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Long Range WIFI Experts Needed

Braddubya

Braddubya

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Im at work currently and I happen to be close enough to a buisness with free wifi that I can grab it from time to time. To increase the range of my laptop I bought a cheap .5 watt usb adapter (I read quite a few good reviews on it) and a 12dBi yagi directional antenna on ebay.

It works most of the time at first but will disconnect me regularly. Then when I try to reconnect it shows no signal. Strangely I have noticed that if I quickly unplug the usb and plug it into a new slot I will instantly have tons of signal and my computer auto connects to the network right away. So now im constantly changing the usb back and forth....seems unnecessary.

Anyone have some help here or have any idea whats going on? :can:

I work 11 hour days with about 9 hours of that being down time....so I would REALLY appreciate some advice.
 





ReNNo

ReNNo

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Try the newest drivers for WIFI card.

Have you tried to plug wifi card in another PC?
 
Braddubya

Braddubya

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ReNNo said:
Try the newest drivers for WIFI card.

Have you tried to plug wifi card in another PC?
Click to expand...

Its not a wifi "card" exactly.

This is what I got
New Gsky 500mW USB Wireless G LAN WiFi Adapter+Antenna - eBay (item 330389516110 end time Nov-18-10 18:53:55 PST)

heres the antenna
2.4GHz 12 dBi Compact Yagi Directional Antenna For WiFi - eBay (item 320615290060 end time Dec-09-10 09:52:13 PST)


When I use it I disable my internal wireless card otherwise I run into problems that I believe come from my internal card trying to join the same network when the signal is strong enough.
 
cd520

cd520

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Does the USB wifi device have a single USB plug? If so try using a USB Y adapter that utilizes 2 of your USB ports for power. With one USB connection if the port loses connection for a microsecond it can cause this. The high power wifi adapters draw significant current from the USB port. Using the Y adapter will help to sure up this current draw and minimize "sloppy" USB plug connections.
 
ReNNo

ReNNo

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Braddubya said:
Its not a wifi "card" exactly.

This is what I got
New Gsky 500mW USB Wireless G LAN WiFi Adapter+Antenna - eBay (item 330389516110 end time Nov-18-10 18:53:55 PST)

heres the antenna
2.4GHz 12 dBi Compact Yagi Directional Antenna For WiFi - eBay (item 320615290060 end time Dec-09-10 09:52:13 PST)


When I use it I disable my internal wireless card otherwise I run into problems that I believe come from my internal card trying to join the same network when the signal is strong enough.
Click to expand...
This is external wifi card.
As I told you, you need to test wifi card on another PC just to be sure that problem doesn't lie in OS.
This card uses drivers like every other wifi device.
Try to download drivers from official web site of manufacturer.

EDIT:
Also, try to use custom software for connecting to network (can be found on official web site).
 
Braddubya

Braddubya

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cd520 said:
Does the USB wifi device have a single USB plug? If so try using a USB Y adapter that utilizes 2 of your USB ports for power. With one USB connection if the port loses connection for a microsecond it can cause this. The high power wifi adapters draw significant current from the USB port. Using the Y adapter will help to sure up this current draw and minimize "sloppy" USB plug connections.
Click to expand...

INTERESTING! Do you have a link to such a device just so I know exactly what your talking about?

I did some searching on ebay...but im not seeing what I think your describing.
 
cd520

cd520

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Only thing else would be to move the antenna around to find the best location. Dont always go by the signal strength bars. The best test is using a bandwidth test like Speakeasy - Speed Test
 
Braddubya

Braddubya

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Cant I just splice in another plug to my existing usb to boost the power?

The power is just pins 1 and 4 so I would think if I just add another plug to my existing cable it should be the same thing and not take 4 weeks for delivery.
 
00Giorge

00Giorge

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I have noticed when certain vehicles come around like utilities, police cars and a few others my signal will fluctuate. I really notice this when I am at my gfs work and I am taping into the free WIFI from the restaurant across the street. Also if there is some industrial equipment running it may interfere with the signal. I run into this problem when I am using a laptop to program equipment at different sites.
 
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