Thread: Wireless desktop card: Extend the range.

signal levels for one. -50db? -85db?
are there other networks being picked up? are they on the same channel?

what speed is being reported for yours?

as you try out the coat hangars (or whatever) are they affecting the signals on the PC? you can watch the graph as you fiddle. you can also deselect other networks on the top so you don't see the other networks in the graphs.

80 is low, but I have seen lower.

try moving your channel to a less occupied part of the spectrum.

try putting your PC on top of the desk (or whatever removes some obstacles)

if that works, there are some add ons that will let you extend he antenna away from the pc

so leave it there until you get a better solution?

seriously, I have seen antennas that screw on to network cards, but have like a 5ft cable on them.

then you could put the pc back under and effectively move the antenna to a less obstructed area.

Originally Posted by DonVitoJr

Ok heres the status of my issue.

Last night our router flat lined and didnt work anymore, after i updated the firmware. Not doing it agian. Today, got a better netgear router and i get a low signal. I tried using coat hanger, coat hanger and speaker wire, speaker wire, AM/FM antenna, old router antenna, touching the card with my finger, and didnt get above 54mbps. I dont know what to do to get a better signal.

This typically happens if you do not factory reset (pin reset) before upgrading the firmware. Easily fixed if you ever feel like having a backup router. Let me know if this is the case. Firmware upgrades rarely result in a permanently bricked router.

Unless you are running in the router/card in N mode you wont get more than 54Mbps...

Originally Posted by laggyNgroovy

so leave it there until you get a better solution?

seriously, I have seen antennas that screw on to network cards, but have like a 5ft cable on them.

then you could put the pc back under and effectively move the antenna to a less obstructed area.

Just make sure it has a compatible connector.
Something like this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833980003

Originally Posted by DonVitoJr

This is a plus for two things. One, the connection i have is good enough to game on some games i have. Two, Modern Warfare 2 gives me no lag since it finds the best server for you with your connection. I love that a lot, but when i join any dedicated server on cod1-cod4 its laggy.

Some netcode can be more greatly affected by unstable connectivity. If you are having issues with some games, and not others -- you may want to make sure the problem actually is your wireless before going any further. As always, I suggest temp moving the PC to a locale where it can be hardlined to the router. Test it with the laggy games.. verify the issue goes away without wireless.

One of the really big ones I found is to try an make sure the signal doesn't have to penetrate metal, and even a large number of electrical wires in a wall can mess up the signal too.