Thumbs down for IEEE 802.11b!

[Stealth1024]

Just spent the day playing with a new Linksys Wireless Access Point and PC Card for a notebook.

I can say that when the critics say one must maintain LOS (line of sight) they mean it. I can't go from this side of the house where the access point is located to the garage without losing all signal. If I stand between my notebook and the access point signal strength goes down 30 percent.

Even if I stand right next to the access point signal strength is only at 80 percent!

Just as a trial, I mounted the access point on the side of a house window, and while maintaining clear LOS I walked away from the house through the field. I couldn't walk more than a few house lengths away without losing all connection. This is best case situation too (holding the notebook just so above one's head, if one held it where you could actually use it, it lost a lot of signal strength).

My theory: interference. Even without the notebook on, the activity light on my access point flickers dimly (tried changing channels but no luck). There are a lot of com towers around here and I bet at least one of them is operating on the same frequency.

EDIT: Thread for tweaking power output: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=36&threadid=672845

 

[ktwebb]

Havent played with the linksys AP much but you should be able to change the channels (frequencies) and see if you do in fact have some interence on the channel you are using by default. I have heard conflicting stories about the range of the Linksys AP, mostly bad, but not as bad as what you are describing. Play around with the various frequencies. You should have 11 disinct channels and there are three non overlapping ranges. 2.412, 2.437, and 2.462 are the middle channels of these ranges and would not interfere with the other two. Check it out and post with your results.

 

[spidey07]

welcom to the world of wireless, where performance is guess work and quality is NEVER guarnteed.

try changing frequencies.

 

[sml]

I've deployed wireless networks through large, old buildings that have solid concrete walls. Use quality gear [Linksys gear is designed for like, 2-3 rooms away.] Cisco wireless networking equipment is quite superb; it all depends on your environment and what your gear is able to handle; read the thread i posted several days ago about making use of the 100mW tweak for Linksys access points. Otherwise, drop some scratch on a nice set of wireless gear.

 

[Garion]

Agreed - Quality and power varies. I've got a Cisco 340 AP in the middle of my house. I can get a signal in my car, opn the street in front of the house - 1 floor, 3-4 walls and about 100' total. (Hey, when the baby is asleep and you don't want to wake him up to go inside, it works nicely.)

- G

 

[sml]

cool. I want to get a 350 and stick it halfway up the staircase about 12" down from the ceiling in my new place. heh.

 

[Nighthawk69]

... and I am going to recommend the SMC Wireless router and Orinoco USB adapters (for desktops) or PC Cards (for laptops) before Jack can . You should be able to successfully network your house wirelessly with this gear. I have read lots of bad things about the Linksys wireless gear with respect to range... check out PracticallyNetworked.com for more information.

 

[JackMDS]

Wireless is like a Ferrari.

Ferrari, a car that takes only two people, it is sitting so low that it is scary to drive it next to a truck, and it is very expensive.

However, it is a very Cool looking car.

Wireless is good for specific situations, when other solutions are not feasible, and you are willing to work hard to achieve reasonable connection. You don?t buy Wireless because the manufacture claims few miles.

I have one small scale Wireless installation, and in order to create connections to the needed spots I did a lot of experiments by locating the A/Ps in different places. I ended up with a 35? CAT5e that goes from the DSL modem to an A/P sitting on a beam of a Cathedral ceiling (about 18 ? up in the center of the house).

I get coverage of the whole house plus 100? on the southern outside. On the northern side, I have few pine trees, and a lot of Shrubs, the best I get is 30?.

However, it is Fun, and all the neighbors are very impressed (j/k).

 

[blstriker]

For my wireless setup, I have a linksys WAP11 in the bathroom window on the third story of our condo. I can get pretty good signal on the first floor on my sony c100 (rebadge lucent silver). I can also get signal from across the street through two big trees. This is a good 500 feet away.

I think the problem is the linksys cards aren't very good. I've been doing a lot of reading and they seem to have very poor reception. Here is a cool page that I found very useful. It doesn't have the linksys, but I'm guessing it would be not so good. Receive Sensitivity

 

[need4spd]

OK.. I'll chime in.

I recently bought a wireless setup...Linksys BEFW11S1 Wireless AP + Cable Router and the Linksys USB Wireless adapter with the movable antenna.

It is set up on the 1st floor of my house and the 2 units are approx. 50 ft apart and signal goes through 3 walls including a brick fireplace...I do get reasonably good signal of 60-75%. It does make a difference if i adjust the placement of USB adapter and maybe tweak the antenna a bit.. But I am actually quite pleased with performance. (I haven't tried it with laptop yet)

I have read here that the SMC wireless setup with Orinoco adapters work best... but wondering if it is the Wireless AP or is it the Adapter that makes a difference.

 

[Stealth1024]

I am downloading the files to up it to 100mw....

 

[Stealth1024]

Latest firmware installed, mods complete, I'll let you know as soon as testing concludes.

 

[Raspewtin]

i tried an all linksys soln and got a slightly poorer signal strength than the SMC +Orinoco soln. I had mucho issues with the Linksys (literally went thru 5 of them). I really like the LEDs on the linksys. oh well. also try orienting each antenna on diff plane. it really helps. thru 2 walls from one side of the house to other i am getting 11 mpbs.

 

[SaigonK]

I have a Cisco Aironet 4800 AP and Cisco 340 PCMCIA wireless cards and have had NO range issues at all.
In wireless I really believe yu get what you pay for!

 

[Stealth1024]

I've been through the antenna orientation issue with wireless mics...

Raspewtin - do you have the antennas forming a 90 degree angle, in one plane, or do you have one antenna sticking straight out the back and one sticking straight up to create two planes 90 degrees to each other? Having one stick straight out appears interesting...

 

[need4spd]

thru 2 walls from one side of the house to other i am getting 11 mpbs.

How does one go about testing.. how do i know if I am getting 11mpbs?
thanks

 

[Stealth1024]

need4spd - double click the icon in your system tray...

 

[need4spd]

OK...

ahhh I see . currently at 11Mpbs .. but some times I see 5.5?

 

[Stealth1024]

yes the wireless access point will default to lower transfer speeds as connection quality degrades

 

[ktwebb]

There called cells. 11 Mb cell, 5.5 MB cell, then down to 2 and 1 Mb. You will however see transfer speeds lower within those cells, either from distance or obstruction. You will really only get your fastest speed (You'll never see more than 6 Mb, give or take a few KB plus or minus anyway) when very close to the AP/Router with true line of sight.

 

[Joony]

you need to get some better antennas, you can also try to set the antennas to diversity mode if your WAP11 has it on the wireless tab. Get like a 5dbi omnidirectional antenna and a orinoco silver card or gold.

 

[ktwebb]

Havent played with the Linksys product much but I would be curious to know if diversity is disabled by default. Surely not? Not if there are two antennas on the AP. Diversity will not work without two antenna posts but its tough to imagine that an AP with two antennas would have diversity turned off by default.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Set the range to auto. Put the WAP in a place where there's little interference. I tried it on my Linksys WAP and I get pretty good range. From the 2nd room to the garage door I get 40%, now that's 1 drywall, and 1 cement wall. I have the attenaes in the upward position. Perhaps if you're getting poor range, try replacing the antennaes, as they're removable? Just a suggestion.

 

[TomK]

If you have a WAP11, try and do the power output hack here Linky

I've done it and it has worked wonders for me in my house, in my garage I was getting "good" signal with a WAP11 and Orinoco Gold's, increased the power on ALL channels (grunt grunt) and now get excellent coverage in my garage, my yard, and front of the house too.

If that doesn't work, try a 5db antenna, from various antenna sources...commercial or do-it-yourself sites, listed here Linky.

TomK

 

[Hoober]

I've got the SMC Wireless Barricade and the Orinoco cards -- works splendidly!

3-4 walls, hundreds of feet outside... and the best part is that the AP is in a closet in my basement.

Its all about the equipment.