Disapointed in wifi connectivity distance

**EricE** · 03-28-2006, 10:24 PM

I had no idea what to expect. I just got a D-link Di-524 to connect my home PC up with my CarPC when I am in the driveway. I got them all working when the two computers were side by side and then I put the PC back in the car. Unfortunetly, wifi would not connect. That isn't too unexpected since the hub is at the back of the house and the car is parked in front(two walls inbetween). So then I tried parking the car right next to the house so the hub and carPC were separated by about 7' and one exterior wall. No luck. Should I expect only line of site? I thought it was strong enough to go through walls?

So now I have several options to fix this but I want to work on the one that has the most chance of working. One concern I have is that the USB wifi dongle on the Carpc is tucked down in a bit. Its not exactly like it is in a trunk but it might be close. Can I expect it to ever connect there? Do I need to figure out a way to get that dongle up next to a window?

Another option is to extend my home PCs wifi antenna to outside. I can do that with about 20' of cord which will get me outside but at the back of the house. That is perhaps 30' from where the car is parked. Can I expect that to work or should I try and run the antenna extension all the way to the front of the house?

**sfay93** · 03-28-2006, 10:37 PM

Which USB dongle are you using? I am not a big fan of the usual ones as they don't have much power. I am considering one of these for my solution: http://poleware.com/store/polewarest...&idAffiliate=8 I just haven't gotten around to buying one yet.

**piabu** · 03-28-2006, 10:56 PM

I have a Dlink 11G wireless router in the house and the Netgear 11B USB dongle in the car. They are about 20 metres apart and separated by two internal walls and an exterior wall. The USB dongle was under the front seat in my test.

I still got a 11mbps connection with about 30% signal strength shown on the wireless client software.

**AllThingsEnd** · 03-28-2006, 10:59 PM

that EnGenius Wireless USB2.0 Adapter.... how good is that one?

**EricE** · 03-28-2006, 11:05 PM

Bah. I figured it out. I don't get a strong signal out front...maybe 20% but it is enough and I am happy. What had happened is that windows (I love windows...errrr) decided to discard my wifi connectivity properties so I had to create a new one.

FYI the dongle I have is a DWL-G122.

Now I can PC Anywhere to configure and sync my files. Shwing!

**sfay93** · 03-28-2006, 11:52 PM

I have the DWL-G122 as well. It came with my DI-524. It really sucks. It has the weakest signal of any adapter I have and I have a few. My Orinocco Gold card (30mW) would get a much stronger signal from the same place. It is a 30mW card. The Engenuis adapter is 200mW. I finally decided to just bite the bullet and ordered it tonight. I will post results when I get it in.

**DaveB** · 03-29-2006, 12:03 AM

sfay93,

My engenius is 400mw

**DaveB** · 03-29-2006, 12:14 AM

There are a few solutions to the signal strength problem.

1) Install an antenna that provides gain on your vehicle. I have dual wifi antennas on my truck and they each provide +8db of gain. That doesn't mean you get +16db, its still only +8db of gain.

2) You can buy a WiFi repeater. Its a separate box that you install in your house and would locate it near the outside wall closest to your vehicle. All it does is boost and retransmits the signal between your wireless router and all of your other wireless devices.

3) If your wireless router supports external antennas, you can buy a better grade of antenna. Here is an example: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1083714522764

4) You could also try something like this to focus the WiFi transmission: http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/

**sfay93** · 03-29-2006, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by DaveB

sfay93,

My engenius is 400mw

You have the mini PCI card. The Engenius/Senao 362 Ext is an external USB adapter. Nice because you can position is for best reception in your car and it also has a removable antenna if you wanted to get a amplified one. It's gonna work out nice for me because I can use it in my truck and take it with me for use with my laptop if needed. I just bought this one here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Senao-Engenius-8...QQcmdZViewItem I had an eBay gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket.

**DaveB** · 03-29-2006, 12:30 AM

Originally Posted by sfay93

You have the mini PCI card. The Engenius/Senao 362 Ext is an external USB adapter. Nice because you can position is for best reception in your car and it also has a removable antenna if you wanted to get a amplified one. It's gonna work out nice for me because I can use it in my truck and take it with me for use with my laptop if needed. I just bought this one here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Senao-Engenius-8...QQcmdZViewItem I had an eBay gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket.

Ah, well, that's cool and sounds like just the ticket for you!

I was going for the highest power and best transmission/reception that I could get. It didn't need to be portable for my needs. With the dual WiFi antennas I guess my card determines which antenna is performing the best at a given moment and uses it.

I didn't know ebay offered gift certificates. Sheesh....I guess you learn something new every day! LOL!!!!