Cornish Jack.
 

I've just had a brainwave about Electro magnetic interference.

Without giving your location away to the whole world (OK PPrune) does your location mean that you are close to sources of microwave transmissions like L band Radars from ships or shore bases (1 - 2 GHz) or DAB audio transmitters. A bit of a long shot but a maybe, DAB transmissions are a bit lower in frequency than 2 GHz Wifi

Or S bamd Microwave transmissions (typically 2-4 GHz) Often used for satellite communications.

Finally communications C band transmissions - (associated with TV receive only transmissions 4-8 GHz) - You may have quite simply, an accident of location that's very uncommon.

Another one: Is there a wireless transmission power setting available on your router - I use XP pro on my Dual boot Dell Vistro Win/Ubuntu and successfully reduced the transmitter power a little, ( 20 % reduction - XP ) to increase battery life

CAT III ( I'm no expert, needless to say)

I had FM radio interference from some traffic using Cambridge - You could hear the weather radar scanning patterns over the loud speakers - Older radars only I think.

Cat111 - thank you for the suggestion. With my experiences with wifi, almost anything is possible. My location is NE Norfolk and I don't know whether there are any possible EMI sources locally. However we are very close to the main UK gas terminal and there are more plods to the square inch here than anywhere I have previously lived. On e could assume a lot of plod radio traffic and DAB reception is crap - but then that seems to be universal!:*
As I wrote in my previous, I think I shall leave well alone for the moment but on past experience, I can foresee a return engagement in the near future:sad:

I found inSSIDer (snazzy name) tremendously helpful. And it's free.


Looking at a very weak signal with my USB ærial pointing this way and that, got me the best signal possible through four old redbrick Essex walls. Yep, it seemed better in a straight line than pointing at the window etc.

It shows both common channel ranges.

The software tells me my channel, other local channels being used, and their relative strengths. They show WEP etc., of each local internet user, oh, and their provider.

It does not function when hard-wired however, which is a shame.

If you're looking for programs to scan physical networks, you'll have to look beyond inssider... rest assured such programs do exist though.

Wireshark is an excellent, free, packet capture and protocol analyzer tool.

SD

One would assume there is nothing that can cause the computer to look around the neighborhood without a wi-fi thingie installed in the normally hard-wired PC.

That was a kind of question.:O

Cornish Jack
 

I do not want to sound over the top (Tin foil Hat firmly embedded in place) but given your reply and the fact that you have had problems with a succession of wireless routers - I had two BT Duds,

I suspect that the "strategic" facility that you mention; may be a factor in this situation. As a polite aside do you have similar problems in establishing mobile phone connectivity ?

In your case I'm thinking of the proximity of a Microwave link (I think these are used less now than in the past)

From personal experience I cite cell phone problems outside a well known building with limited occupancy issues in London. -

I know it sounds absolutely daft but it's one of those 1,000,000:1 chances that means you need wired connections in house.

If this proves to be the case, I suspect that you may be entitled to restorative modifications to enable you to "Enjoy" in the formal sense, your broadband connectivity.

Are there any PPruner's who have had recourse to this arrangement (confidentiality clauses permitting of course.)

CAT III

CAT 111 - All quite possible, of course, but I fancy that my 'problems' are more of my own making (read 'dim as a Toc H lamp') than external influences. :(
I have, in fact, made some progress - the Nexus now connects with no problems as does the Dell laptop. However the Advent, sitting alongside the Dell stubbornly refuses to connect, in spite of showing 'excellent' signal strength. The attempts at using the 'repair' function in the networks dialogue box consistently generates the 'unable to renew the IP address' message. Struggled miserably down that particular avenue the last time I tried to set the thing up.
The brain is now ultra weary and the eyes also, so I think I shall leave well alone and accept two out of three as a good result!!

Cornish,
sorry to hear of your problems. I have been fortunate that most of my stuff has worked on a PnP basis. Old netgears and current BT kit all appear to work fine on a pnp basis, and my knowledge of techie is only marginally above zero.

However, I do echo the earlier comments about local help. My local IT helper normally does what is required on a single visit, at most 2 visits, and he charges about half what the plumber does.

Don't use the helpers/experts from the big stores - they are way too expensive.

How old are the laptops? I have found some ancient ones have wireless cards that aren't compatible with modern routers. I've overcome this by using a (very small) USB adaptor from Linksys or Edimax. Less than a tenner, so worth a try perhaps?

I've already pointed out that the spec of the Advent strongly suggests that the wireless card will be limited - I'd guess at WEP only, B only
WEP only would make it incompatible with a WPA network, while trying to use B on a G or N network in a mixed environment would cripple the other machines bandwidth

Thanks again to all and a final update.
Router remains on WEP; Dell continues to operate wirelessly, upstairs and downstairs; Advent resolutely refuses to make the wifi connection but has excellent signal strength; the Nexus has instant connectivity, again upstairs and downstairs; I am a contented bunny:ok:

ON WEP not WPA?

OK, in that case....the answer to the Advent may be that when attempting to set up WEP automatically it often goes wrong because the PC makes the wrong choice of open/shared WEP keys
The answer may be to manually edit the wireless connection on the advent from one to the other......I'd guess that its on "open" but needs "shared" (which reduces the security even more)

Most wireless routers should allow configuration with a simple process straight out of the box using the supplies software (usually on disk). However there are a lot of variables and unknowns which might be complicating the procedure for you, and most of these have already been mentioned.

I can only endorse the suggestion of others and get some assistance from either a professional, or from a a friend who is gifted with the ability to set up these networks.

It's no disgrace to seek on site assistance in these matters and it will save a lot of frustration and tension. You also will have peace of mind of knowing that your system is secure and operating at best efficiency.

Regards,
FOR

There is also an excellent Android app, Wifi Analyser which is free. I find carrying my Nexus 4 round easier than juggling with a laptop!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...analyzer&hl=en

Jack,

Just one final question - does the router's configuration actually mention WPA2 at all?

I ask because it may well be that the router is from the vintage when WPA2 didn't exist, and that same time was considerably more difficult from a wifi setup point of view as I experienced a lot more issues of the same ilk.

Can you ascertain the exact model number of the router? as it may be that a firmware update to that router would get it working with WPA2 which would then support the later devices.

Cheers,
Mike.

Hi Mike, thank you for that. Apologies for delay in responding.
Re. router model, I've checked on the machine itself and it appears to be a Thomson Gateway TG585 v7. I'm assuming that the v7 refers to the software update state?? I've had this router operating since changing to Plusnet in May 2010 and haven't bothered to check for s/w updates nor would feel at all happy at attempting it. As I wrote previously, 2 out of 3 will do quite nicely for me:ok:
The Advent must be close to 20 years old and way beyond its 'sell by' date! Just remembered, a propos nothing - I paid just under £1700 for it at PC World - not sure whether the price or sale venue represents the greater madness!!:E

Looks like the v7 does support WPA2, Jack. This all points to the issue being the Advent :)