We have Telstra broadband with a Motorola Surfboard SBG900 wireless modem and a NetGear WG111 usb modem on my computer at the other end of the house (11 metres away). I gather this is a pretty standard installation. The connection however, keeps dropping out (at the worst possible time I might add, like typing a reply to IIS and then hit reply, the back button returns an empty message box
).
We have contacted Telstra, and after a number of calls they replaced the Motorolla modem. At one stage when the connection was off, I took my laptop into the same room as the modem and could not get a connection, which I believe prooved it was this part of the connection. Well, a month ago the new modem arrived and I installed it. After some mucking around to get the WEP key the same it was working again. But now I am not so sure that the previous one didn't work better
. The connection still drops out...sometimes it comes back in a few seconds, other times you have to unplug the modem and plug it back in, only to have it die again a minute later
The first call from Telstra suggested we turn the modem off when not using it! It does not have a power switch, so I didn't think this was required. The modem sits on top of a book case with nothing around it, so it should not overheat. We tried this, and the connection does not seem any better just after the modem is turned on (surprise, surprise, of course it is not as hot in Melbourne as Mumbai
).
The NetGear modem is plugged into a 3m extension cord so it can be placed up quite high and should be in direct sight of the Motorola. Originally it was plugged into the back of the computer, but it rarely worked (except of course when the guy installed it
).
I should point out that between the two modems there are three brick walls, so this should not affect the performance...oh, and our gym
. The height of the two modems should place them above the metal in the home gym, if I put them lower, the signal cuts out. Both modems sit about 2m above the floor.
Can I do something to improve reception? I have the modem on my computer as close to the transmitter as I can, short of setting up inside a cupboard. The transmitter is on the "far" wall but the cables would not be long enough to move to the "near" wall to save 2m in distance. Would wrapping some wire around the stub antenna on the transmitter help? Maybe put them even higher? Is there a different reciever I could try that is more sensitive?