Bit of a noob here - need help with WiFi AP location

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Bit of a noob here - need help with WiFi AP location

deceptikonz

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#15150 7-Aug-2007 00:13

Hello peeps im a new member. Bit of a noob also. I live in a double story house i have my computer and router downstairs in the coner room n my laptop is up stairs. what would be the best way of making my wireeless range strong enough to reach up stairs. I has been reading some ppl conect the wifi to an aerial or something like that. need some help here thanks

DoggNZ

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#81977 11-Aug-2007 11:13

Hi there. I've got a similair sitution but in reverse. I've got a Linksys WAG54G router upstairs where my desktop PC is and I have
a wireless bridge plugged into my Xbox downstairs and a laptop. What kind of hardware are you running and how strong is your
signal currently? With most Wireless AP's\Routers, you can plug in a bigger antenna.

freitasm

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#81982 11-Aug-2007 11:32

Small tip that made my entire house covered with Wi-Fi: place your AP/router on a wall, not on the desk - and certainly not under the desk.

I have it in the office, on the notice board - about 1.5m high - before that it was on my desk and I couldn't connect from the other side of the house.

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cyril7

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#82016 11-Aug-2007 16:51

Dont forget that the signal leaves the antenna like a donut and is strongest broadside to the antenna, so not a lot of signal will appear upstairs, and the least signal is directly above the antenna. So along with taking MFs advise to put the router up the wall so to clear over obsticals on the lower floor you may want to tilt the antenna slightly upward to assist sending signal to the upper floor aiming direcctly where it is required.

Cyril

MauriceWinn

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#82492 15-Aug-2007 13:20

Line of sight for a Wi-Fi Linksys WRT 54GL and an Asus laptop was 380 metres with good signal when we tested various antennas. http://www.zenbu.net.nz/faq.php#33

Interference and what's between the antenna and the receiver are the big issues. Make sure there's as little as possible between the antenna and your receiver. High gain antennas help a lot. http://www.gowifi.co.nz/ sells them. There shouldn't be any problem at all getting from the ground floor of a house to upstairs. Positioning the router [antennas] is the main thing.

Even if the signal drops a lot, it won't affect the speed because New Zealand ADSL is so slow that a Wi-Fi router running at 2 of 5 bars on the signal strength detector will still be faster than the ADSL.

richms

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#82741 17-Aug-2007 17:41

Higher gain antennas wont help since they flatten the torus shaped signal that the antenna puts out, so if you aim them to hit upstairs then downstairs will have issues below it.

Really, a single AP will only cover a very small house that's cheaply constructed. If you have multiple layers of gib, that really hurts the signal, and if there is any foil backed stuff in the floor upstairs then it will reflect it rather then let it thru.

Richard rich.ms

MauriceWinn

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#83359 22-Aug-2007 16:46

Zenbu has Linksys WRT54GL routers set up in lots of places and coverage is a LOT better than one very small house, cheaply constructed.

a single AP will only cover a very small house that's cheaply constructed.

It depends on the routers, receiving devices, and the particular place being covered. High gain antennas do make things a LOT better if the place being covered is in the illuminated zone.

For example, Aquarius Motel has got all their units covered from one standard WRT54GL. As you can see from photos here: http://www.aquariusmotorinn.co.nz/ it's a LOT bigger than a single little cheaply built house. We tried high gain antennas and coverage strength was better, but they find it's good enough with the standard antennas.

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richms

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#83367 22-Aug-2007 17:27

Well, several people I know, and myself included have had no end of issues with only a single AP in the house. dead spots a foot in diameter at the other end of the house where it will not even associate at all, move the laptop a bit and then you get a mediocre connection. Shooting a signal thru a floor never worked for me. When I had a single AP, the only place I could put it to achieve coverage on both floors was the top stair of the staircase. Even then it was pretty lousy down the other end of the house, and this place is just gib and timber, hate to think what a masonry house would be like in the same situation.

Richard rich.ms

MauriceWinn

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#83400 22-Aug-2007 22:04

One of the main benefits of 802.11n will be better coverage. Higher speed is irrelevant [mostly] in NZ where not many people have the "luxury" of fibre. Coverage is important though, as we all find. Wi-Fi is puny at best, hopeless at worst. A good router/access point is essential if coverage is an issue. A good receiver too.