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+--- Thread: Is this true that ... (/showthread.php?tid=19746)
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Is this true that ... - kap - 09-30-2006
a Netgear wireless router would produce a stronger radio signal than a SBC/ATT wireless modem/router?
Re: Is this true that ... - BigGuynRusty - 09-30-2006
????
BGnR
Re: Is this true that ... - kap - 09-30-2006
Exactly BGnR! In my mind those question marks were BOLD!
I told a guy that my friend is having trouble wirelessly connecting her 17 inch G4 powerbook and her daughter's HP Pavillion laptop to her SBC/ATT modem/router away from my friend's master's bedroom. And the guy said that broadband providers' modem/router do not give out as strong a signal as separate routers. That is why my friend loses her wireless connection when she moves outside of her master's bedroom.
Re: Is this true that ... - MacMagus - 09-30-2006
SBC doesn't make their own wireless routers. It's probably a 2Wire router with internal antenna.
I'm not sure about the power of their wireless routers, but often a poor signal is a matter of the direction the antenna is pointing... I prefer the routers that have two external antennas so that I can more easily fine-tune for the local geography (walls). Even with an internal antenna, you can often play with the height and angle of the device to find a sweet spot for good reception.
Re: Is this true that ... - kap - 09-30-2006
Mac Magus,
You're right. It's the 2WIRE router. I thoght it was SBC brand. Regardless, I will tell my friend to reposition the router.Thanks
Re: Is this true that ... - BigGuynRusty - 09-30-2006
MacMagus is absolutely correct!
Signal strength is due more to the type of antenna, internal/external, orientation, and placement.
Type
External is much better.
Orientation
Vertical, is much better than horizontal.
Placement
The higher the better.
You can quadruple signal strength, it won't have the effect the antenna does.
Also, any metal between you and the signal is detrimental.
Sorry about blanking last night, been in HAM radio for almost three decades, should have known better!
BGnR
Re: Is this true that ... - kap - 09-30-2006
BGnR,
I will forward your post to my friend. Thanks!
Re: Is this true that ... - Article Accelerator - 09-30-2006
[quote BigGuynRusty]Placement
The higher the better.
Probably not true.
You once participated in a thread that contradicted that assertion:
http://forums.dealmac.com/read.php?1,1993802,1993852#1993852
Note especially plain Rusty's comments regarding Half-Power Beam Width and optimum placement.
BTW, my own experience is that high placement of a base station rarely, if ever, improves signal strength.
As an example, note the vertical antenna gain pattern of this dipole:
http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/hg2407mgrd.php (page bottom)
The radiation pattern is essentially toroidal, not spherical.
Re: Is this true that ... - Monster - 09-30-2006
that's some memory you have there BGnR, that post's from 2004, and it's from the same day that ka jot buffed her smurf, http://forums.dealmac.com/read.php?1,1994363
going through a few of those pages from Dealmac past I was amazed at how many of the threads had me thinking "Oh yeah, I remember that..."
Re: Is this true that ... - BigGuynRusty - 09-30-2006
[quote Article Accelerator][quote BigGuynRusty]Placement
The higher the better.
Probably not true.
In the real world, very true.
That is why antennae are placed on top of the highest structure, hills, and mountaintops. Yes, the radiated pattern is toroidal and not spherical, but the shadow (no signal) area is so small in the wireless setup, it is actually non-existant in the real world.
I have found in dozens of wireless setups, placing the antenna higher has always given me, and my customers better signal on the fringe of the signal.
Gave my neighbor the ability to share my high speed access, added about 65 feet to the signal.
Worked for my BlueTooth, put an extension on my Class1 BT dongle, put it on the top shelf (8 foot) of computer desk, added 30 foot to the signal, also oriented the built-in antenna vertical.
If I was taking a test for my HAM license (again) I would have to agree with you, but I am so glad in the real world that antenna can't read!
BGnR