Wireless router interference

W

weilke

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Messages
15,196
Display Name
Display name:
weilke
My house is on a hill, in a neighbourhood populated by geeks. From my bedroom, my laptop 'sees' about 30 different wireless networks (and gawd knows how many 2.4ghz wireless phones), a good number of them with very good signal strenghts. My wireless connection tends to be intermittent and I suspect that the number of networks is an issue.

I have collected a number of different routers over the years and tried all of them without success in this location (they all did fine at the other places I used/use them at):

- A sonicwall TZ210 firewall
- A Linksys WRT54G3G-AT
- A Linksys WRT54G
- A Linksys WRV200

The linksys boxes are all 'wireless G', the sonicwall I am not sure may be 'N' as well.

Is there any standard/hardware that allows me to work in a different band (5.8Ghz ?) or will I just have to buy a couple more of those 30ft Cat5b cables ?
 
Buy the CAT 5 cables. They're not that much $$s (order at newegg.com) and are far more secure....
 
can't you tell your computer to reject all signals except your own?
Surely yours has a much more powerful signal in your house, than one even a hundred feet away? emf∝(1/r²) and all that? Maybe it is being shielded by too many walls etc? Perhaps it is some other signal generator in your home environs that is causing the interference? Do each of these work fine once you switch to cable? Is it truly catVb that is needed? (thought catVe was the one)
 
Get Cat 6. especially if you have to make any effort to snake it at all. If I understand it correctly, the Cat 6 will support higher ethernet speeds.
 
FWIW, I have yet to see a properly-configured Cat 5e cable that would not support gigabit ethernet speeds without issue.
 
SCCutler said:
FWIW, I have yet to see a properly-configured Cat 5e cable that would not support gigabit ethernet speeds without issue.
Click to expand...

Me neither. But who knows what's down the line? Most of the cost of a good cabling job is labor, not the cable itself; so upgrading to Cat6 is usually worth considering in all but the simplest cabling jobs.

-Rich
 
Just use the other networks? Or did they protect them? :)
 
weilke said:
Is there any standard/hardware that allows me to work in a different band (5.8Ghz ?) or will I just have to buy a couple more of those 30ft Cat5b cables ?
Click to expand...
802.11a runs in the 5GHz unlicensed band. I am not sure how hardware there is out there. When 802.11g came on the scene the 802.11b crowd migrated over to that. 802.11g can provide equivalent performance on the 2.4GHz band like the 802.11a was supposed.

I also understand that 802.11n has as an option the ability to operate in the 5GHz band. But again I am not sure who is manufacturing equipment with that option.

If it makes you feel better it could be worse on 2.4GHz for you. I am licensed to operate on that band. When I fire up my very legal 2.4Ghz comm equipment all of my neighbors will lose their wireless data connections. Their equipment as a matter of the unlicensed agreement with the FCC is that it must operate in a contention based interference method. That is to say when interference is detected it shuts down or moves to an interference based area. Eventually as you have seen yourself that may not be possible due to spectrum congestion. When that happens your only choice is wire or a new frequency band.
 
Last edited:
Shucks. I was looking for the answer: 'oh, just buy the wireless 802.11q box from china-wireless off amazon.com that operates at 12GHz and be done with it.

I use some powerline connectors that run the internets over the power distribution, not as fast as a wire but good enough for goverment work. I guess I'll have to string some wires.
 
weilke said:
I use some powerline connectors that run the internets over the power distribution, not as fast as a wire but good enough for goverment work. I guess I'll have to string some wires.
Click to expand...
An even worse solution. Those things cause so much interference that lawsuits have been filed against people using them when they interfered with licensed spectrum users. They have always lost. An entire city in Virginia had to remove their Internet over the powerline system as a result of lawsuits from licensed spectrum users against the city. Seriously skip that solution.
 
ScottM said:
An even worse solution. Those things cause so much interference that lawsuits have been filed against people using them when they interfered with licensed spectrum users. They have always lost. An entire city in Virginia had to remove their Internet over the powerline system as a result of lawsuits from licensed spectrum users against the city. Seriously skip that solution.
Click to expand...

It works and nobody has sued me yet. The little netgear boxes have FCC labels and presumably shut off if they encounter hostiles. Works better than wireless so far, as I am not certain about the security, it remains outside of the firewall and only drives stuff like the DVR or a plugin for guests ;)
 
weilke said:
It works and nobody has sued me yet. The little netgear boxes have FCC labels and presumably shut off if they encounter hostiles. Works better than wireless so far, as I am not certain about the security, it remains outside of the firewall and only drives stuff like the DVR or a plugin for guests ;)
Click to expand...

If you just want to overpower the neighbors get one of these:

http://tinyurl.com/engenius1650

It can be used indoors or outdoors and IME the range is two to four times as great as any home network wireless router. The same company also makes indoor products for home and commercial applications but I've never tried them. You can buy a 1650 for $50 from Amazon. If you just want good coverage in your house, put the router in the basement to keep the signal from leaking out of the house. Or mount it 8-10ft AGL if you want to use your network when visiting your neighbors.
 
Last edited:
gismo said:
If you just want good coverage in your house, put the router in the basement to keep the signal from leaking out of the house. Or mount it 8-10ft AGL if you want to use your network when visiting your neighbors.
Click to expand...
Basement? What is this basement of which you speak?
 
weilke said:
My house is on a hill, in a neighbourhood populated by geeks. From my bedroom, my laptop 'sees' about 30 different wireless networks (and gawd knows how many 2.4ghz wireless phones), a good number of them with very good signal strenghts. My wireless connection tends to be intermittent and I suspect that the number of networks is an issue.
Click to expand...

Ditch your internet connection and save a couple bucks. With that many wireless networks around, there have to be several that are unsecured...:wink2:
 
As to the original question, you might want to log in to your router, and select a different channel. I'm going from memory, but I think channels 1, 6, and 11 are the most common defaults, because those are the only completely non-overlapping ones in North America spec. Try changing it to something like 3 or 8 and see if you get better results.

To move up to 5 GHz, look for "Dual Band" 802.11n routers. You will need to check if your laptop supports the 5 GHz band or not. Most recent models should.
 
rpadula said:
To move up to 5 GHz, look for "Dual Band" 802.11n routers. You will need to check if your laptop supports the 5 GHz band or not. Most recent models should.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice re the channels, I will try that one.

What happens if one laptop doesn't support dual-channel 'n'. Will that mean that the router reverts to 2.4 for everything or will that laptop just not see the network ?
 
weilke said:
Thanks for the advice re the channels, I will try that one.

What happens if one laptop doesn't support dual-channel 'n'. Will that mean that the router reverts to 2.4 for everything or will that laptop just not see the network ?
Click to expand...

If it doesn't work on 5 GHz, it will not see the router. Backward-compatibility relates to an N router also being able to serve G and B devices, not to those devices being able to operate on a frequency not supported by their radios.

-Rich
 
weilke said:
Thanks for the advice re the channels, I will try that one.

What happens if one laptop doesn't support dual-channel 'n'. Will that mean that the router reverts to 2.4 for everything or will that laptop just not see the network ?
Click to expand...
Depends on the router. Some dual-band models are selectable to either 2.4 or 5 GHz. Look for a router that can do simultaneous 2.4 and 5 GHz dual-band transmission and you won't have to worry about it.

The laptops that can do 5 GHz will attach to that side, and your lone 2.4GHz only lappy will join the other side.

The current model Airport Extreme can do simultaneous dual-band.. You can pick up a refurbished one from the Apple store online for $129 + tax.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC340LL/A?mco=MTc4MzI5NzM

Here's another good resource:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless
 
rpadula said:
Depends on the router. Some dual-band models are selectable to either 2.4 or 5 GHz. Look for a router that can do simultaneous 2.4 and 5 GHz dual-band transmission and you won't have to worry about it.

The laptops that can do 5 GHz will attach to that side, and your lone 2.4GHz only lappy will join the other side.

The current model Airport Extreme can do simultaneous dual-band.. You can pick up a refurbished one from the Apple store online for $129 + tax.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC340LL/A?mco=MTc4MzI5NzM

Here's another good resource:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless
Click to expand...

Hmmm... I didn't know there were simultaneous dual-band consumer routers out there. Thanks!

-Rich
 
I see the airport extreme is apple, will it talk to PCs (you know like in the ads and stuff ;) ).
 
Ken Ibold said:
Basement? What is this basement of which you speak?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I forgot you're sitting on top of a flowing river that's 4 ft underground.

Just put it as low as you can in the center of the house. I suppose you could dig a hole under a closet but that might restrict coverage on the first floor plus I'll bet it would PO your wife.:D
 
RJM62 said:
Yep. But it does hold its nose up in the air while doing so.
Click to expand...

That is just mean :cryin:



As I have finally figured out the linksys user interface, I was hoping to stay with that brand. From what I could gather, they offer two simultaneous dual-band routers, the WRT400N and the WRT610N. The reviews and user comments I could find on both where to put it mildly atrocious.

I guess I'll finally have to buy an apple product then. I am just afraid that apple-mania is contagious and that I end up being forced to replace all my other hardware.....
 
weilke said:
That is just mean :cryin:



As I have finally figured out the linksys user interface, I was hoping to stay with that brand. From what I could gather, they offer two simultaneous dual-band routers, the WRT400N and the WRT610N. The reviews and user comments I could find on both where to put it mildly atrocious.

I guess I'll finally have to buy an apple product then. I am just afraid that apple-mania is contagious and that I end up being forced to replace all my other hardware.....
Click to expand...
LOL.

Be advised that Airport Extremes are not managed through web pages, like most routers. A separate program (Airport Utility) is used, and it is not nearly as flexible as most router setup pages. The AE will run in bridge mode also.
 
You might also want to check to ensure that you are not using the same SSID as one of your neighbors. Create a unique name for your router and specify it instead.

I have found that my old 900 MHz phone has the best sound of any of the portable phones at my house since nothing else is on that frequency. The 2.4 GHz phones have a lot of noise in them due to the wireless access point (WAP) on my home network.

For the most part though, I don't use the WAP -- I have wired 100BaseT CAT-5 outlets in most all the rooms, just like you see in commercial buildings. Of course, it's one of those things that you really only want to do in the dead of 'winter' if you live on the Gulf Coast.
 
ScottM said:
An even worse solution. Those things cause so much interference that lawsuits have been filed against people using them when they interfered with licensed spectrum users. They have always lost. An entire city in Virginia had to remove their Internet over the powerline system as a result of lawsuits from licensed spectrum users against the city. Seriously skip that solution.
Click to expand...

weilke said:
It works and nobody has sued me yet. The little netgear boxes have FCC labels and presumably shut off if they encounter hostiles. Works better than wireless so far, as I am not certain about the security, it remains outside of the firewall and only drives stuff like the DVR or a plugin for guests ;)
Click to expand...

PLT devices like HomePlug do not shut down in the presence of other signals. They do not use their carriers in the amateur radio bands, thus minimizing their potential to cause harmful intereference in the domestic environment. Hams are the most common users of the HF spectrum in the home, so if you protect them you greatly minimize the potential for interference.

Access BPL systems like the one in Virginia are a bit different. They can operate on any frequency in their range and often are not operated in accordance with the limits in the FCC Rules. That gets them into trouble. And, they haven't exactly been a commercial success, either. That probably is the bigger factor in their demise. "No bucks, no Buck Rogers".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top