WiFi signal shape - where to place router

[Graham.]

Few people make use of the HF bands these days, but is that any excuse to wipe them out with interference for those of us that do?

[Simon Finnigan]

That depends on how much use is made of HF bands now, compared to the use that could be made of them by allowing the interference.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Really? Many people carry them with them when working etc, and connect on a train or in a cafe, etc. I've never been told you need special software for this - it would be a nonsense. And I've had plenty of guests here who've logged on to my network after I've given them the key. Including a couple of Macs.

What does it do that a bog standard one doesn't?

[News]

In message , The Natural Philosopher writes

OK, thank you. Would someone using such equipment be able to tell where the interference originated?

BTW, I ask the question in the hope that the answer is yes, not no.

[News]

In message , Graham. writes

Absolutely not, hence my other reply.

[Ian Jackson]

In message , News writes

Actually, I've realised that the single-unit WiFi repeater is not one of those nasties that transmits data through the mains wiring. From what I understand, it is a 'parrot', and re-transmits what it receives (bi-directionally) on 2.4GHz.

[Mathew Newton]

They give a list of networks, and quite likely a crude approximation of the= signal strengths for each, however what they don't do is say what channels= they are all operating on. This info is vital for positioning your own net= work out of the way of others to minimise interference.

The OS knows of course, but just doesn't typically show it graphically or o= ther readily digestable format to the user. In Windows you can find the det= ails out at the command line using 'netsh wlan show network mode=3Dbssid' b= ut it's just a snapshot - if you're wandering around your house to see what= gets picked up you need to keep running it, and it soon gets confusing bec= ause the order keeps changing.

Likewise Android is the same - you can see what networks are around but no = channel info or accurate signal strengths. This is where something like the= recommended tool, Wifi Analyzer, comes into play - it provides the details= on a constantly updating graph thus makes it easy to configure your own ne= twork to suit. Some APs claim to provide automatic channel adjustments but = I've never found them particularly effective.

Mathew

[Mathew Newton]

You are mixing up the simple case of connecting to an available network versus configuring your own network to maximise performance in the midst of others competing for the airwaves. The latter is what the recommended tools are primarily for.

Mathew

[polygonum]

Hadn't bothered to look at this sort of detail in years! So did a few minutes ago. And absolutely every other network bar one is on channel 11. Ours is on channel 1. That is a variety of mostly Sky and BT installations. (Ours does not use an ISP-supplied router.)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Vital? I have at least 10 available here at usable strength. Of course I only use my own. Are you really saying it needs such skill to get one up and running ok? Mine works just fine where I need it, ie in the house and garden straight out of the box.

[dennis]

Most will work out the box. However work and work well are different. If you have a 3M link to the internet then you are going to be OK. If you have a NAS and are backing up over wireless you may want to optimize it a bit. Many new routers will choose the best channel at their location anyway. That doesn't help you choose the best location though.

[Mathew Newton]

You are showing a great deal of ignorance if you think that just because you're okay others don't suffer from cross-channel interference. It is one of the biggest issues faced by many with wireless networks.

Mathew

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Or it's you who are in an unusual situation. Because this is the first I've heard of it being a real problem. And if it is, I'd say you'd need something more sophisticated than a mobile phone and app to measure things accurately.

[Bill]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Well, I have used inSSIDer extensively both here, where I have to be careful where I sit at the dining room table if I want a reliable signal, and at some offices that I occasionally "support". In the offices it showed that we couldn't get reliable coverage over the desired area, so we knew where we had to cable to. It also showed the best channel to select.

Sometime later the owner of the offices called in a local "computer professional" to upgrade the router. He sold her a more expensive model and also a steel 19" rack cabinet to tidy up the installation. He put the wireless router inside the cabinet on the floor of the office. She has now got used to sitting where the cables are installed.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Sounds like it isn't helping you. ;-) I have no dead spots here that I've found. Of course there may well be some - I've not tried sitting on top of the wardrobe while using a laptop. But if there were dead spots, I'd experiment with the router or router aerial position.

Seems a strange way of going about things. In an office. Either wireless is needed or it's not. If cable is fine for when you can't get a signal why not all the time? Or install a more suitable wireless network.

None of which explains how some phone app is the best thing since sliced bread.

[Bill]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

My post referred to the laptop, rather than the Android phone, app.

I am, however, very grateful to the person who posted about the Android app, as I have my £50 Chinese tablet and have had less successful reception since I blew in a later ROM image to it. I'm about to try to find and install the app.

The point about inSSIDer (the laptop program) is not that it is the best thing since sliced bread. It does give a helpful graphical representation of signal strengths of local wifi base stations This is interesting and can be helpful in some circumstances and situations and possibly to the OP.

None of my laptops have any ready installed software that gives me the same level of information as I walk around the premises

[Alan Braggins]

Hardly.

Because this is the first

There's a big gap between "just works on the default settings without thinking about it" and "measure things accurately". Something like

be very useful without resorting to professional test equipment.

Or any of 50 odd other similar apps targetted at this common problem.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That is the whole point. Just how common is it? Of course with RF there will be problems under some circumstances - but if it were a common problem the software to show it would be fitted to computers as part of the OS. They seem to have fault finding for most things - other than the OS itself, of course. ;-)

[Martin Brown]

Pretty common. I can see about 5 Wifi networks from home and the houses here are well spread out with Victorian chicken mesh plastered walls.

In a city it is not uncommon to see a dozen or more WiFi networks within range and some of them completely unprotected.

It depends what you mean by problem. The WiFi link will probably work more or less even with local interference since the backoff collision protocols will give the signal a chance to get through unmolested eventually. This would be barely noticeable for web browsing, but it might be quite annoying playing games or especially streaming video.

Some portables do have some kind of WiFi signal range direction and strength detection radar built in as a part of the package (eg Toshiba).

An amazing number of BT modem routers claim channel 11 by default leaving all the houses in a row fighting each other. It is entertaining to survey your local environment with a channel monitor.

I tend to use Netstumbler and Netview depending on what stats I need. (a recommendation for a good iPad or iPod app would be interesting)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Same here - Victorian semi. Although I've never seen chicken mesh in the plaster. That would corrode and cause it to bubble. Horse hair is the stuff used.

'Unprotected' is a different issue?

Right. I only really stream decent video to the TV which has a cable connection to the router. But can't say I've noticed a difference between the laptops which are wireless and the desktops which are cable on YouTube, etc.

It would make sense. I've also noticed that my laptop(s) seem to be more sensitive than my mobile - but the latter is no longer state of the art. But is of a similar age to one laptop.

Right - I'm changing to BT next week. ;-)

I'll download ones for the PC out of interest.