Wireless G vs B range

[Larry Roberts]

My brother has a Netgear Wireless B router serving 3 PCs. One
is connected via the wired port, and the other 2 are via the wireless
port. One PC has a Wirelesas B adaptor, and the other has a Wireless G
adaptor. They all share a 4Mbit cable modem connection. The wired PC
gets full 4Mbit download speeds. The Wireless B PC (located in next
room from router) gets an exvcellent signal, and downloads at speeds
from 3Mbit to the full 4Mbit. The Wireless G PC (located on the other
end of the house) has a low signal strenth, and only gets download
speeds of 1Mbit from the internet. This is not because all PCs are
downloading at the same time. Even when I turn the Wired, and Wireless
B PC off, the Wireless G PC still gets no better than 1Mbit download
speeds.
Would replacing the Wioreless B router with a Wireless G
router extend the signal strenth to the Wireless G PC, and allow it to
get faster download speeds?

 

[Dave]

My brother has a Netgear Wireless B router serving 3 PCs. One
is connected via the wired port, and the other 2 are via the wireless
port. One PC has a Wirelesas B adaptor, and the other has a Wireless G
adaptor. They all share a 4Mbit cable modem connection. The wired PC
gets full 4Mbit download speeds. The Wireless B PC (located in next
room from router) gets an exvcellent signal, and downloads at speeds
from 3Mbit to the full 4Mbit. The Wireless G PC (located on the other
end of the house) has a low signal strenth, and only gets download
speeds of 1Mbit from the internet. This is not because all PCs are
downloading at the same time. Even when I turn the Wired, and Wireless
B PC off, the Wireless G PC still gets no better than 1Mbit download
speeds.
Would replacing the Wioreless B router with a Wireless G
router extend the signal strenth to the Wireless G PC, and allow it to
get faster download speeds?

No. The wireless G adapter is back-ward compatible with wireless b. You
have low signal strength due to the physical location. If you change from b
to g, you will still have low signal strength.

A better strategy would be to move the antenna at either end. For example,
you might find that moving the wireless b adapter just a few feet will
greatly improve signal strength. If the wireless adapter is a PCI card, you
might try a USB wireless adapter with a long cable, allowing the receiving
antenna to be moved around.

Or another idea . . . cat5 cabling is relatively cheap in bulk. Ethernet
specs allow for wire lengths plenty long enough to reach the other side of
the building, and back. Don't know how comfortable you are with running
wires through buildings, but it's not that tough. Will need a wire crimper
though, unless you drill holes big enough for already-installed rj45
connectors to slip through.

http://www.outletpc.com/c0279.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/100-CAT5-ETHERN...ES-100-FT_W0QQitemZ200065661898QQcmdZViewItem
(no connection to this auction!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/RED-100FT-CAT5-...CABLE-100_W0QQitemZ170028143883QQcmdZViewItem
(no connection to this auction, either!)

Or home depot/lowes will sell you bulk cat5 cable in whatever length you
need, plus the crimp-on connectors.

There is no substitute for wired connection to router! -Dave

 

[frodo]

My brother has a Netgear Wireless B router serving 3 PCs. One
is connected via the wired port, and the other 2 are via the wireless
port. One PC has a Wirelesas B adaptor, and the other has a Wireless G
adaptor. They all share a 4Mbit cable modem connection. The wired PC
gets full 4Mbit download speeds. The Wireless B PC (located in next
room from router) gets an exvcellent signal, and downloads at speeds
from 3Mbit to the full 4Mbit. The Wireless G PC (located on the other
end of the house) has a low signal strenth, and only gets download
speeds of 1Mbit from the internet. This is not because all PCs are
downloading at the same time. Even when I turn the Wired, and Wireless
B PC off, the Wireless G PC still gets no better than 1Mbit download
speeds.
Would replacing the Wioreless B router with a Wireless G
router extend the signal strenth to the Wireless G PC, and allow it to
get faster download speeds?

Probably not - the low rate is due to the longer distance.

It is true however that a G network running w/ both G and B clients will
run slower than same w/ all G clients; that's why some G AccessPoints
offer a "G Only" Mode.

In your case I would try a cheap tin-foil reflector on the far-away
PC (if possible), or on the access-point to direct its beam toward the
far-away PC. The idea is to increase the signal into the far-corner of
the house. google for: wireless tin foil parabolic

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template2/index.html

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/

If that proves worthless then a high-gain replacement antenna for the AP
may be worth trying, or a repeater.

 

[Spajky]

My brother has a Netgear Wireless B router serving 3 PCs. One
is connected via the wired port, and the other 2 are via the wireless
port. One PC has a Wirelesas B adaptor, and the other has a Wireless G
adaptor. They all share a 4Mbit cable modem connection. The wired PC
gets full 4Mbit download speeds. The Wireless B PC (located in next
room from router) gets an exvcellent signal, and downloads at speeds
from 3Mbit to the full 4Mbit. The Wireless G PC (located on the other
end of the house) has a low signal strenth, and only gets download
speeds of 1Mbit from the internet. This is not because all PCs are
downloading at the same time. Even when I turn the Wired, and Wireless
B PC off, the Wireless G PC still gets no better than 1Mbit download
speeds.
Would replacing the Wioreless B router with a Wireless G
router extend the signal strenth to the Wireless G PC, and allow it to
get faster download speeds?

no, but you can:
1st - set Wireless G PC to B mode (2 or 5,5Mbit/s) this will help !!!
2nd - try some default antenna enhancer (if one of those on 1m cable
supplied with some Pci wifi cards : see pics & measures of the can
enhancer on my (sorry, only in slovene language for the moment)
article here:
http://www.wlan-sat.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=3847
its a standard 850g food can !

 

[John Weiss]

One PC has a Wirelesas B adaptor, and the other has a Wireless G
adaptor. They all share a 4Mbit cable modem connection. The wired PC
gets full 4Mbit download speeds. The Wireless B PC (located in next
room from router) gets an exvcellent signal, and downloads at speeds
from 3Mbit to the full 4Mbit. The Wireless G PC (located on the other
end of the house) has a low signal strenth, and only gets download
speeds of 1Mbit from the internet.

.. . .

Would replacing the Wioreless B router with a Wireless G
router extend the signal strenth to the Wireless G PC, and allow it to
get faster download speeds?

Possibly, but only if you also replace the Wireless B card with a G card so
the router runs in G mode. Otherwise, the G router will run in B mode with
the mixed cards.