Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 22:02 Post subject: What is the best output power (Xmit) for a WHR-G54S?
I know that by default dd-wrt sets the Xmit at 28mw, mine is at 50mw, but I have been reading a lot of posts about 100mw+ settings.
Right now my signal strength (right?) is weak (see XX:CB and XX:42) - unless I am two feet away! (see XX:27) I reeeeaaaalllllllly don't want to leave it like this, lol. :wink:
There are two other routers/WIFI points in the area on channels 6 and 11. This router is on channel 1. What can I do to make the signal stronger?
Changing xmit power more than often does not yield any favourable results for several technical and other reasons (e.g. the output will be distorted - just as if you were turning the volume on a small ghetto blaster to its very limit in order to match the sound level you'd expect in a techno location)
What's wrong with increasing xmit power here?
First of all, the signal readings refer to the signals RECEIVED. They will NOT CHANGE at all, even if you could find a way to electronically amplify YOUR output signal well within a range that's used in household devices (e.g. microwave ovens)
So what then?
First, your readings aren't that bad at all. They should be adequate for "normal" day-to-day surfing. If however, the transmission rate appears to be well below your requirements (you didn't mention them in your post), in my experience, replacing the antennas is the way to go.
Even when using most economical small "pads", that have a very innocient looking gain of 6 to 9 dB, will, when beeing applied to both the access point and the client, yield a 16-fold increase in combined power and receiver sensitivity, e.g. 0,5 watts from 28mW xmit power
Keeping in mind that each increase of 3dB means doubling the power (within the segment covered) it's not surprising that connections over dozens of miles can easily be achieved using an xmit power of 28mW with directional antennas (24+ dB gain). Without those, most of use could not even afford to pay the bill for the several kilowatts (!) of mains power that would otherwise be required with longer distances.
Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 14:40 Post subject: slow speed
rsaddey wrote:
Changing xmit power more than often does not yield any favourable results for several technical and other reasons (e.g. the output will be distorted - just as if you were turning the volume on a small ghetto blaster to its very limit in order to match the sound level you'd expect in a techno location)
....
First, your readings aren't that bad at all. They should be adequate for "normal" day-to-day surfing. If however, the transmission rate appears to be well below your requirements (you didn't mention them in your post), in my experience, replacing the antennas is the way to go.
Thank you for your reply!
Well, the reason I wrote this post is because I am using this router in a work place and when I try to connect to the router the WIFI speed is veeerrrrryyyyy sssslllllooooowwww... (timeout slow). Even though the signal is (supposedly) over 25%. This is not acceptable. Especially when trying to work on 50Mb files over the connection. lol.
I was thinking about a new antenna, but as I said, there are two other routers in the office (CH 6 & 11) and they seem to be fine with their stock antenna…
(They get at least 20Mbs speed over WIFI)
Plus, whenever I connect to this router (CH 1) the computer that I connect from says that the signal strength is 5 bars! So why is it soooooo slow?
Maybe there is some kind of interference. Hmmmm all of the phones are wired…
Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 15:10 Post subject: Re: slow speed
xeoncross wrote:
Maybe there is some kind of interference. Hmmmm all of the phones are wired…
Ok, so you might have to opt for the try and error game, possibly exchanging routers to rule out hardware faults, and/or comparing software + settings and the like.
Of course you'd expect to drop rates for both APs sharing the same channel, but the overall results might still be better to get along with than having to cope with timeouts till their real cause may or might not be identified...
Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 19:56 Post subject: Router
Hmmmm....
I came back to the network today and the router seems to be doing a LOT better...
Although speed drops to 24 or 11Mbs sometimes, it stays pretty fast now. I guess the router needed a night alone in a dark corner to think about it.
Especially when trying to work on 50Mb files over the connection. lol.