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Wireless network signal improvements

dmention7

dmention7

Hater
So here's my situation:

Linksys E3000 router is located on the main floor (want to keep it there for ethernet connections to AV devices). Wireless signal is excellent everywhere in and around the house, but out in the garage apparently going through 2 layers of stucco and the associated metal caging is too much. It also doesn't help that there is a brick chimney situated perfectly between my preferred spot for the router and the garage.

The netbook only has wireless-G, and I was able to take the situation from not even seeing the router to getting a very weak signal by tweaking the 2.4ghz radio settings and turning off the power save mode on the netbook wireless card. But I don't have a strong enough signal to reliably stream music (which is my minimum requirement).

I have tried moving the router around (out from behind the chimney, up higher, and closer to the garage) which gets me an acceptable connection, but long-term it would require me to be running ethernet cables all over or drilling a bunch of holes in my kitchen and living room.

How much of a difference would I see by just adding a wireless-N adapter (with external antenna) to the netbook? Unfortunately the router does not have an external antenna. You can mod it, but only the 5ghz antenna can be upgraded without soldering on the circuit board... which I'd rather avoid.


tl;dr all else equal, will switching to a wireless-N adapter give a significant improvement in range?
 
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DrWebster

Guest
How about this for an idea:

The power to the garage is fed from the house, correct? If so, you could try a pair of those powerline Ethernet adapters -- one goes in the house, connected to your router and another goes in the garage. I'm not sure about all the nitty-gritty details (e.g. if they have to be on the same circuit, etc.) but if they work they'd be more reliable (and likely faster) than a wireless connection.
 
Picklz

Picklz

SUDO Make me a SAMCH
I'm not super familiar w/ that Router, I believe the 3000 is dual band but not simultaneously so you can either use 2.4 or 5.0. Usually 2.4 is going to give you more range however is more susceptible to interference. I'm guessing your using 2.4 right now.
If you can get a card w/ an external antenna for the laptop, that is probably going to be your best bet. That or add a wireless extender / additional access point somewhere, or upgrade to an AP w/ external antenna(s).

Colin's Idea may work, I also am not sure if they have to be on the same circuit/breaker or not, I've heard they work fairly well but I don't know all their limitations / gotchas.
 
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DrWebster

Guest
Forgot to mention, it's the stucco that's killing your signal...remember that they use chicken wire on top of the sheathing to give it strength.

If the powerline thingies don't work out, my recommendation would be to pick up a WRT54GL and a high-gain directional panel antenna. Disable DHCP on it so it becomes just another access point, mount that sucker in your mud room (run Ethernet cable through your basement ceiling to it), then point the antenna directly at the garage. (I'd get a WRT54GL specifically because it's able to run alternative firmwares like DD-WRT, which would give you better control over the wireless radio, like transmit power, if you needed it. The regular WRT54G's can't do other firmwares any more.)
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
It's simultaneous dual band.

Out of curiosity I brought a laptop with wireless-n out to the garage. Windows reported a stronger signal, but the strength fluctuated pretty wildly and seemed to have very inconsistent throughput. I'd imagine an adapter + directional antenna would probably help a lot, but for that price, I could probably just do that power line solution (assuming there are no hidden gotchas)
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
DrWebster said:
Forgot to mention, it's the stucco that's killing your signal...remember that they use chicken wire on top of the sheathing to give it strength.

If the powerline thingies don't work out, my recommendation would be to pick up a WRT54GL and a high-gain directional panel antenna. Disable DHCP on it so it becomes just another access point, mount that sucker in your mud room (run Ethernet cable through your basement ceiling to it), then point the antenna directly at the garage. (I'd get a WRT54GL specifically because it's able to run alternative firmwares like DD-WRT, which would give you better control over the wireless radio, like transmit power, if you needed it. The regular WRT54G's can't do other firmwares any more.)
Click to expand...
That's another good point... I haven't flashed the E3000 with an alternate firmware yet. I wonder if there is some extra juice to be cranked out of the radio. And yeah, that damn chicken wire basically means I'm trying to communicate between two faraday cages. lol
 
metallemur

metallemur

New Member
When I went dd-wrt on my WRT54GL there was definitely more juice to be had. The default transmitting power was 71mW (251 max) and I bumped mine up a bit and it defiantly improved range. Not sure how much you would have to increase it to go through the stucco or if you could enough without external antennas... Also, I don't think 251mW is considered 'safe' but who cares if you can get fast internet, lol.
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
Yeah, I think I'm going to try flashing with dd-wrt tonight and see what it gets me. May as well start with the free solutions right? (BTW, thanks for the PM with some tips)

If that doesn't work, I think a USB adapter with a directional antenna might be my next try, as it would be the next cheapest.
 
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DrWebster

Guest
metallemur said:
Also, I don't think 251mW is considered 'safe' but who cares if you can get fast internet, lol.
Click to expand...
There aren't really any human health issues with that kind of power, but cranking the radio up to that kind of power level will cause it to overheat and fail. Back when I was into DD-WRT and Tomato, the recommendation was, for long-term use, to not go above about 150% of default transmit power.
 
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DrWebster

Guest
Nope, part of the Wi-Fi spec is to send a "beacon" broadcast several times a second, advertising the router's SSID, MAC address and connection parameters.
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
Well, I had great success. Using dd-wrt I made a couple of tweaks to the 2.4ghz radio and turned the power up from 71 to 100mW, and I was able to get a signal strong and stable enough to stream good quality music. Will probably play around a bit to see if I can dial things in any better, but I'm pleased.

Net cost to me: free!

I still plan to pick up a wireless-n adapter at some point. If nothing else, that would let me power down the 2.4ghz radio and worry a bit less about overheating the router.
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
lol @ the guys in the first link talking about waxing their router cases!

And I like the USB powered fan idea. I've got a couple silent 120mm fans laying around... sounds like that would be a good use.
 
metallemur

metallemur

New Member
Yeah, I think one of the main issues is that the feet/legs on it are too short not leaving much of a place for the air to flow.
 
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