Transfer Rate Discrepancy?

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vizx

Weaksauce
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Jan 18, 2006
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i have a d-link DIR-825 router, it's set up in the basement, because i share a Time Warner cable internet connection (HORRIBLE COMPANY) with my tenant, and the basement (where her washing machine is) is the only "common area" of the house where she can access the modem and router to reset them if I'm not home... so it basically has to stay there for now.

I know it's not an ideal set up, but i do get a signal even on the third floor of the house, through 3 solid floors, so i can't fault the router at all, and it NEVER drops connection...I'm very happy with it...but the first computer (mine) on the list below is on the second floor, and you'll see it's at 13mbps at 40% signal (d-link DWA-522 adapter), while hers, on the first floor above the basement, is at 54mbps at 76% signal (HP laptop, wireless g internal adapter)...

is the difference in mbps due to distance? Or is it router settings? How can I increase my transfer rate above 13mbps?

If i wanted to increase signal strength on the third floor, would a wireless bridge or access point be the way to go? What's the difference between "repeating" a signal and "extending" it? Is there one? Will it degrade the transfer speeds?


Number Of Wireless Clients – 2.4GHz Band: 2

SSID MAC Address IP Address Mode Rate(Mbps) Signal (%)
LP 002191FAEE44 192.168.0.194 802.11n (2.4GHz) 13 40
LP 001A7390FCB0 192.168.0.197 802.11g 54 76

Number Of Wireless Clients – 5Ghz Band: 0
SSID MAC Address IP Address Mode Rate (Mbps) Signal (%)
 
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sorry for the lack of spacing between the words in the list above...it didn't hold the formatting when i posted it...i apologize...
 
it can be many factors

Distance
Wall thickness
What is in the walls
other devices (althought channel 2 should be fine)

there can be alot of factors.

i would say try various channels from 1 to i think 11 is the highest?
 
that's interesting, i'll give changing the channel a try...

it's a 100 year old house with hardwood floors and balloon construction, the thing is built like a fort, so that may be it too...that's interesting as well, because a friend of mine owns a much newer house with thinner walls, with one d-link router covering the entire 3 family house...but it's not in the basement like mine is...
 
As far as improving things with a repeater of some sort, keep in mind that unless you are running a cable out to the second source of wireless, you will likely get slower connection speeds, as instead of you sending information between the computer and the router, there's another device in between that has to transfer everything between the device and the computer and the device and the router. It's like having a friend stand in between you and another person and shout everything back and forth if you and that other person are too far away to yell to each other. Everything gets shouted a lot more times, and your friend can only shout so much at once.
 
vizx said:
is the difference in mbps due to distance? Or is it router settings? How can I increase my transfer rate above 13mbps?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is most likely range, though interference is also a possibility. Also know that the AP must send management frames to all computers at the slowest connected client speed, so in effect this slows down the computer that is connected at a faster rate. Unless you are transferring large files between the computers, or have a internet connection > 10Mbps, dont worry about it ... this is wireless's mechanism to allow weak signal clients to still connect.
 
thanks for the replies, i really appreciate them...

as for speeds greater than 10mbps, in my neighborhood the only real "high-speed" choices are verizon dsl or Time Warner cable (roadrunner)...i have time warner, and speeds above, or anywhere NEAR 10mbps are just not a reality (even though the package i have promises speeds near that), unfortunately (but FIOS is coming)...

i haven't set up an AP yet outside of the original router, but i did fool around with changing the channels a bit, and the transfer rate increased incrementally, but not much...

it's not really affecting me in the real world though, because the actual problem is the horrible service from the ISP...at night, for hours on end, the speeds are below 1 mbps, consistently...

my tech support stories are endless on this issue...it's a network/ node overload issue but TW won't admit to it...people in my neighborhood are completely fed up...
 
The difference of the extra distance and the physical floor between the two will affect things.

Here's a tip that might help, for free. Remember that radio waves are generally emitted from the antenna at a right angle. If you have the router's antenna vertical, most of the signal is going side to side in the basement. If all your devices are above it, put the antenna horizontal so that the signal will be going up and down instead. It looks like your router has the hinged antennas, so just fold them down. Like "__" instead of "L". That might get more signal up in the desired area.

A similar option is to get directional antennas like https://shop.fon.com/FonShop/shop/US/ShopController?view=product&product=PRD-ANT01 (this specific one is not the cheapest or best, just the first one that came to mind), where the signal basically shoots out in only one direction. In your case, mount it flat in the basement, and it will shoot its signal up. With the "regular" antennas that come on the router, they're designed to be unidirectional and send the signal evenly in every direction. If you just lay it horizontal like I said above, it's sending half the signal down and wasting it.
 
How close are neighbors? Do you have any cordless phones?

If you have a wireless client that can see other close wireless networks, see what channels are already in use and chose one that is significantly distinct, ie neighbor has 6, use 1 or 12.
 
InvisiBill said:
The difference of the extra distance and the physical floor between the two will affect things.

Here's a tip that might help, for free. Remember that radio waves are generally emitted from the antenna at a right angle. If you have the router's antenna vertical, most of the signal is going side to side in the basement. If all your devices are above it, put the antenna horizontal so that the signal will be going up and down instead. It looks like your router has the hinged antennas, so just fold them down. Like "__" instead of "L". That might get more signal up in the desired area.

A similar option is to get directional antennas like https://shop.fon.com/FonShop/shop/US/ShopController?view=product&product=PRD-ANT01 (this specific one is not the cheapest or best, just the first one that came to mind), where the signal basically shoots out in only one direction. In your case, mount it flat in the basement, and it will shoot its signal up. With the "regular" antennas that come on the router, they're designed to be unidirectional and send the signal evenly in every direction. If you just lay it horizontal like I said above, it's sending half the signal down and wasting it.
Click to expand...

i didn't know this, thanks a MILLION...they were pointing vertically, and i moved them to a horizontal position, and the signal strength and transfer rate went up...

great advice...for the third floor, i might pick up one of those directional antennas, even though the signal has improved a bit up there just following your advice above...

again, thanks!
 
geiger said:
How close are neighbors? Do you have any cordless phones?

If you have a wireless client that can see other close wireless networks, see what channels are already in use and chose one that is significantly distinct, ie neighbor has 6, use 1 or 12.
Click to expand...

also great advice...i didn't know to do this either...i played around with the channels a bit, picking ones that are different from the neighbors ( i can usually pick up anywhere from 3 to 6 wifi networks that the neighbors have set up)...i'll work more on this tomorrow, there were some slight differences already, just changing the channel around a few times...

my block is mostly single and two family homes spaced about 20 feet or more apart, depending on individual construction per lot...yes i have a cordless phone as well...
 
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