Looking to get a wireless-n router

[blimpie]

I'm new to all this so any info would be appreciated.

I have a desktop and laptop in my home. My current g router often disconnects, causing me to have to restart it. I'm looking to upgrade. My laptop has 802.11b/g WLAN. I have no problem with my laptop speed. It's just that when both are being used, the desktop slows down. So would I still need to get a n-adapter for my laptop?

I'm unsure about all this dual band stuff. Is this necessary to avoid those disconnections? I was looking at the D-Link DIR-655 and Linksys Dual-Band WRT400N. Do I go with the dual-band? The ASUS RT-N13U looks to be a good value but is the performance as high the other ones? I'm open to any suggestions as long as it's in the $120 or cheaper range.

 

[thiggins]

Your first step is to find out why you are getting disconnected. It could be interference from neighboring networks or non Wi-Fi sources like cordless phones, microwave ovens, baby monitors, etc. Switching to N will do nothing to solve interference problems, except if you get dual-band gear and move to the 5 GHz band.

If both laptop and desktop are wirelessly connected and you are seeing slowdowns on one when the other is busy, then you may need more bandwidth. (What are you doing on the laptop?) N can help with that, but both clients will need to be N.

 

[DaveMcLain]

I agree with thiggins in that interference could be the problem and that can sometimes be tough to pin down. For instance, right now I have a slight interference problem with the wireless installation at my folks place. They have a cordless phone that's a 5.2Ghz model and when it's in use the wireless throughput slows way down. It's not knocked off the air or disconnected just slowed down. As soon as the phone is hung back up throughput goes back to normal. I know it's the cause of the problem but it shouldn't be after all my network is running in the 2.4Ghz band and it's a 5.2Ghz. It shouldn't cause problems, but it does. It's base station isn't even located close to any of the wireless equipment.

I don't have a spectrum analyzer for this sort of thing but it would be interesting to see what's going on in the air. I'd bet that the phone while being centered on about 5Ghz is actually making "noise" over a very wide band.

 

[thiggins]

They have a cordless phone that's a 5.2Ghz model and when it's in use the wireless throughput slows way down. It's not knocked off the air or disconnected just slowed down. As soon as the phone is hung back up throughput goes back to normal. I know it's the cause of the problem but it shouldn't be after all my network is running in the 2.4Ghz band and it's a 5.2Ghz. It shouldn't cause problems, but it does. It's base station isn't even located close to any of the wireless equipment.

The phone is the interference. Many "5 GHz" phones also use the 2.4 GHz band. The only guaranteed Wi-Fi safe phones are DECT 6.0, which I've switched to and use an entirely different frequency band.

Invest $99 in a Wi-Spy 2.4i MetaGeek Brings Back $99 Wi-Fi Spectrum Analyzer and you can confirm this.

 

[DaveMcLain]

So does the phone just produce a big block of radiation that's only centered on 5.2Ghz in this case? Would the interference be that much worse if I was using say 802.11a? It seems like it would be totally dead with this phone.


I've seen that $100 metageek tool but I didn't know how detailed the information would be because it would be handy and interesting.

Have you ever done a story on sources of wireless interference? Surprising sources that can cause problems even though they are labeled as being far away frequency wise. This could make a pretty interesting article Tim...

 

[thiggins]

The "5 GHz" phone uses both the 5 GHz band and the 2.4 GHz band. It's not 5 GHz signals that are causing the interference, but 2.4 GHz in-band signals.

Take a look at How To Fix Your Wireless Network - Part 2: Site Surveying.