extending range/boosting power on netgear prosafe 3205

[beaverstate]

hello, I am having trouble getting a good signal at 80 feet window to window. I live in the middle of 80 acres so no need for security or worry about other signals, cell phones or cordless phones. Its a straight line of sight. Had a netgear 3400? (had stupid blinking blue ball) .Netgear claims "180' through 2 interior walls and an exterior wall down street in San Jose Ca....streaming 720 vidieo".....they obviously lied their corporate butts off. I was told by them i have too much interference from satellite radio transmissions.....right..
I guess the guy in the Philippines didn't realize I am only 350 miles from SJ,CA so we would have similar satellite reception.
I got a Netgear Prosafe srxn3205 as it is supposed to have great range....its the same as the 3400 pos....
I want to turn up the output power for a better signal. Netgear wont tell me how to do it, but wants to sell me a hi gain antenna for $200....

I know of a few coffee houses that I can receive 5 bars from 3-4 blocks away in town, why cant I get that here?

 

[thiggins]

Is there any solar tinting on your windows? That is metallized and can kill your signal.

 

[stevech]

I want to turn up the output power for a better signal. Netgear wont tell me how to do it, but wants to sell me a hi gain antenna for $200....I know of a few coffee houses that I can receive 5 bars from 3-4 blocks away in town, why cant I get that here?

what's the client device? PC? What is the nature of its antenna and position? And its power? WiFi is a two-way medium!

 

[beaverstate]

no window tinting, opening window makes no difference nor does removing screens. I have 2 hp laptops w/g wifi, tried n converter as well, also have ps3 ...they all get about the same signal, 2 bars at best on a clear day. If you carry laptop twenty feet towards building w/router, you get 5 bars....just need a bit more power.....

 

[stevech]

no window tinting, opening window makes no difference nor does removing screens. I have 2 hp laptops w/g wifi, tried n converter as well, also have ps3 ...they all get about the same signal, 2 bars at best on a clear day. If you carry laptop twenty feet towards building w/router, you get 5 bars....just need a bit more power.....

More power FROM the router to the laptops when not near window won't cure the problem mentioned above. The transmitted power FROM the laptops TO the router will become the limitation; the weakest link. Like a rock band's PA- you hear them but not vice-versa.

A patch antenna on the router will help BOTH the router AND the laptops' signals.

Less desirable, a WDS repeater near the window at the laptop end.

 

[beaverstate]

I tried a repeater but it had problems loosing signal between it and the router. How come coffee chops can get such long range....I figured(incorrectly) that if you had a comercial or businedd router it probalby had more power...doesnt make sense to me.

 

[stevech]

More power FROM the router to the laptops when not near window won't cure the problem mentioned above. The transmitted power FROM the laptops TO the router will become the limitation; the weakest link. Like a rock band's PA- you hear them but not vice-versa.

It's all about antenna location and minimizing walls and other obstructions. WiFi above the ceiling tiles is great, in that these are RF transparent. Fire codes permitting (plenum rated devices and cable)

 

[beaverstate]

I can get a hi gain antenna but of course, netgear wants $120-$200 for $.05 of plastic and wire....if it doesnt work (like everything else they sold me) as advertised, I am out yet more with no signal.

My laptop will work farther than the router now, I still believe that its just netgear making false claims and a crappy product.

How hard can it be to get good wireless signal 100' with no obstructions? Whats the point of wireless if it wont work an farther than an extension cord in my yard?

I think its time to throw my $400 netgear router collection in the trash and go rent a trencher.

 

[stevech]

shouldn't need an improved antenna on router to get good signal 100' line of sight. "Good" at 100' would mean achieving an air link rate of 24Mbps or more.

Lots of vendors for antennas on the web.

 

[beaverstate]

thats what I thought, whats 100'? Thats why I think the netgear routers are junk as neither will go the distance but both have stupidly exaggerated performance by the manufacturer.....285' in down town San Jose Ca(the home of radio interference) ....also the have the worst customer service on this planet! Will probably just trench a wire acros the yard and get a real signal. imho netgear blows !

 

[stevech]

Netgear's QA is at the bottom of my list. But I doubt their customer support is any worse that the other consumer WiFi gear. The good news is there's lots of competition. The bad news is this causes teeny profit margins and thus crummy customer relations. Same for most PCs.

 

[beaverstate]

I have talked to hp tech support which is pretty lame but NOTHING compares to netgear....their answer to everything is "radio interference from satellite"....must be a popular theory in the Philippines. Nothing like talking to a "tech support" moron that knows less about wireless than my dog. At least my dog speaks English! I have decided rather than spend $200 on another worthless netgear device(antenna), I will spend the money renting a trencher and put in an ethernet cable to the house....screw netloosers and their lame butt crap.

Now that I have the prosafe, I get to talk to "business" support which is better but like I asked them, " I bought my kid two way walkie talkies for $29 that work for 1/2 mile, what the hells wrong with your product"

By the way, I would bet lots of cash that Netgear doesnt pay more than $30-40 for the 3400 router which retails for $120-$140.....thats a large enough margin to hire some actual intelligent help!

 

[stevech]

For a proposal in my job, I spent like 3 hours on the phone with Netgear trying to get to a professional products sales engineer. It was THE most frustrating and time consuming vendor call I ever made.

Their entire customer facing web/phone system is hard-wired for consumers. They have no clue how to address a professional customer.

They like D-Link and so on are in the business of selling consumables.