Peter's Top 10 Wireless Network Tips

Wireless home and small business networks (called Wi-Fi for short) are extremely popular these days. If you have a Wi-Fi setup and are disappointed at its performance, you are not alone. There are many things that you can do to make your network faster and more reliable.

For this article, we are going to focus on one of the most popular setups using the Linksys brand for the router and a PC with a wireless network card. There are a few different types of wireless adapters, some install inside your machine and have a small antenna sticking out the back. A second type is a compact USB adapter that simply plugs into a USB port on your computer, and the third type is another kind of USB network adapter that looks like a small standalone base station with an antenna, but connects to your computer through USB.

There's a lot of information on the Internet about getting your wireless network set up. However, there's not much about tweaking it to maximize the performance. One of the most popular Wi-Fi routers (the thing that plugs into your high speed modem) is the Linksys WRT54G.

This is the "base station" if you will; the unit that transmits and receives the wireless signals to all of your wireless devices, and shares the Internet connection among them. The router and the network adapter in your computer make up your wireless network. So how can we improve it?

Tip #1: Wiggle your antennas. Notice the two antennas, and that they can be swiveled around. Also your router itself can be turned to the left or right. This gives you a good degree of freedom in positioning the antennas for best reception. Try pointing your antennas at a 90 degree angle to where the remote computer is. Also try pointing the antennas directly at the remote computer.

Tip #2: With antennas, size does matter. Simple, but it can help! Linksys has ones available for their routers here but if you have a different brand, check their web site for availability. Some other brands have antennas that unscrew and use the same connection as the Linksys ones.

Tip #3: Get a range expander. Make sure you get a compatible range expander, as brands don't always work well together.

Tip #4: Buy a second router. There are two big disadvantages to this method however. The first is if you have a laptop and you wander around your house surfing the web, as soon as you leave the first router's range it will disconnect you from the Internet as each of the routers are different networks. The second disadvantage is that you'll need two high speed Internet connections coming into your house or business, which can get rather expensive. This is not a recommended solution.

Tip #5: Double the power of your router. Also known as a router hack.

QUICK DEFINITION ABOUT "HACK" - When I use "hack" in this article, I'm using it to mean "an inelegant and usually temporary solution to a problem", not the usual sinister meaning of illegally breaking into a computer system! This is the good hack!

This is geared towards those of you who built a crystal radio as a kid and actually enjoyed it. Those who are not technically inclined might want to stay away, but we include it only as a matter of interest. We haven't tried this ourselves, so we can't endorse it as it will also void any warranty you have. A company called Sveasoft provides a subscription to software that upgrades your router and gives you the ability to more than double the power of the transmitter to 251W! Their upgrade has many other features that we won't go into here.

Tip #6: Build your own dish antenna. If it works for your satellite receiver, it should work for your wireless network. Make your own parabolic mesh antenna! This is not a new idea, in fact there are many people doing this, including hobbyists and home users. We invested in a $2 metal kitchen strainer and will try our hand at this unique and simple hack. We'll update our results on the blog web site as we complete it.

Tip #7: Reduce interference. Sometimes called EMI, or electromagnetic interference, this can be caused by other devices in your home or office that use the same 2.4GHz band that Wi-Fi does. The main culprit is usually 2.4GHz telephones. You can solve this by moving your phone's base station away from the router, or changing the channel of your telephone. You can also switch to a 5GHz phone. Other sources of interference are televisions, microwaves and radios. Last but not least, it helps to move your router a meter away from your computer. Many people sit their routers on top of their computer, but this can cause interference, try moving it away from other devices so it has clear area around it.

Tip #8: Higher is better. According to Cisco Systems, the parent company of Linksys, it is better to have your router as high off the ground as possible. If you are using it in a multi-floor location, put it on the top floor and as high in the room as possible, leaving at least 2 feet clear around the antenna.

Tip #9: Avoid physical obstacles. Keep your router away from large metal objects (filing cabinets, etc) and large bodies of water (fish tanks, bathrooms). Things such as concrete walls, furniture, and distance all affect your signal. Try different locations to improve the Wi-Fi signal.

Tip #10: Get a faster router. The current popular standards-based routers available today are Wireless A, B and G. These run at 54Mbps, 11Mbps and 54Mbps respectively. There are some newer devices that are referred to as Super-G, 100 or 108. These are not yet standards and they typically do not work with equipment from other companies. The next true standard is 802.11n at 100Mbps but this won't be out until 2007. Your best bet for compatibility is to stick with G for the foreseeable future.

If you are still having problems with your wireless network, contact us to help with your wireless needs.