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Good discussion. BTW: We have some Netgear stuff here in the office, specifically 3 GBit rack mounted managed switches, and a ReadyNAS. So far the ReadyNAS has exceeded my expectations, both on ease of configuration, performance, and accessibility over ssh.=20 WRT: Router, I'm not sure whether I'll get my friend a Netgear or a D-Link. When I bought the D-Link at MicroCenter there was a double rebate that made it a rather attractive price although the rebate fulfillers initially rejected one of the rebates, but a quick phone call fixed that including a nice apology from the lady I spoke to. My D-Link DIR-655 has been pretty solid and I have heard no complaints from my wife who uses it upstairs. In terms of my friend, we'll probably replace the Linksys with either a Netgear or D-Link depending on price. On 09/16/2010 09:34 AM, Jim Gasek wrote: > Let's talk about RF. > > Many utilities that ship with wireless cards and=20 > devices have an "audit" or "analysis", which will show > all the beacons, which channel they're on. > > Net Stumbler (Network Stumbler) is excellent, although > old ans hasn't been updated much lately > Most devices ship by default at channel "6". > Net stumbler (I believe) shows signals without beacons > too. > > I think, although no hard evidence, there are really > only 3 "channels", low (1) medium (6) and high (11). > > Choose the one that everyone else ISN'T using. > > If people are on all of them, choose the one with the > weakest (farthest away) signals. > > Also, you can get a (what we used to call) spectrum=20 > analyzer, and watch the noise and signals at different > frequencies. =20 > > Antenna: > > The signal off most (look like a pencil) antennas can > be thought of a doughnut (matematically- torroid). Signal=20 > strength goes out best perpendicular to the pencil. So aim your=20 > antenna(s) appropriately. _ | ...gets up and down power. > > There are other antennas (passive and active) which will > increase gain, but usually only in certain directions. > Think - dish TV style (parabola, etc.). > > Pringles can antennas have been used by geeks for a while. > > Also, there are (were) piggy-back amplifiers that you > could buy for linksys. > > Lastly, you can just hack and make your own amplification. > Transmit can be increased, receive is passive. > > Like cell phones, WiFi RF power is limited for a reason. > We all have to play nice together. > > Another good analogy is walkie-talkies. Many people bought > Motorola FM walkie-talkies, and were shocked, shocked! > that others would be using "their frequencies". > > Sometimes you can hear CB radios from Florida, it works, > but not really playing nice. =20 > > That's the rub, it is a shared resource. It helps if you > live in the country. > > I've heard of optimized cases where signals can go a mile > or more with the right antennas/conditions. > > I'm sure many here know much more than me... > =20 --=20 Jerry Feldman <gaf-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org> Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id: 537C5846 PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846
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