Dumb newbie question - real-world range (mixed-mode)

Inspector Gadget

Hi there:
A friend of mine is attempting to pick my brains on sharing a broadband connection over 802.11. Problem is, there isn't too much to pick in terms of wireless networks.

I've already got an 802.11g wireless router up and running (an SMC 2804WBRP-G, as seen on komplett here) which has been told to talk to both "b" and "g" devices. It is (ideally) talking to an SMC 802.11g PCI card in a no-name desktop machine (don't know what model, didn't install it) and a Compaq Centrino (i.e. 802.11b) lappie using an Intel Pro/Wireless 2100 3b adapter. The router is running the version 2.000 firmware (my friend had updated it before I noticed some people recommending older firmware to fix some problems, and you can't downgrade this version - oh well).

Problem is, the phone line with the DSL service is at one end of the house, and the point at which the laptop is most likely to be used is at the exact other end - approximately 75 feet and three walls away. The laptop keeps dropping the connection when used at this range, whereas the desktop (about 30 feet away from the wireless AP in line-of-sight terms, but up a floor) also appears to lose the connection from time to time.

Things to bear in mind: this house has a 2.4GHz cordless 'phone (currently situated a couple of feet from the wireless AP) and a microwave oven (another source of 2.4GHz interference) a couple of feet further away - these probably don't help matters.

Anyway, in my limited capacity to resolve these things, I'm going with the presumption that it's an interference and/or range problem, so I'm looking at putting in a repeater - specifically, one of these (elara link) Buffalo WLA-G54C (manufacturer's page) "54Mbps Wireless Compact Repeater Bridge" thingies - half-way between the two, which should make the longest link about forty feet or so.

My questions are:
1) Is this overkill? Should the damn thing just work at these distances?
2) Is this down to the fact that the laptop is talking 802.11b rather than -g? Would a "g" wireless LAN card be a more sensible purchase than the repeater?
3) Will this repeater do what I think it should, with a little bit of coercion in terms of settings and such?

Said friend is under a bit of pressure from his better half to get this working, so any pearls of wisdom on the subject greatly appreciated...
Cheers,
Gadget

morgana

My setup is a Draytek 2900 wireless router, 2 PC's (one wired, one wirelss) and a lappie. The wireless PC had a build-in wireless chip (prism or so) and is located about 10 feet away from the router separated by one wall only. The wireless network connection still dropped all the time and signal strength was very poor. The laptop in the same location with a Belkin 11g adapter showed excellent signal strength and almost the full whack in the way of speed between 46 - 54 Mbits. Out of desparation I got the Belkin 11g USB wireless adapter in Argos and - bingo - all is well with excellent signal strength and speeds. The wireless network is stable as a rock now (apart from Windows issue with the lappie, a different topic).
I wouldn't think 11b or g makes a difference on signal strength as with sufficient strength the card will shift packerts at capacity (whatever that may be).
May be you could get your hands on one of those usb or pci adapters as they built in ones' performance seems to be quite poor generally (so I heard) and see whether that imporves performance.

Cheers

Inspector Gadget

Thanks for the reply. My main focus is the laptop, and as it will be used as the name suggests (i.e. on someone's lap) I don't want anything dangling out of the back - for example, USB devices - that might snap off. Preferably, the solution would involve minimal changes to the laptop (though an 802.11g PC card that doesn't have a protruding - i.e. good - antenna might be an option).

I wonder will the repeater do enough?
Cheers,
Gadget

parsi

Before forking out on the repeater beg/steal/borrow a PCMCIA card with a wee stubby antenna and test it - the inbuilt centrino chips don't seem to be working all that well - on a course recently with 8 centrino based laptops and 1 3com hub and the devices couldn't talk to each other half the time despite being in touching distance...here at home I can use the laptop (Cisco 350 card) out at the shed and thats around 70feet from the AP in the hall (with a cordless phone underneath)..

Inspector Gadget

Hmm...why am I not surprised? They advertise these things as the be-all and end-all (yes, I know they're only 802.11b) but even with the Intel PRO/Whatever utilities (which help) it's still unreliable. The biggest problem I have so is convincing my friend that the laptop is part of the problem; he used it a bit in the States (free wi-fi sites etc.) and reckons he had no problem there... oh well, the fun starts anew...

Cheers,
Gadget