Wireless interference

my wireless has been acting up since i moved to a new flat. I'm on the 2nd floor and I can pick up about 5 other networks. I've found that I have to keep changing where I place the wireless router in order to access the router.

What can I do to minimise the disruption to my signal? If I don't move it to an appropriate place, I can see my signal is full, but I can't connect. It's quite bizarre, but I can move my router 1 metre and suddenly it will work. The problem is, the speed is no where near as good compared to if i used direct cable, and also the connection is dropped eventually. My flat is tiny and sometimes the problem can occur even with my laptop right next to the wireless router!

I'd be very grateful if anyone could shed light on this matter, thanks.

 

Well for starters it might help us if you tell what brand/model router your are using.

 

Might try a different channel to lessen possible interference. Try netstumbler (freeware) at www.netstumbler.com. It should give you an idea of what channels the other wireless networks are running on.

 

i run some programme called retina scan, or something, to detect other networks and I have tried adjusting the channel to different ones - makes a small improvement, but the problem is still there.

the router is: Netgear DG834G 54Mbps Wireless ADSL Modem Firewall Router with 4-port 10/100 switch

I have updated to the latest firmware

PS. Pharoke, that's a very hentai-esque picture of Naruto's Sakura for your avatar

 

Yes it is. You should have seen my sig before someone complained about it and the mods took it down. Let me do some research into your problem and see what answers I can find.

 

hehe, it's so wrong, but she is hot.

thanks for the effort

 

Pharoke,

in 802.11, there are 11 available channels (in North America at least, I believe some global regions use 14 or so). However, most of them overlap. In NA, the de-facto standard is to use channels 1,6 and 11 to ensure no overlap (and hence adjacent channel interference). Check what channels your neighbours are using and their received signal strength. Then choose which channel has the least amount of interference, i.e. choose the channel with the fewest other networks. I've found that most people don't change from the factory default of channel 1.

Another thing to consider: On my wireless adapter on my laptop, my TX power level goes crazy sometimes, which causes "TX excessive retries", reducing performance. See if you can find a way to turn down your TX power, especially since you are so close to your AP.

If these don't help, you may need to get creative , like building a Faraday cage in your flat, etc.