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["Greg Brown" <gwbrown1 AT gmail.com>]

Where abouts in Wake Forest?  I have access to all kinds of wireless test equipment.  B stuff, G stuff.. Big flukes, little flukes and I live just up the road in Youngsville.

It might take until next week before any testing could be preformed looking at my schedule.  In the meantime try this:

download "netstumbler" - they have PC, Mac, and heldheld versions, just google for it
Look for devices on the same channel.  If you are running on the "default" channel 1 or 6 you might have better luck on channel 11, which I have found to be *generally* the lest congested.

Just switch to channel 11 might help out quite a bit, I'd do that first.  But checking with Netstubmler doesn't hurt.  Also while the Fluke testers do "listen" for noise on the channels and can find APs that are not broadcasting their SSIDs netstumbler won't.  But to cause this much interference the AP would have to be very close.

Greg

On 4/3/06, Tom Boucher <trekkie AT nomorestars.com> wrote:

Soooo...

Anyone perhaps have 'access' to a Fluke Wireless network meter or other
cool technology that might be able to tell my why my home network went
from 'just fine' to 'completely hosed' without any major changes recently?

I'm looking for interference, and since radio waves aren't visible I
started looking around for ways to test it.   It appears that my options
are limited with the Apple Airport software and I was wondering if there
was something out there I could wander the house with looking for
something.

What has me thinking something is up is I narrowed down 'recent additions'
to the house and there is this new 200W per channel 7 channel amplifier
(Outlaw 7700) that I plunked into the room above my WAP.  I use an Airport
Extreme with an antennae in the garage and above it is my office with an
airport express that was the local repeater.   It's like there is a giant
vortex of suck pulling away my wireless.

I went from getting 2MB down / 512k back over wireless to 256K if I'm
lucky down and 64k up.  most of the time I'm not even that lucky and can't
browse simple websites or download email.   I used to be able to use two
computers on the network at once and now if one is downloading a file and
another tries to get email or load a page both die.

I've done everything I can think of doing to them including backing up to
previous level of firmware, etc.   I remembered seeing some kewl lookin
meters out there but dropping $5500 for about 30 min of work would get me
shot by the wife, but I'm annoyed as heck.

I'm going to turn off the amplifier for a few days and unplug it and see
what happens there if that could be the interference.  I'm also looking at
wiring the routers together instead of WDS them together like I do now.
This bad boy was not easy to move, some of the densest materials known to
man must be in it because I swear it weighs about 100 to 150 lbs and my
wife and I about killed ourselves carrying it up the stairs.

So if anyone has 'access' to one and I have beer or something I could
trade for 30 min or so in Wake Forest to see what is up or any suggestions
I could try I'd appreciate it, I'm at my wits end and now my wife is
complaining about internet access so I know it's not me just needing more
bandwidth for WoW or my podcast downloading.

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