I think this is the Wireless router that I have not, but I am not sure:

http://www.linksys.com/products/product.as...cid=35&prid=540

It may not be revision 3.2. But its all the same. How can I improve (boost) the signal to more places in the house? Even right below the router, the signal comes and goes, low to very good in Windows XP. Any ideas? I am tired of getting wireless network unavailable. It is supposed to reach about 400 some meters. NOT!! Any help is appreciated.

Aaron

You have to put the access point (router) high. Anything in between like speakers, in-wall electrical, and TV's will greatly reduce the strength.

Linksys makes a signal booster for those routers and AP's.

Also 400m is outdoor line of sight range. Indoors you'll get more like 300ft if you're lucky and the signal will not be great at that range and even worse if there's a lot of metal in the signal path and/or other 2.4Ghz devices (Phones, Bluetooth, Microwave ovens, other .11b and .11g WLANS, etc).

Try elevating the router to about 8 - 10ft (Not too high or you'll get signal reflection off the ceiling). Also you can experiment with the antenna placement.

Alright, it is in the attic of my house, located in the storage part (the HOTTEST part of the house). If I were to get a WAP, does it need to be connected to the uplink port on the router. If not, can it go into a hub or something? I have an 8 port switch in my room. All suggestions are welcome.

Aaron

I wouldn't suggest putting it outside the room in which you mainly want/need access (every wall, or structure will block/reflect some signal) and yes you will want a wired link to other routers and/or your internet connection (cable or DSL modem) it takes a lot of experimenting to find the right spot for best coverage and some APs work better than others. wireless phones, microwave ovens, and some rader dectectors are the worse offenders interference wise.
ductwork, metal frameing, wiring, and leaded paint (older buildings) are reflectors. As it turns out, some latex paints are good absorbers in that frequency making some walls almost impossible to "see" through.

Here is y its in the attic:

I live @ home with my rents. My mom is not too fond of wires running across the hallway upstairs. So we used to have a wired router that sat in my room and stretched the whole way to my dad's computer on the opposite side of the house. So we decided to go wireless. Well, we tried the router downstairs below the TV right beside the modem, I got GREAT signal. My dad, got nothing. So now the router is right above him and his computer is near a brick wall, so not a much is passing through there. I might do a picture of what our house looks like. Oh, I forgot. Coming out of the uplink port on the wireless router, there is a 50ft cord going to my switch. That has 3 to 4 things connected to it. 3 computers and a print server. If you can suggest anything, please let me know.

Aaron

How about mounting the router above your dad's system on his ceiling. That should cut out a lot of the interference that's blocking your signal inside the "attic". You'd have to punch a couple of small holes into the ceiling, but it shouldn't be too much of a chore.

I'd still worry about the heat (electronics don't work as well, or last as long when hot)
Would it be possible to bring it down in the conditioned/living space some where between the 2 computers, say in a closet or something?
Linksys doesn't seem to publish the radiation pattern of their antennas but turning or tipping the unit to different positions may change the coverage.
something reflective like aluminum foil on the chimmny could cause a bigger pattern in the other direction (or cause a fire or lightning strike (your mom really won't like that!)) You could disconnet one of the antennas (I think those are removable????) and run it back via coax to a spot near your room.
You can buy better antennas for your AP at
http://www.hdcom.com/links.html
but it might be cheaper to buy a second AP for your room.


Do you actually need wireless in your room? If not you could run from the modem to the AP then to your switch via cat5.(I think that AP has a 4 port ethernet switch built in??????????) that way the AP/Router could provide DHCP for all the devices on your switch.

Double the output by wireing it to 220.

J/J J/J

What heat? I said to mount it on the ceiling, NOT in the attic, by punching holes through for the cables. So the unit itself will be nice and cool sitting attached to the ceiling and you could see its indicator lights just by looking up.

You want to get scientists to hurry up and make anti gravity work properly with real life objects not just atoms then you can suspend it in the air

We mounted almost all the APs at the office on the ceilings in that manner. Its easy. No anti-grav required. Makes the radiation pattern work very effectively too in most cases.

I will talk to my dad, but that prolly wont be an option. I am now too busy playing Galaxies anyways.

Heh, can't get into that game.... been trying... just doesn't have much of a Star Wars "feel" to it to me.

I was actually speaking to aaron. As I said inside the conditioned space works for me! Also I think you are correct most units are designed to radiate flat out and up, (from "normal" sit on the desk mode) but somehow the "put it in the highest possible spot" rumor got started . upside-down on the ceiling is probably the perfect spot

Well most of the antennas are OMNI directional so they broadcast in a circle to cover area.

I have the same problem had good coverage and then moved the router 5' and now connection is spotty at best. And no, can't move it back because we extended the kitchen into that area.

Get a repeating bridge or AP and that should take care of that.

Recommendations?

I would suggest either the Linksys wireless booster (WSB24) or a wireless BRG antenna cable. You can get a 20 foot cable for about $50. $85 or $90 for a 50 footer. Get a couple of those and extend the antennas from the access point. One towards you and one towards your fathers machine.

Will the WSB24 work with other brands of routers?

add a directional YAGI antenna

google for the "Pringles can YAGI" mod and build the antenna. Point it at the router's location. Instant 3db gain, and probably more.

you'll only get signal reflection off the ceiling if it's a metal ceiling, or uses metal studs

gypsum <sheetrock> is radiolucent

so drill a freakin' hole in the header, and install a CAT5 jack.

Wireless is TREMENDOUSLY insecure-- and if your parents are doing any financial transactions on that network, they are running the risk of losing everythng they've worked for by way of ID theft

Linksys antennas are omnidirectional.

I would HIGHLY suggest turning off the DHCP on the AP- and read the Wireless security article I posted in Wdoll's thread.

putting aluminum foil on the chimney is not going to boost signal the other way. Basic antenna theory, man.

Moving the antenna via a coax extension may work- but likely won't due to bad SWR soaking up any gains and probably giving you WORSE output than before

EDIT: the wireless security article I refer to is in the "Securing a home lan" thread

Hardwire the house with CAT5E

Now you tell me...

I was going to do this when the walls were open during tha addition but with th 2x8's being laid over the old "ceiling" there really was no way through them. So I went wireless.

don't have an attic, or a crawlspace?

Ok, I'll take a look at it when I'm over for me visit - I've just installed a small wireless business network and we are working fine - walls and all sorts of crap in the way of everything and it all works without much hassle.

Not promising anything but I'll check it all out for ya and see if something can't be done!


Wireless networks can be as secure as hardwired networks - it just takes a little planning and a bit of time.

I was fortunate to attend a seminar by one of the leading IT security consultants not so long ago and he gave us the following advice

The same layered approach as you would take to a hardwired network is key - secure the clients first and then add in your switches/routers etc and also your WAP.

One thing to note is to double check that WEP is not off on your WAP - Hackers always find vulnerabilities and do not attack network strengths.

Ill-configured access points are usually the key vulnerability in these networks!
Some security issues to consider before deployment of a Wireless Network are :

Using WEP
Changing the default SSID
Using 802.1X for authentication
Using secure tunnels
Carefully positioning antennas
Using filters
Segregating your wireless network

Hope this helps

G

segregating the wireless network is one of the best pieces of advice you've given there...

WEP is just about useless. 15 minutes or less, and you can make it roll over and call you daddy. Still, every little bit helps.

Sorry- wireless is not anywhere near as secure as wired, unles you want to start putting RADIUS servers and the like in the picture-- which the average home user can't swing.

I have to disagree with you there BK - our wireless network is using just a bit more products than your average home user and it's being used on a millitary base - we need to get any thing like that accredited before we can roll it out. Our security accreditors have passed it as being up to standard and secure enough to pass military documentation around with no due concern.

Of course we are going to beef it up before we use it properly! But as a bare minimum we are secure as is without any extra modifications or fancy assed servers etc. (But they want us to get them in)

As for WEP - it'll stop the average air scanner looking for vulnerable systems but not a dedicated attack - but for me, anything which slows them down is a bonus - besides you can run a scanner yourself to sniff out malicious activity.

Your average home user will probably have : Cable/adsl going to a router/firewall going to their LAN.

Wireless networking at home is not much less secure in this set up since all your adding is a wireless access point.

Just my take on it - and so far I've had no problems with my own wireless setup at home!

Cheers

G

Yikes-- your military allows wireless on it's networks in such a fashion.....

I work in a military information assurance lab for OUR military, and right now the concensus is that it is not allowed on our networks for any sort of sensitive use-- not even wireless keyboards!

It's true, the only secure network is one that's 'air-gapped' (physically isolated from all outside networks, data is added and removed via removable drives that are scanned by a third independent secure system (ie a Sneaker-net)
Of course this eliminates real-time use.
All connected Networks are a compromise between security and usability, wireless adds one more risk/opportunity for attack.
Use of WPA (Tkip) in protected mode (no roamers) frequent changes to the pre-shared key, and the WLAN as a subnet with full SPI, firewall in place provides reasonable protection for most situations.
Yhe biggest weakness is that no intrusion is needed, mere listening can glean valuable data, and unlike wired nets no traceable IP/MAC/ or other ID can be found.
Since many users will give up password/access info, to a friendly voice for a pat on the head or a chocolate bar, a WLAN is only one of many potenial risks

It's not going to be used for many, many moons BK - the ideas is that we can use it to communicate with our boats as they come into dock - we've still got a lot of testing to do on it - and believe me, tested it shall be!! LOL It's also being used in a fairly isolated location on the dockside so it's very doubtful that anyone could get physically close enough to scan the airwaves without several platoons of marines jumping on them

It'll be the beefiest security ever seen this side of Jupiter by the time we've finsihed with it - but it has been passed as a usable technology - we just have to prove now that it's secure enough to pass information through!

I think not allowing wireless keyboards is taking it a bit far - then again, who knows how many blokes in trenchcoats and dark glasses are lurkng in the corridors with their scanners just waiting for those keyboards to be fired up and let loose!! ROFL!!

G

sorry dude... sniff sniff

Even the best, 'omnidirectional' antennas have a distinct, not necessarily symmetrical radiation pattern

Which is it? reflectors do intensify the radiation field in some direction (think of a satellite dish) and a large ground plane can give a better /stronger signal(same output, just more efficient)

better eliminate monitors too. It already been shown that the radiation fulutuations from even low -rad monitors can be used to reconstruct what is being displayed, fairly reliably, at some distance even in eletrically noice envrioments (multiple montors and a varity of or electrical devices) and it maybe possible to do the same thing based on powerline fluctuations.

We don't allow wireless keyboards because they don't meet Tempest. Basically a wireless keyboard allows remote "shoulder surfing"-- you know what that is, right?

Basically-- if you start seeing a given word repeated- especially if it's nonsense or occurs regularly at the beginning of a session >telnet, HTTPS, first thing back from lunch>, you know their passwords. Or you can simply record a given day's keyboard activities and use it to populate your brute-force dictionary-- takes the dictionary from 300,000 words or more, to 2,000.

I love my job..

hell-- given the ability to place a microphone in a room and monitor keyclicks, with the proper software I can even reconstruct keying activity that way.

reflection is one thing.

Getting a usable boost out of it is quite another. More likely than not, you'll get phase-wave cancellation <probably not the actual term, but it gets the idea across... I haven't had my coffee yet>

I agree about the parabolic dish- but it's the parabola that does the work there. It actually has a "focal length" <to borrow a term from optics> which is where the feed horn is located.

I don't thinkthere are many chimneys shaped like parabolas.

Also-- I agree about the ground plane- but just wrapping AL foil around a chimney will result in NO ground plane there- as it's not actually connected to any part of the antenna.