djflish

I've got wireless broadband set up with a Linksys router and occasionally the signal strength drops down to Very Low and the internet pretty much stops.
Is there a way of boosting the signal some how?

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shakran

how far away is the router from the computer? What construction (walls, what kind of walls, etc) is it going through?

Any cordless phones in the house?

djflish

The router is in the hall and my PC is in the living room, so about 4-5 metres in a straight line. There is a wall in between, but it's got a door-way. And I do have a cordless phone aswell.

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shakran

if it's a 2.4 ghz cordless phone, it can interfere with your wireless signal. If you have a microwave that's running, that can also interfere.

The doorway doesn't matter unless you can draw a straight line between the computer, the doorway, and the router. Otherwise, radio signals don't tend to follow hallways What are your walls made of? Do you have any weird wall hangings made of metal?

Cynthetiq

I use a hawking corner +15db gain ant.
http://www.amazon.com/Hawking-HAI15S.../dp/B0000DIET2

it's awesome and goes well through the concrete walls that we live in.

boosts my signal by about 30% from the RED/YELLOW range to the GREEN range

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bendsley

I use two 9 dBi antennas from Hyperlinktech.com. If you decide to get them here, you need RP-TNC for Linksys products.

http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/rub...ck_antenna.php is the exact address to the rubber duck antennas, though there are many others to choose from. Also, if your order is less than $100, hyperlinktech.com will redirect you to another site to get the part from. The secondary site is very reliable I have found.

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djflish

Thanks a lot, I think I might pick up one of those.

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elsesomebody

Make sure you have the latest drivers on your PC for the wireless card.

Deltona Couple

I know everyone here is talking about the router and all the potential problems with it, but I want to know the brand and type of adapter you are using on the computer? Is it in the back of the computer? is antenna pointed the right way for optimum signal? Is it a USB adapter? is it a matching brand? Personally I have problems with adapters that are non linksys when using my linksys router.

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yotta

I second the reccomendation for antennas from Hyperlinktech.com. I also think this sounds like an interferance problem. try changing channels.

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ASU2003

I have boosted my router past what is allowed by the FCC. It still drops the connection when I or (I assume) any neighbor in my general area use their microwave.

Brewmaniac

Is there a booster, for a d-link router, I'm constantly having to use the repair function, my electric range, over the range microwave and refrigerator are on the other of my bedroom wall and I think all that steel is hard to penetrate.

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bendsley

brewmaniac: do the antennas on the back of the dlink router come off? if so, you can go to the site i mentioned above to get better antennas.

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"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."

viper11885

In addition to all the advice already given, make sure that the router has the latest firmware drivers.