internet connection woes : ( can you help?

[PaulW]

Hi All,

this is quite a long post sorry but i want to give you lots of infomation.

the situation

I have recenly moved into my new shared house where we all share the internet on a 2 meg line through NTL. their is normally 2-3 people using the internet at anyone time.

the problem

the problem im having is that connectivity is appaling for me, we are using a Linksys wirelessG router with speedboost, i dont have a speedboost enabled card just the standard Linksys wireless G card.

my flatmate dont seem to have a problem, one is right next to the router which will obviously be fine and the other person is directly under the room of the router + he has a speedboost linksys card which helps i guess. I am near the front of the house the furtest away from the router. i am also in a bit of an alcove but i have tried moving the pc out of it to see if its any better but its no better, so its not that.

i keep getting these issues when using my computer for everyday tasks like watching a streaming video from the BBC website or simply talking to friends using Trillian or Skype.

The connecting speed & the signal strength varys all the time and the connection icon pops up to let me know contantly of the changing signal. Trillian disconnects the part MSN almost all the time. and video keep buffering, when they eventually do play its for about 3 seconds before i give up.

other peoples usage

my flatmates generally are ok, they play lots of games mainly WOW sometimes they download stuff but i can understand if the speed drops when they do this.

it is better when they are not in i can watch some videos and do a lot more but the weekends are a pain.

what can i do?

ok wiseguys out there what can i do to help the situation do i

1) get a better network card or somthing that can help like a booster devise?
2)move my computer closer (not to keen on this option)
3) move the router
4) is there some type of qouta system i can alter/get in the router or program, so we get equal amounts of bandwidth?
5) none of the above, HELP suggest me somthing

Thanks in advance

Paul

 

[Avalon]

Ok you've provided a lot of information but ommited to mention what router model it is. Any connection will slow to a crawl if someone on the lan saturates the uplink (P2P/BT) though this doesn't sound like that as you mention the signal strength varies.

Netstumbler and a laptop may help pinpoint deadspots in the room. Ask your housemate if you could borrow his speedboost card for 30 mins to see if you have the same problem as with yours, if not then it may be worth buying one but I honestly think you'll find a better antenna will be the answer from what you've said. You could always go with the reflector approach (sticky tape and card/foil job).

If you have a router that will run DD-WRT or similar then you can increase the power of your wifi signal and see if that helps.

 

[PaulW]

whats the best way to extend the arial? i used netstumbler like you said and the signal drops by half where my current ariel is now. so i want to extened it.
i was going to just get some copper wire remove the current one and sticky tape it on? do you think this will be ok?

Paul

 

[Avalon]

If you want to use sticky tape try a reflector or one of the many tin can/pringle tube hacks doing the rounds. It's either that or spend a few quid on a new higher gain antenna (it probably works out as cheap as pringles and gaffer tape but not as tasty).