Wireless networking losing connection sporadicly

Just_Bri_Thanks

I got one of these things:



Their home page is here:

http://www.encore-usa.com/product_item.php?region=us&bid=2&pgid=4&pid=103

The documentation says I would be able to have it sitting by itself, not plugged into anything via Ethernet, and it will relay between my modem/router which is one of these:



( http://www.westell.com/customer-networking.html )

And a home PC equipped with one of these:



( http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/wg311v3.asp )

Now, I got it working, and the wireless network has gone from 1 and 2 bars to 4 bars.

The computer still periodically loses connection to the network however. Can anyone recommend any steps I can take to remedy this?

Ruckus

Was your modem not providing enough range?

Just_Bri_Thanks

The PC is on the far end of the condo, and it is having trouble with losing the wireless networking signal.

Ruckus

okay, so it's gonna relay. Unfortunately I have no experience setting up relay WAPs.

bowing out now...

Just_Bri_Thanks

My Westell can see it, but I can't seem to connect to it.




Edit: Nevermind, that is the MAC for the far computer. I guess I am plugging this thing back in and fiddling with it some more...

Just_Bri_Thanks

With the device plugged in to my router via Ethernet, I can connect to it through the router. While I am doing this, the router does not list it as a connected device in LAN or WAN tabs. If I unplug it from Ethernet, it is a lost device. No one sees it and no one connects to it.

khain

Change the mode to repeater, set the ssid to whatever the other router is, and make sure that the encryption is the same and enter the password if you have one, you can also use the site survey button to set this up. According to the manual that should be all you need to do.

edit: page 11 and 21-23 are the relevant ones in the manual on the site.

Just_Bri_Thanks

Yeah, I found the problem, thanks.

On a side note that is one hell of a sluggish web interface ont hat thing.

Just_Bri_Thanks

Well, the evil disconnection monster has reared its ugly head again. Can anyone talk me through some troubleshooting steps?

DeShadowC

Ok what exactly is happening during the "disconnects"? Does everything stay the same and your computer stop having the ability to access the internet, or do you actually see the network connection going into a disconnected status?

Just_Bri_Thanks

The little word bubble pops up in the task bar saying that the network is disconnected. It lasts for a few seconds and then reconnects. It is frequent enough to be infuriating.

DeShadowC

Ok, now its been a while since I've worked with repeaters. With them is it a different SSID, network name, then you normally have, or is it the same one. Do you have any other computers or devices connected wirelessly? Have you ever used that computer on a different wireless network?

Just_Bri_Thanks

The disconnection issue preceded the repeater. Getting that was supposed to fix the disconnecting, but it didn't.

To answer your question though when you have the device set to repeat you use the same SSID. That far computer is the only one to run wirelessly, so as not to have a cable going the length of the condo. Also, we only have the one network in the house. It is my PC, connected by Ethernet to the router, and my house-mate's computer, connected via wireless connection to the same router. Now we introduce the repeater, which seems to be working as intended in that the signal strength to the network is much better, yet we still disconnect randomly.

Is there any tools someone can recommend that will allow me to test the signal strength between my repeater and my router? All I can see is the far pc to the "network" (which may just be the repeater) and it might be misleading me if there isn't a good signal strength between the repeater and the router.

DeShadowC

That's why I'm trying to narrow it down between his computer or the network itself. Can you either connect the wireless computer to another wireless network elsewhere, or bring a different computer onto the network wirelessly to see if it has the same issue.

Just_Bri_Thanks

No and no. I could move my computer over to the other room, but then I would have to put the same nic card into it so as to give it a wireless connection, and that would defeat the purpose of the exercise.

Edit: I can ping the far computer just fine. 3-26ms (average 9ms) delay just now. Unsurprisingly, this info does not help me any.

DeShadowC

Honestly I would assume its the nic, but without trying another computer, followed by a live cd, I wouldn't be able to say for sure.

Just_Bri_Thanks

Looks like I will be rearranging my network tomorrow to take the wireless nic controller out of the loop.

I shall move the modem and put the far computer onto it via Ethernet, and plug my computer into the repeater and run it on wireless access point mode.

Sarcastro

If your nic installed a wan manager, you can try uninstalling the manager, and use the windows zero configuration service instead- if you have two, windows and whatev, sometimes they dont play well together. You can also just use the wan manager and stop the zeroconfig.

Mebbe, (its possible, but seems unlikely) the power output on the router is still at default, typically about a quarter of what it can do, you can try pumping that up a bit. Also you can try open access first, and then encrypt after you know it works. If there are lots of wireless networks in your area, change the channel to something other than default.

Just_Bri_Thanks

I had some time so I moved my hardware around. My PC is now on Ethernet to the wireless device, which I changed from repeater config to AC client config. The other PC is now directly on Ethernet to the modem.

Everything works, but the survey tool on the wireless device tells me it has a connection of 30 to the modem. I hope this doesn't result in massive dropped packets.