Signal Strength

[Ohm1]

My service is driving me nuts!!

Problems I notice:
1. Wireless signal strenght is low (too often)
2. When I try to watch a trailer video, It chops it up continuously--even on a good wireless signal

My wireless router is about 40 feet away--on the same level as my wireless computer.
Any solutions?

[dznewz]

First, try your computer close to the router and see if the problems go away. If not, then something else must be wrong.

If it's the distance, it might help to change router position, or antenna position.

[Ohm1]

I'll try it, and get back to ya.

[Mr T]

Are there any walls between you and it? Plaster or drywall? Wifi doesnt like to go through walls. I forget but one of them eats signal faster then others. (probably plaster).

Try with anohter computer or device. Your router or your comp may have a damaged antenna.

[C. Caudill]

I had the same problem but I switched to an N wireless router and the problem cleared. I got a Linksys N router first it would not work either, switched to Netgear and the signal goes through the drywall great.

[Ohm1]

Yes it has to go through drywall.

I've had nothing but problems since I switched to linksys N. When I had the cheapo Netgear (has an antenna), it worked great. That's what I get for switching!! I will try to do a quick test tonight, and get back with you on my results.

[Ohm1]

Had Comcast come out, their end wasn't supplying my house properly, so they adjusted their side. But, at times, I'm still getting a weak signal. I did have a strong signal when I moved closer to the router, but the computer is still slow. I guess comcast says I'm still running at half the speed. They tried their comp on my line, and the speed was proper. All in all, i'm able to stream video now, but I'm not satified with how slow my computer is running. Although this want make my computer faster, I have decided to rewire and reroute my homes RG6 cable--installing a central point for the RG-6 cable only. There I will install an amp for the RG6, and a splitter (non amplified of coarse) for the two dedicated computer jacks. When my company wires a new construction house, we provide free low voltage panels--giving the customer a central point for all low voltage wiring. It helps rid all the bull!!!
Obviously they didn't do that here. Oh well!!

[suemarkp]

You have 3 levels of signal to worry about -- the cable signal to the modem, the quality of the ethernet from the modem to the router, and the strength of the wireless signal from your router.

I'm not all that happy with Comcast service, but I think I've worked all the hardware problems. They really want a dedicated cable from their tap in the outside box to your modem. The second wire (for the TV's) is fine to go to a powered splitter. Do you have two coax cables for your computer?? Never seen that type of install. Are you paying for two modems?

There is a certain minimum and maximum signal strength to your modem. Open your browser and go to http://192.168.100.1. This should connect you to your modem. Depending on the brand, you'll have various parameters avilable to you to monitor. From what I've read, you want signals in this range:
Up Power 30 to 53 dBmv
Down Power 3 to -3 dBmv
Down S/N 30+ dB

Being higher or lower in the first two is bad -- ideally you'd want to be in the middle. For the Signal to Noise ratio (S/N), the higher the better. I needed a 3 dB attenuator on mine, because the signal was too strong at times. Recheck these periodically, as they may change.

Next, does your computer have a wired ethernet port? If so, run a long cat5 cable from your router to your computer (just run it along the floor). If things go significantly faster, then your modem and router are probably fine, and weak wireless is dragging you down (try changing wireless channels -- could be conflicting with a neighbor, and/or change the base unit orientation to get it to work better). If things are no different, you may still have comcast issues, or some configuration issues.

Try going to these sites to check your speed:
http://www.bandwidthplace.com/
http://www.dslreports.com/stest?loc=1
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

[Ohm1]

I agree on Comcast service.

They check the specs, and at their pedestal it read 46 MHz. After traveling 90 feet to the box on my house, I gained 2 Mhz. Then they had a four-way spliiter--which is bad for internet service, and this gained me another 4MHz. After all was said and done, I barely had internet service. The TV will work fine on the number I listed, but wireless doesn't. Well, they got it down to 48Mhz--which is still high!!! They got it down by running one of my RG6 cables directly from the incoming feed. Yet, they had to use a splitter to serve the rest of the house.

No, I do not have two RG6 cables for my modem, just one. But I will be installing two utilization points specifically for my modem, so I can use my modem in either location inside the house--which will give me a stronger signal. It will also give me the option to run direct--instead of using the wireless.

Technically I have 4 utilization points, but I will be running a coax directly to a splitter that will serve my modem first, then amplifier second.

When i get a chance, i will do as you suggested Suemark.

Thanks!

[Ohm1]

OK, I'm running at these speeds:
A. Download= 311Kbps
B. Upload=327 Kbps