Wireless networking help

[Doh]

Ok I have a 54 Mps wireless router for my house. It is 1 floor up from a second Desk Top which shows "Low or Very Low" signal strength all the time.

But the lap top We use is always "Good or Very Good" signal strength.

I don't "Game" with the second Desk Top. so 54 should be ok (it is old and only 1 gig anyways)

Should I shell out for a 108 "Range Booster"router or an "Range boosting Antenna?"

And which do you suggest for either option?

[Grogador]

model#'s of everything? Desktop has a card, with an antenna?

If the router is above the desktop, point one of the router's rubber ducky antennas downwards. Don't go shelling out more cash until you provide more details........

[Doh]

This site rocks! so many have checked out my question already.

Does anyone have exprience with "Range Boosting Antenna's?"

Do They work?

12 DBI are how much better than stock DBI antennas?

[Doh]

Thanks Grog.

Router is a stock Trendnet 432BPW 54MPS, The card is a Trendnet 108 MPS something something #. Both have rubber ducky antennas.

I am not as concerned about speed but more concerned about "Signal"

[Grogador]

Trendnet is pretty cheap crap. Just play around, point the router's antenna up/down/angled... Your desktop antenna should be high up on a desk, pointing straight up. No metal in the way, couple feet from walls and other devices. So your laptop always gets good signal? Including the exact same location? Kinda sounds like a bad card/cable/antenna in the desktop...

Bigger antennas might help, but you shouldn't need them just between two floors, unless your house is concrete+lead+steel haha. Your stock antenna is probably omni-directional ~3dBi so a 12dBi antenna would have about eight times the gain but be highly directional, you'd have to aim it good.

The rubber duckies you have now basically send signal in a donut or bagel shaped pattern... imagine you stick it thru the donut hole, most of the signal goes sideways, also with a little more directed UP than down.

[Doh]

Thanks again Grog.

No they are not the exact same place in the house. I have fiddled with the rubber antenna's but it has not helpd much.

So I will try an external Antenna before a new router.

It did help once by moving the router but it came to close to an electrical circuit and lost signal again.

$5.00's antenna is way better than $70.00 for a new router. Thanks again

[Grogador]

$5 really? wow they usually way more... ok g'luck :D

[Doh]

$5.79/ antenna 10 DBI on E bay, free shipping, so I thought "Why not try them?"


Thanks again! They maybe the exact same as what I have now, but for $12.00 I have to try it.

[Doh]

Thanks Again, ok so my stock Antenna is 2dBi, I purchased a 10 dBi.

Do I need 1 for the card aswell?

[Grogador]

you prolly wanna put the high-gain one on the desktop's card, otherwise you'll screw up your router's coverage for the rest of the house... unless the router has two antennas and you can replace just one of them, that would work...

[Mibz]

If you don't need the connection to be better then what's the point?

[AzNxHyDrA]

Originally posted by Mibz
If you don't need the connection to be better then what's the point?

No signal=constant loss of internet, thats the point. I hope you get it fixed, I have problems with mine as well but I decided to buy a long cable and stopped using wireless.

[Doh]

Originally posted by Mibz
If you don't need the connection to be better then what's the point?

I need a connection, just not at "Gaming Speed"

Yes I have thought of Cable, but the distances and hiding the cable would be hard.