Boosting wireless signal...

[NightshadowUK]

A good friend of mine is having trouble picking up his wireless network in the single floor extension on the side of his house. We're thinking it's due to the crazy thick layers of brick / slate / insulation in the roof (the router's upstairs in the 'main' house) so we were wondering what the best way to cure this would be. Do different antennas really make a difference?

Thanks as always folks.

[TAKTAK]

you can boost ity by getting a unidirectional one and pointing it in the direction you want the signal to go..

some more tips HERE

[peterb]

Do different antennas really make a difference?

Qualified yes. As an antenna is a passive device, the only wqay to improve the gain is to shape the transmission (and reception) pattern - so that more energy is transmitted in certain directions. (Reception is the same principle - it gathers more energy from a certain direction)

The downside is that antenna orientation becomes more critical.

However in an area where there are lots of reflections (such as in a building) having a higher gqain antenna can be both a benefirt (iif the reflections are detected where the sensitivity is low) or a hindrance - if the converse is the case. Even someone walking round the rom can affect the radiation pattern.

The only way to try it is really by trial and error - which means buying the higher gain antennas.

The other option is to move the router into an area where it has a better radiation arae - such as a loft - which might not be practicable.

Wireless is rarely a good substitute for a wired connection - both in terms of speed and latency. However if you can't gert this to work well, you might wnat to consider a homeplug solution - using mains wiring as the transmission medium - but again, throughput will not be as good as a wired connection.