Why the wide range of wireless experience

[JimL]

On the one hand I hear about people driving by your house and accessing your
computer or the internet via your wireless router.

On the other hand I hear that you may not even be able to access one unit
with another just from one part of your house to another.

Are some systems so weak and some so powerful that these discrepancies
occur? Or are they all so weak by FCC edict that you can't really depend on
anything in particular?

Thanks

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

There are so many variables here, it's almost impossible to give one answer.
Thickness and composition of walls/ceilings is one factor, other electronic
appliances is another..... a 2.4ghz telephone will be a major PITA and
possibly cut off the wireless every time it's used, changing to a more
wireless friendly 5.8ghz helps, I've heard some folks have inteference from
their microwave although I've not witnessed that 'feature'.

We did have the telephone problem and changed phones to a Panasonic 5.8ghz
'wireless friendly' set..... did the trick.

In our old house, if our DSL went down, I could always 'borrow' my neighbors
(with their permission) since it wasn't secured in any way. There were 3
houses removed from us in a cul de sac. Those homes were constructed in
1978.

After we moved, we have a much larger house, built in 2005 on a 1 1/4 acre
plot with a casita/workshop in the back yard. I do have various access
points around the house, so every room has wireless capability and even the
casita can get the signal. No one has tried to get into the network (you
can always check the router logs to make sure of that fact).

Securing the network is the MOST important thing, A GOOD password is
needed, hopefully one that other folks cannot guess, so no using the pet's
name, your name, etc etc. An unsecured network is one that WILL be broken
into, sooner or later and probably sooner.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Given a series of general "I have heard ..."stories like this, no
intelligent comment is possible. There are, for example, routers that are
designed to provide wide coverage, others that are designed to provide only
coverage for a small area. The materials between the router and the
computer make a huge difference in range. Most routers have the ability to
control the power/range to some extent so configuration of the same router
by two different people can give wildly different results. Even the
placement of the router can make a big difference in how well its signal
will travel.

 

[Jim]

On the one hand I hear about people driving by your house and accessing
your computer or the internet via your wireless router.

On the other hand I hear that you may not even be able to access one unit
with another just from one part of your house to another.

Are some systems so weak and some so powerful that these discrepancies
occur? Or are they all so weak by FCC edict that you can't really depend
on anything in particular?

Thanks

--
JimL

The purpose of computers is to complicate life for complicated people;
simple people can go suck eggs. Winstun Churchhill

People might be able to learn something while driving by your house if the
signal is not encrypted.

As for the other stories, I can only say that sometimes connectivity is
great throughout my house. Sometimes the computer cannot connect to the
router even though they are place in the same room. The times of poor
connectivity seem to be during rainy weather.

The FCC restricts the power so that more systems can use the same
frequencies and so that people need not take radio operator exams.

Jim

 

[Jack [MVP-Networking]]

Hi
Unlike any thing else in computing that we know, Wireless depends on Signal
propagation,
Propagation depends on the environment. Environments are different in every
situation.
You can have a "Silly" situation in which the Wireless source is in a front
living room with big frontal Window facing the street.
The "Hackers sitting in a car in front of the house would get nice signal
because he is only 30 feet away and in-between only one Windows with very
little Signal blocking effect.
The owner in the other and, might have a den with a Wireless computer in the
back of the house that is 50 feet away and with four walls in between.
As a result the Wireless in the back might be marginal.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)