OT? WIFI question

[Terry Coombs]

  I've noticed that the wifi signal to my shop is misbehaving - I open the "status" window to monitor the data transfer rate , and as soon as I initiate a data transfer by any means the rate drops radically . Like from 130 Mb/s to 6.5 . I hooked up an access point halfway between the wifi router and the comp (about 60 ft from router to shop comp) with no improvement . The AP is a Cisco VEN601-AT  originally from an AT&T U-verse network , but the link and paired lights both come on so I believe it's working . Is this drop in transfer rate normal ? Caused by distance ? Maybe the inexpensive wifi card I put in the computer ?   Comp is a home built , using an Asrock N68C-GS4FX motherboard , Phenom X4/2.3Ghz with 8 Gb of RAM , running Win7 Pro/64 and the wifi card is made by Ralink .   --   Snag

[T]

Hi Terry,

Routers go bad ALL-THE-TIME. I carry them with me as they are an easy sale. Routers are just too cheap to be reliable. (A reliable unit is in the $400 range).

1) how far away are you from the router?

2) have you directly (wired) plugged into to your router to see if the issue persists?

-T

[Terry Coombs]

  About 60 feet , and the connection is flawless when wired . The wireless router also feeds 2 laptops and 2 ROKU units inside the house with no problems . I also have 2 desktop comps running on wired connections from that same router . I don't think the router is the problem ... and the shop comp didn't do this when I had it in the house recently for maintenance .   --   Snag

[T]

This is sounding like your wireless card is the issue.

Wireless can not shoot though metal, especially mirrors and computer cases. Make sure you are line of sight with your antenna and your router. Wireless can shoot through wood and sheet rock.

Also test with a Linux Live USB/DVD to make sure it is not your operating system.

These can be directly dd'ed to a USB, unlike stinking Windows ISOs.

If that dose not work, try another wireless card. Start Tech would be a good place to start. They are not the best quality, but they are good quality and have somewhat good tech support.

[Frank]

Never thought of a mirror but I had metal filing cabinets blocking computer and smart TV. Moving cabinets solved problem.

[T]

Silver is the holy grail of micro and radio waves. The only thing they love more than silver is silver oxide. NEVER, NEVER EVER clean off the black from your silver coated radio/microwave test equipment.

Had a customer that could not shoot from one bedroom to the one next door the next. Both room had adjoining closets with mirrors for doors. We moved the router.

[trader_4]

Sounds like the Heisenberg uncertainty principle from quantum physics, just looking at something effects it and you can't measure it. Or a catch 22. By that I mean you say that as soon as you transfer something, the rate drops. But how can there be a rate, without transfering something ? Aside from the philosophical, to diagnose the problem, I'd drag the PC to the house, where it can talk to the router directly like the other PCs and see what happens. Sounds like it could be an issue with the card.

[gfretwell]

Just a wild assed guess as an old computer guy. What are the chances that the 130 number was a projection based on ping time and actual data transfer is much slower.

[Terry Coombs]

  I had it in the house , about 15 feet from the router . No problems at all . I've got the stuff to make one up , I think I'm just going to string an ethernet cable out there .   --   Snag

[Clare Snyder]

I use simple USB NICs - put them on a USB extention cord and put them wherever they need to be without having to relocate the computer or any other "important" stuff.

[T]

Great idea.

You have some microwave barriers between you and the router. Wired is ~10 times more reliable than wireless. Take it from a Radio Design engineer turned IT consultant.

If running a wire outside, there are special cables for outdoors that repel mice, which LOVE to nibble on your cables.

I have had some customer try to run databases like Quickbooks through wireless. What a joke. I wag the finger at them and install a wire.

[T]

That is also a good idea. You can sting a USB cord up and out of microwave barriers way. Only draw back is to not use a CHEAP USB NIC. My customer's have rotten luck with them. I remove a lot of them. But they were really cheap! (I charge about 10U$D to run a patch cable from their computer to their router which is usually within 10 feet.)

With Wireless nic card in the back of your computer, you can also string an external antenna to get the antenna out of the way of microwave obstructions. I have had good luck with

TP-Link Network TL-ANT2405CL Wireless Access Point 2.4GHz 5dBi Indoor Omni-directional Antenna Retail

Internal wireless cards work better than USB NICs.

Wired is still far more reliable than wireless.

[Clare Snyder]

Qualify that -- SOME internal wireless cards work better than SOME USB NICs. Even the cheap NICs (I buy Belkins for under$15.00) have been doing a very good job for me - on the end of a 6 foot cable actually outperforming many built-ins when the computer is under a desk next to a filing cabinet.

(or other such "sub-optimal" locations)

[Clare Snyder]

On internet you won't, because the internet is generally much slower than 100BT. When accessing data from a server or on a peer to peerr network, the speed of the NIC on the slowest machine on the network generally dictates the upper limit of the network speed - and often the hard drive is even slower than the NIC.

At the insurance office, where the database server had 4 gigabit NICs, serving 30+ users at a time, the giga network was noticeably faster on databse access than the 100BT, and getting outgoing mailout of the Outlook out-box into the Exchange server was also noticeably quicker in most cases. The whole network was Giga.

Anything that depended on internet access and trtansfer was totally unaffected by the higher speed network.

[Clare Snyder]

Run the cable underground to avoid lightning impulse issues etc.

One office I worked at for a while as a consultant - a UNIX utilities developer - still running Co-Ax network - was using an optical link between 2 buildings - also tried a microwave link - and their netwoork was PAINFULLY slow. They had a P.Eng in charge of the IT department and they kept throwing new technology at the problem. (different routers and bridges - as well as the "links") I went in and cut about a mile of co-ax out of the building and the speed more than doubled. They had 50 feet and more of cable curled up behind almost evey desk "in case they needed to move the desk" - where 10 feet would have been more than adequate. The "air core inductors" so formed were incredibly effective at causing latency and lost packets -- - -

[Terry Coombs]

   I guess it's time I buried that 2/0 3 conductor aluminum service out to the shop too ...   --   Snag

[Clare Snyder]

Terry - the voltage on a network cable is very low, and the voltage tolerance in the network cards etc is a lot lower. Not hard to take out the nic with a relatively minor el;ectromagnetic incident.. You might get away with it for a LONG time, or it might get you the first storm., Just sayin' - - -

[Dean Hoffman]

   I guess it's time I buried that 2/0 3 conductor aluminum service out

Shouldn't it be 4 conductor? Or are we just counting differently?

[mkolber1]

You can still get lightning surges from buried cables, when lighting hits a nearby tree or anything actually. and conducts through the ground. mark

[Pat]

Running a cable underground does not always avoid lightning issues. That is a common myth. Lightning may or may not affect an above ground cable on its way to ground but it always ends up in the ground. Depending on the local ground conductivity and other factors, it can easily cause spikes in underground cables.