There are different reasons why wireless connections drop if both
the transmitting and receiving devices were in a fixed position.
Note: You need to realize that your wireless devices are radio
transmitters and receivers. Although low powered devices they are still radio
stations and must accept any interference that is produced by another device.
You can not increase the power of the device, well an Electrical Engineer would
be able to do it but the cost would be high.
Is the signal being interfered with by something either material or another
signal such as:
A series of walls
A large metal object either in the path or capable of 'bouncing' the
signal
If there another device close (close in radio signals is anywhere from
zero to one thousand feet) such as a HAM radio station, or another transmitter
of radio signals.
Aircraft flying over head at less than five thousand feet.
Let's look at each of these one at a time.
When you setup your wireless router/access point it is necessary to 'survey'
the area between all the devices that will connect. These things will degrade
your signal that are inside a building:
Walls - not more than two if not concert or block construction (a radio
signal will not penetrate a solid wall).
Metal and Glass - Large metal items such as a locker or a refrigerator and
glass will reflect a signal (bounce)
Another thing that will cause a signal loss or impede it is another radio
signal, these are transmitted from another source such as:
A HAM radio station
A Fire or Police radio
An aircraft radio that is less than a thousand feet away
A radar station that is less than five thousand fee away
Another radio signal that is transmitting even if it is on another frequency
will have 'bleed over' from one frequency to another, in CB (Citizen Band) radio
or HAM radio this is called a "side band" radio frequency. These side band
frequencies are usually a side product of powerful transmitters that are either
miss-tuned or starting to age and haven't been recertified. (Certification is
where a transmitter is checked for being on the correct frequencies by a
qualified tech with the right equipment).
One of the biggest culprits of side band interference is radar, especially
those that are search radars used by a military. (A military radar is exempt
from legal ramifications due to the nature of their job, thus your devices
have to accept any interface that the radar creates).
If you read the literature that comes with your wireless device somewhere
in the very small print is a statement: 'This device must accept all
interference from outside sources and MUST not cause any interference with
emergency service frequencies" or something close to that effect. This means
that your wireless device must not interfere with any emergency frequency
traffic and must accept any interference from other sources.
Aircraft cause two types of interference: If the radio transmits while
close to your location the transmitted signal can interfere with your device.
If there is a transmission from another transmitter close by your location the
signal could bounce off the aircraft and interfere with you device. Normally
this happens when your location is close to a flight path where aircraft are
landing or taking off and the fly over of the aircraft is lower than five
thousand feet.
Your next type of interference comes from with in the building you are
located in. There are two types of interference:
Direct is where the signal is either diminished or interrupted by walls.
Typical interior walls in a newer building are made of sheetrock, this is a
pressed mixture of clay and other materials covered by paper or paper/cloth.
The thickness of the drywall varies so a building with standard drywall you
may be able to connect and keep a signal through two or three walls with out
loss of strength. Then again a building that has thicker drywall you may not
be able to connect through one wall.
With this type of interference if the router/access point can not be
moved you can use a 'booster', this is a device that will increase the
strength of a signal and rebroadcast it. If you suspect that the
interference is a wall or an object that the signal can not go through or
around then a strategically placed signal booster will solve your problem.
The other type of interference is a 'bounce signal' or 'ghost signal' this
is where the transmitted signal hits a metal object or a pane of glass and
your receiver gets a second signal with the same data. If you suspect a bounce
or ghost signal all you need to do is stand at the transmitter and turn 45*
from the transmitter, anything in the 45* angle will bounce at 90*. That is
the signal will come from the transmitter, hit the object and travel straight
to any receiver in line with the object.
With a bounce signal all you can do is move either the receiving device
or the transmitting device.
With interference you can try to use the built in channels of the
transmitter/receiver to move the frequency of the wireless signal away from the
interference.
Older 801B and G devices have 11 channels, the newer N devices have more
channels. To move away from the interference it is a trial and error process,
try at a lower or higher channel number at least two or more numbers from the
base or default of 6 say 4 or 8 to see if that is far enough away to keep your
connection from being interfered with.
One thing that I did not cover is the distance, most wireless router/access
points have a limited distance the signal will travel, this is set by law and by
the manufacture of the device. If your signal strength and quality is less than
75% and fair to medium I would suggest you use a signal booster to over come the
distance to increase the strength and quality of the signal. An increase of
strength and quality will increase the overall speed the device transmits and
receives from the router/access point.
This site contains a lot of information. As
with any publication not all information is available due to space, time, or
subject constraints.
If you have a question that you did not find the answer
on this web site you a can
ask your question here and we will endeavor to get you the most up to date
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