Wi-Fi Range???

[kahchong]

I would like to know if different wireless access-points routers gives you the different wi-fi range?
What is the standard wireless range that you can receive?

Also, I have a NETGEAR wireless access-points router at my house and I have a USB Wi-Fi receiver. I always wonder why my signal strength that I received from my access-point router is not always excellent since I placed my ppc as well as my desktop pc very near, only a room away!

I hope you can tell me what is a cause of this signal strength drop.

Thanks :!:

Kah Chong.

[EnsignRam]

Each brand of wireless router/accesspoint has different ranges. Your best bet is to check the manufacturers spec sheet available via their website.

In regards to bad reception within you house, one often overlooked/never mentioned culprit is lead paint. If you live in a an older house or apartment it is very possible you have many layers of lead paint on your walls, now even superman had trouble seeing trhough lead :D, wifi I have seen can suffer from its blocking abilities as well.

Another possibility is 2.4ghz phones either in your house or your neighboors, try using one of the high channels on your AP (Like 10 or 11) 2.4ghz phones tend to use the lower channels.

The list of other culprits is limitless.... If the problems is bad enough you should consider purchasing a signal booster (I do not know if Netgear makes one for their AP though.)

[David Prahl]

A few things of note come to mind:

- MOST wireless networking gear runs near 2.4 GHz. Most cordless phones work in this area too, so expect similar range with your PPC or notebook PC. Those same phones can cause interference, which is why people are pushing for new, higher frequency standards.

- The device connecting to the access point also matters. My Dell Axim X5 Pocket PC with a CompactFlash wireless card has poorer range than my Tablet PC or notebook PC with a card. And the Dell Axim X30 has much better range. The power (in watts or milliwatts) of the recieving device matters quite a bit. Obviously a laptop with a chunky PCMCIA card can reach farther. Your USB dongle might not have that much power.

Good luck!