenna in a better location, and it also makes experimentation with corner reflectors and other devices of this kind mentioned by others that much easier and perhaps aesthetically a little more acceptable.

My wireless signal goes from my Billion router through two house walls (one internal, one brick veneer - both without foil) through to a WAP inside my shed with acceptable signal strength. I have the Jaycar antenna on the WAP - the combination works better in that configuration for this situation. In most instances - like yours of course - it needs to be fitted to the wireless router itself.

One last point. Some routers have the option of varying the wireless output power. Check the manual for yours, and if this option exists, get into the menus and see that it is operating at maximum output.

Good luck
Terry
FOR

[parabellum]

Thanks FOR. My router is the Bigpond 'issue' one, a cheapo Thompson with a fixed antenna, however, it does have a USB port on the box for no obvious reason. Came without a manual, (Bigpond standard, I'm afraid), though I haven't tried on the internet yet. I'll keep looking, only very new to wireless, less than two months so all is learning!

[FullOppositeRudder]

OK - that's interesting.

I set a Telstra/Thomson device up for a neighbour (two doors away) a few weeks ago, probably one like yours, but we left the wireless implementation for a future date.

I was surprised how little information was offered (or indeed required) with the package. It's all on the CD. I think there is a manual of sorts on the Telstra setup CD, and I took a copy, but it's very much lacking in technical stuff of any kind.

I'll have a closer look at the device at this end later tomorrow and see what I can 'discover'.

More later - unless someone else sees an answer at this stage .

Regards,
FOR

[FullOppositeRudder]

I had a closer look at the Telstra Thomson modem up the street today. It's a Thomson TG782T and the internal settings are accessed by typing http:// 10.0.0.138 into a browser window. This brings up a Windows 7 style interface window with lots of graphics and links to the configuring of various limited options.

There appears to be no option for varying the power, so we might assume that this is at 'full throttle' by default - nothing to change there. Other options allow changing of the default channel (11 in this case). This might be worth exploring because we can't immediately rule out the possibility that going outside brings the laptops into the influence of another wireless router nearby on the same channel. (Of course if you are in a rural or semi rural environment that can probably be dismissed altogether).

I was a bit perturbed and indeed puzzled to see that this one was set by default to work in Europe, but I could see no obvious way of changing it, so I stayed clear of that one. I'd still like to research the possible implications of this in the local situation .

I was dismayed to see that the antenna does indeed appear to be fixed, so we can't experiment in that area as originally hoped.

FWIW I did check on my laptop last night using NetStumbler. The signal strength from the Thomson modem was, in my observation, usable from the adjoining house, and it was registering back in my office about 60 metres away and through another house between the two locations.

For the moment, it seems that trying another wireless channel might be the only option available in respect of 'settings' for the device, and given the apparent finality of the aerial fitment, it may well be worth experimenting with a corner reflector along the lines of that suggested earlier in the thread by seacue. This will direct the radiation pattern of the antenna outwards and away from the apex of the V but it is at the expense of signal strength and usability in all other directions. This needs to be weighed into the local requirements.

Trying a USB modem on the laptop could also be worth a try; I haven't any data or experience on the relative effectiveness of these vs the internal wireless modem / antenna combination. Others have reported an improvement, so this is also a possible worthwhile alternative. Like all such devices plugged into USB ports, they are vulnerable to accidental mechanical damage to themselves or the computer itself. Care is needed.

The radio amateur in me is uneasy, but I think I've pretty well exhausted the more obvious possibilities as I see them. It's back to the corner reflector and other options already suggested, but I would like to rule out co-channel competition and interference from any nearby wireless network first.

More than enough from me .......
Good luck
FOR
(in verbose mode - apologies are tendered)

[green granite]

The manual for it is available from: DSL Modems & Gateways - Voice over IP - THOMSON TG782 (Internet zone)

[parabellum]

Thanks very much FOR and GG. I'm in a rural environment so no interference from next door.

Thanks for all the trouble you have gone to FOR and thanks for the manual GG.

[FullOppositeRudder]

Thanks GG for the link to the Thompson manual. It goes a little further in some areas than the one hidden on the installation CD with the Telstra Australia badged version which appears to be a special edited edition (if not a complete re-write) to suit the Telstra regime.

I did note that the Thomson version uses the more usual address of http://192.168.1.254 to get into the configuration page for the device. The 'Telstra' version uses http://10.0.0.138. Exactly why is not apparent, but most Australians will understand that it's not altogether uncommon to use "why" and "Telstra" in the same sentence .

regards,
FOR

[Keef]

Hey Mr VKxFOR - why not solder a suitable bit of coax to the point where the fixed internal antenna lives, and then tinker with something more effective in the antenna stakes? I could imagine a little homebrew Yagi doing good stuff.

73 DE G3OIT

[txdmy1]

had the same prob

solved by opening a n upstairs widow - simples

[Keef]

Tell me more about the widow...

[ShyTorque]

Does she have a see through nightie? ....

[FullOppositeRudder]

Hey Mr VKxFOR - why not solder a suitable bit of coax to the point where the fixed internal antenna lives, and then tinker with something more effective in the antenna stakes? I could imagine a little homebrew Yagi doing good stuff.

73 DE G3OIT

If it were my box, I'd certainly think about it . But I would probably use a quad .

However, a worthwhile point has been mentioned in several post in this thread, and deserves emphasis in perhaps the concluding stages.

Placing the router and its antenna as high as is reasonably practical and free from obstructions towards the desired area of operation is highly desirable, even if it means using longer power, telephone and network cables to do so. Mine is on the top shelf in the office - about 6 feet above the floor.

73 de VK5ATN

(FOR)

[oldbeefer]

If you have a power supply outside, Homeplugs may be the answer Flashbyte Net Ltd Solwise HomePlugs as an example. I have fitted a friends house out with two - one which the router plugs into and a wireless one outside. Works a treat - I'm sure they are available with Aussie mains connections.

[Ancient Observer]

Just an echo of the last post. The Homeplugs will transfer a decent signal to anywhere in the house.
I've not tried it, but maybe a homeplug to an electric socket next to that window you opened, with an extra wi-fi router from there?
This solution did feature in a thread from last year.............

[parabellum]

Thanks OB and AO, will follow that up too!