boosting wireless signal/range

[scoobe]

I used to live in one of those open floor plan apartments which are basically a square divided into 3 rooms - living/kitchen/dining, bedroom, bathroom. It wouldn't really matter where the wireless router was located and I got a good signal anywhere in the apartment.

Now I've just moved to an apartment which has a completely different layout - very compartmentalized. It basically looks like a long hallway running East to West with rooms off to each side and the kitchen at the end. The cable comes into the living room at the eastern end of apartment so the wireless router is located there. In the 'den' which is less than half way down the hall I get a weak signal which fluctuates in strength (usually good but sometimes drops out completely) and normally is 24Mbps. Text browsing is fine. Video/audio streaming works, but not very well. Trying to get a wireless connection to the kitchen and bedroom at the opposite (western) end of the apartment is a crap shoot - works sometimes, but can't be relied upon. The actual distance isn't that far but there are just too many walls to go through.

I was looking to getting a booster and placing it in the den to hopefully help send a strong signal through the western end of the apartment. However, should I be concerned that the wireless signal strength is 'iffy' in the den and the speed is slow? Does the booster need to be placed in an area where the signal is still strong and fast?

I might also try the parabolic tinfoil reflector mod, but I don't think the GF will like the looks of that. Any other options I should consider?

Thanks in advance.

 

[AMD_RULES]

What router are you running now? If you happen to be running a Linksys WRT54X series router, you could add a second router (flashed with DD-WRT or Tomato) and it could act as a repeater extending your wireless range. The Linksys routers are not the only routers compatible with third party firmwares. Not all are btw...

 

[Zero82z]

The WRT54Gs are pretty mediocre by today's standards. You'd be better off getting a newer n-grade router because they use multiple antennas to boost signal strength. They're backwards-compatible with wireless-G and B, so that wouldn't be a problem. You could also just go with another router that's compatible with DD-WRT and use it as a repeater, but I recommend you use something more powerful than a bog-standard wireless-G unit.

You could also look into getting better antennas. They wouldn't be as cheap as the tinfoil versions, but you could definitely find a decent parabolic antenna that should boost your range by quite a bit providing you aim it the right way.

 

[msabo]

Basically you want to get the wireless router more centrally located, for the best overall reception. Does your den have a cable drop? If so, could you move the cable modem and wireless router there?

 

[LOCO LAPTOP]

The WRT54Gs are pretty mediocre by today's standards. You'd be better off getting a newer n-grade router because they use multiple antennas to boost signal strength. They're backwards-compatible with wireless-G and B, so that wouldn't be a problem. You could also just go with another router that's compatible with DD-WRT and use it as a repeater, but I recommend you use something more powerful than a bog-standard wireless-G unit.

You could also look into getting better antennas. They wouldn't be as cheap as the tinfoil versions, but you could definitely find a decent parabolic antenna that should boost your range by quite a bit providing you aim it the right way.

I agree with wireless N routers they give me nice range even to the public pool across the packing lot but on low signal.

 

[scoobe]

Thanks.

No, I can't move the access point to any other room.

The plan is to use a new N router as the access point and then use the current WRT54G as a signal repeater if necessary. I'm researching the H recommended N routers right now, but I'm pulling up a lot of dated reviews. Do you guys know which models are best suited for long range? I'm not necessarily interested in max throughput.

Oh and one last but very important question - do I need to upgrade to N adapters to capitalize on the extended range of N routers?

 

[msabo]

Its the N technology (such as MIMO) which gives it improved range and throughput. So you need N on the station side as well to take advantage of all of what N offers. As for the wireless roters, I prefer the ones with external dipole antennas, in case I need to do any adjustments to get the best reach.