indoor antenna for D-link DWL-G520 PCI card

Danman589019 · 10-19-2004

Hey, I have a wireless network in our house made up of a D-link DI-624 and a DWL-G520 PCI in a desktop. I'm getting crappy signal strength to the the desktop even though its less than 50 feet away. I want to put a antenna on the PCI card becasue the stock one is so buried and blocked my monitors, desks, wires, etc. that I think It's not getting good reception. The internet on that desktop constantly cuts ou. So to fix this problem I want to get or build a antenna to set up high on top of the case or somewhere to hopefully fix the problems I'm having. My questions are..am i going about this problem the right way? Should I put a better antenna on the router aswell? Would it be easy enough to build one of theses antennas (for the PCI card) then buying one? I really want to save money. The only ones Ive looked at are some ones from fab-corp site on the antennas-omni page such as the "2.4GHz 5dBi Desktop Omni Antenna w/ MC". I also noticed they sell what they call "5.5 dBi Rubber Duck R-SMA Male Antenna". I have also looked at antennas on the D-link site such as this one . Thanks for any help you can give me

streaker69 · 10-19-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danman589019

Hey, I have a wireless network in our house made up of a D-link DI-624 and a DWL-G520 PCI in a desktop. I'm getting crappy signal strength to the the desktop even though its less than 50 feet away. I want to put a antenna on the PCI card becasue the stock one is so buried and blocked my monitors, desks, wires, etc. that I think It's not getting good reception. The internet on that desktop constantly cuts ou. So to fix this problem I want to get or build a antenna to set up high on top of the case or somewhere to hopefully fix the problems I'm having. My questions are..am i going about this problem the right way? Should I put a better antenna on the router aswell? Would it be easy enough to build one of theses antennas (for the PCI card) then buying one? I really want to save money. The only ones Ive looked at are some ones from fab-corp site on the antennas-omni page such as the "2.4GHz 5dBi Desktop Omni Antenna w/ MC". I also noticed they sell what they call "5.5 dBi Rubber Duck R-SMA Male Antenna". I have also looked at antennas on the D-link site such as this one . Thanks for any help you can give me

I wouldn't think that a deeply buried antenna like you say is causing your problem. I can connect to my access point with my notebook (dell truemobile 1150 card) from my garage which is over 100 feet from the main house and my AP is in the middle of the house.

I think you could have another problem. For example, do you have a 2.4ghz basestation for a telephone near your AP or near your PC? I've seen that interfere many times. Was happening at my place until I replaced the phone in the kitchen with a 900mhz phone and moved the 2.4 to the back room. When my wife uses her notebook back there and she's on the phone, she'll see her connection drop at times.

I don't think 50 feet is enough to cause the problem you're describing.

Danman589019 · 10-19-2004

there is one 900Mhz phone by the AP and one 900MHz phone right next to the computer with the PCI card. we also have two 2.4 Ghz phones in the house. One about 20 feet through a wall fro mthe AP (not between the AP and client though) and the other 2.4GHz phone is pretty far from the AP and client.

streaker69 · 10-19-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danman589019

there is one 900Mhz phone by the AP and one 900MHz phone right next to the computer with the PCI card. we also have two 2.4 Ghz phones in the house. One about 20 feet through a wall fro mthe AP (not between the AP and client though) and the other 2.4GHz phone is pretty far from the AP and client.

Do you notice the signal drop off when someone is on one of the 2.4 phones? Or when one of the 2.4 phones is off the base? some 2.4 phones will poll the handset at intervals causing sporadic interferance with wireless. The phones don't necessarily have to be between the AP and the client.

Danman589019 · 10-20-2004

completetly unplugged (phone and power supply) both 2.4 phones..still having some problems..the internet is slow and sometimes losses connection. Here's some extra info

when we "lose" the connection we arent reall losing it.even though the interner acces is down the d-link monitoring software still shows a good connection at 72 to 96Mpbs and around 40% signal strength (thats another thing..shouldnt that be higher for being so close to router?). The router is on top of a bookshelf thing about 6 feet of the ground. the desktop wit hthe PCI card is just on a desk but the antenna is behind some wooden part of the desk, wires,and a CRT monitor. all the equipment is D-link AirPlus XtremeG 108Mbps stuff.

Thorn · 10-20-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danman589019

completetly unplugged (phone and power supply) both 2.4 phones..still having some problems..the internet is slow and sometimes losses connection. Here's some extra info

when we "lose" the connection we arent reall losing it.even though the interner acces is down the d-link monitoring software still shows a good connection at 72 to 96Mpbs and around 40% signal strength (thats another thing..shouldnt that be higher for being so close to router?). The router is on top of a bookshelf thing about 6 feet of the ground. the desktop wit hthe PCI card is just on a desk but the antenna is behind some wooden part of the desk, wires,and a CRT monitor. all the equipment is D-link AirPlus XtremeG 108Mbps stuff.

DLink is pretty bad stuff. That may be the issue right there. I've seen DLink routers perform intermitently when you looked cross-eyed at them.

Is the problem with the desktop or the router? Try borrowing another brand of router (if possible) to see where the problem lies.

A couple of other things to try:
1) Drop to the basic "G" settings. (ie. Turn off all "108 Xtreme" settings.)
2) Go to "fixed" setting, not automatic.
3) Check the MTU settings. (NetGear has a pretty good explanation.)
4) Don't trust manufacturer's RF tools. Most are pretty bad. Use something that reports actual radio signal in dB, like -uh gee- NetStumbler. See if the signal is actually dropping off, or something else is going on.

10-19-2004	#1 (permalink)
Danman589019 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 3	indoor antenna for D-link DWL-G520 PCI card Hey, I have a wireless network in our house made up of a D-link DI-624 and a DWL-G520 PCI in a desktop. I'm getting crappy signal strength to the the desktop even though its less than 50 feet away. I want to put a antenna on the PCI card becasue the stock one is so buried and blocked my monitors, desks, wires, etc. that I think It's not getting good reception. The internet on that desktop constantly cuts ou. So to fix this problem I want to get or build a antenna to set up high on top of the case or somewhere to hopefully fix the problems I'm having. My questions are..am i going about this problem the right way? Should I put a better antenna on the router aswell? Would it be easy enough to build one of theses antennas (for the PCI card) then buying one? I really want to save money. The only ones Ive looked at are some ones from fab-corp site on the antennas-omni page such as the "2.4GHz 5dBi Desktop Omni Antenna w/ MC". I also noticed they sell what they call "5.5 dBi Rubber Duck R-SMA Male Antenna". I have also looked at antennas on the D-link site such as this one . Thanks for any help you can give me

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10-19-2004	#3 (permalink)
Danman589019 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 3	there is one 900Mhz phone by the AP and one 900MHz phone right next to the computer with the PCI card. we also have two 2.4 Ghz phones in the house. One about 20 feet through a wall fro mthe AP (not between the AP and client though) and the other 2.4GHz phone is pretty far from the AP and client.

10-20-2004	#5 (permalink)
Danman589019 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 3	completetly unplugged (phone and power supply) both 2.4 phones..still having some problems..the internet is slow and sometimes losses connection. Here's some extra info when we "lose" the connection we arent reall losing it.even though the interner acces is down the d-link monitoring software still shows a good connection at 72 to 96Mpbs and around 40% signal strength (thats another thing..shouldnt that be higher for being so close to router?). The router is on top of a bookshelf thing about 6 feet of the ground. the desktop wit hthe PCI card is just on a desk but the antenna is behind some wooden part of the desk, wires,and a CRT monitor. all the equipment is D-link AirPlus XtremeG 108Mbps stuff.