[kwlug-disc] Extending WiFi Range

[jvj at golden.net]

All

I have skimmed through the emails in this thread and am impressed
and intrigued by the depth of the knowledge on this issue.
However, for
some of the newbies in the group/list I will mention a possible common
error in the premise of the OP's original post.

The OP starts out with
"WiFi reception in my house ...".

And herein in the error. (Or maybe
not. )

As with cell phones many use the term "reception" when referring
to performance the device, e.g. cell phone, notebook, laptop, etc. They
forget that there may be "reception" issues a the other end whether the
other end is a wifi router or cell tower. The device is, after all, a
two way instrument, both an RF receiver and a RF transmitter. RF signals
are transmitted from the device and are received at the wifi router or
cell tower.

Efforts to increase the RF transmission signal strength at
the wifi router to "increase range" will not address any problems of RF
transmission at the device.

There have been some good suggestions that
may address issues with the two-way RF transmission/reception. One or
more contributors mentioned relocating the router (with its antennae)
and/or addressing any impediments in the environment which may serve to
attenuate RF signals. At least one contributor mentioned repeaters or
mesh networks.

I will guess that there is not really much anyone can do
with software in the wifi router to improve the two-way RF
transmission/reception in the router or device for that matter. The RF
modulation/demodulation is performed in the chip set and this may be
locked into the chip set. Of course, chip set drivers may be available
and may help.

John Johnson
With apologies to the
OP.

-------------------------
SUBJECT: [kwlug-disc] Extending WiFi
Range
DATE: Wed, 29 Mar 2017 19:29:33 -0400
FROM: Khalid Baheyeldin 
TO:
KWLUG discussion 
REPLY-TO: kb at 2bits.com, KWLUG discussion 

WiFi
reception in my house, using the OpenWRT powered D-Link DIR-835, is
generally adequate, but could be better in some spots. Reception is
intermittent in the backyard, where I am pondering a project that would
need it. Perhaps the basement's concrete is interfering?

I like OpenWRT
and plan to stay with it. Also the router itself has lots of storage
(flash) and RAM, so will be here for the future. It is in the basement,
near the cable modem, and other equipment, and connected to the UPS in
there. 

Moving it to the main floor is not likely since it would
involve finding a power outlet and running Ethernet, as well as losing
the UPS connection.

 So, my questions are:

 1. What does one do in
this case? Do you buy another router, possibly one capable of running
OpenWRT and turn off the router features, and keep it only as a WiFi
hotspot and put it near the spots where good reception is needed?

2. If
so, what are good routers that you tried this on?

3. How did you turn
off OpenWRT routing ...etc. on it?

4. Does the new WiFi hotspot have
its own SSID or can it use the same SSID as the main router?

Any other
thoughts/ideas welcome. 
-- 

Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com [1],
Inc.
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Links:
------
[1] http://2bits.com
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