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Re: Is there A New Thing That can Interfere With My WIFI ?

OK, this has happened to three of these laptops so I will temporsrily rule out a

>hardware failure > >It says "Windows cannot find any networks". The problem is intermittent and can happen >again in five minutes or five days. > >As this is happening I am remembering something from the past. We bought a cordless >camera and set it up and the cordless phones in the house would no longer work, unless >you were within inches of the base. This leads me to believe it is some sort of >interference. We are taliking three laptops here, and the problem is getting worse. And >thsat is cannot find ANY networks means the wifi in the house is probably not going bad, >or it would have found the other ones in the neighborhood. > >I do not have a spectrum analyzer, but I do have an old YV woith a UHf band if that would help.

See if you can find a WiFi scanning-and-analysis application which works with your variety of Windows and your particular WiFi card. They're sometimes called "site analysis" programs.

Depending on the WiFi adapter, it may be able to read out the noise level on each of the (overlapping) WiFi channels, as well as any actual signals it finds.

Microwave ovens emit RF in the same ISM band that WiFi B/G use (2.4 GHz). So do many other devices, including many cordless phones.

Reply to
Dave Platt
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Doesn't work with Wi-Fi. I've tried it. Two problems:

  1. The tuna doesn't tune the required frequency range: RTL2832U / E4000 64 to 1700MHz with a gap 1100 to 1250MHz RTL2832U / R820T 24 to optimistically 1850MHz There are other chip combinations, but I don't think any of them will tune up to 2500MHz.

  1. The maxiumum RX bandwidth is 3.5Mhz. The typical wi-fi signal is

25MHz wide with an option to go to 40MHz. You can try to asynchronously sweep the larger frequency range, but the display will be slow and ugly.

There are 2.4GHz RTL-SDR spectrum analyzers that do cover the range using a modified DirecTV upconverter: No experience with this, but it looks promising.

You can do better with a converted wireless mouse dongle: I have the original Wi-Spy dongle. Works ok, but is not terribly sensitive.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Before I spend any money, I'd go to the playstore and put wifi analyzer on an android device. Might be all you need...maybe...depends.

Reply to
mike

Hardly. The three laptops have one thing in common. They're all talking to the same router. Your unspecified model router might be a problem.

Ok, it might some kind of interference, probably being picked up by your wireless router. Move it away from the window and put it behind a wall that keeps your neighbors RF junk from trashing your wi-fi. So far, the most common and obnoxious sources of interference have been wireless video security cameras and wireless streaming media players. You'll see the media player on a wi-fi sniffer, but the video cameras require a spectrum analyzer. The most common "disconnect" or "can't connect" problem is out of date firmware on the router.

As "Mike" suggested, sniff around with an Android phone or tablet running "Wi-Fi Analyzer":

Here's a list of possible interference sources which I helped scribble many years ago: The list is old so none of the modern abominations are listed (media players, wireless TV cameras, portable hot-spots).

CAT5e is usually faster and certainly more reliable than wireless.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Hardly. The three laptops have one thing in common. They're all talking to the same router. Your unspecified model router might be a problem."

''well then that running out is even more temporary. The old router had a g ood wireless signal, and I had a problem with he interior net, but it would lose the DSL and thus the internet. Howeveer I went hunting around what th ese Women hooked up and it was quite possible there was a DSL filter in lin e with the MODEM. This would of course result in a low signal. But not RF. This is RF, I lose the whole network.

I might just pick me up some CAT5 cables and be done with it. Nobody but me is using the RF, so maybe just shut the shit off.

Cheapest I found CAT 5s was online for like five bucks. At this point I nee d two of them. They are probably three times that much locally. Maybe I got some of that Yid blood because I really do not want to pay $30 for what I can get for $10.

Not to forget I need like about 75 foot of it.

This is not that much fun. The house has hardwood floors so any drilling is at the corners. I wish I was at MY house where I could just drop a drill w herever I damnwell please. Someone kill me.

Maybe I just go back to wire.

Reply to
jurb6006

Microwave ovens knock my connection *clean* out, even if the oven is 3 times further away than the 'puter from the wireless router. The screening they use in modern ovens is obviously not very effective. Perhaps the OP has a new neighbour moved in with a uWave?

Reply to
Cursitor Doom

Always amazes me how they put xGhz through CAT5 over *long* runs with negligible loss. But TX line theory was never my strong point and I really should brush-up on it.

Reply to
Cursitor Doom

Our neighbors just installed one of the wire-free security systems in their house, after which WiFi on that end of the house ceased to work, full stop . For $22 from Amazon, we purchased a 'signal booster' that solved the prob lem quickly and easily. Our neighbors offered to pay for it, but we decline d. They are very good neighbors, and we needed to do something anyway as th e distance from one end of the house to the other is just under 60 feet. Ad d 11 feet floor-to-floor, and it adds up. Put another way, the west side of our house is closer to our neighbor than to our WiFi device.

But, it could be something as simple as that - a system nearby that is step ping on your network. And, that can be anything from a Roomba to a Nest the rmostat - or one of the new wireless security systems.

Our very-vintage desktop is hard-wired and has no issues at all. The rest o f the devices (cell phones, laptop and tablets) are WiFi, and fine, now, wi th the booster.

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One of these.

Sometimes, one has to quit whining and get with the program.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
pfjw

Cat5 doesn't work that well with 1000Base-T Minimum requirement is Cat5e or better.

The "big thing" with the faster cables is the specified slightly different "twists per inch" of the pairs to cut down on the amount of cross talk between pairs.

More on twisted pair in general:

Information like this, however, is wasted on jurb6006 because he already knows everything about everything. Until he doesn't. Then his solution is to put a bullet in it, or blame the government.

--
Jeff-1.0 
wa6fwi 
http://www.foxsmercantile.com
Reply to
Foxs Mercantile

Mpffff... we just got back from a tour of Cuba (mostly Havana), and after e xperiencing "High Tech" there, such complaints as I see here are laughable. We got 'internet' in the morning from about 7:00 am to about 9:00 am, whe n the bandwidth was sucked up by 'official' uses such as government and sch ools. Downloading a single page took perhaps an hour, and uploading - well, forget it. Cell coverage (ATT/Verizon/T-Mobile) was excellent, however. Bu t at $3 per minute for phone, and $0.50 per outgoing or incoming text. But, one could purchase a SIM Card for about $10 CUC to solve that. We left our devices on Airplane Mode and enjoyed the quiet.

Yes, we did ride in several 1950s Taxis. One, a Buick with a Mercedes drive

-train, the other a Ford with a Mitsubishi drive-train (both diesel). And, the rum, of course.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
pfjw

(snip) I would try doing an RF search with NetStumbler software, or InSSIDer, or both.

Reply to
Wond

lol it's funny because it's' true

Reply to
bitrex

Maybe he should just spray everything with WD-40.

--
Jeff-1.0 
wa6fwi 
http://www.foxsmercantile.com
Reply to
Foxs Mercantile

Better yet, Sherwin Williams:

Reply to
bitrex

Are you allergic to supplying equipment makers names and model numbers? It's really difficult to visualize your problem without that information. Also, some routers have a reputationg for flaky connections, such most everything Comcast calls a "gateway".

The DSL filter has nothing to do with the wi-fi connection.

Whatever works for you.

You don't know the first thing about being a Jewish negotiator. Around here CAT5e can be found by the roll at the recyclers. The building installers dump their surplus stock after each job. Typical is about $0.05 to $0.10 per foot. However, I have to be careful so that I don't end up with plenum cable, waterproof cable filled with sticky goo, or shielded which never seems to fit the connectors. Caveat Emptor.

Buy 100ft. Having extra cable is always better than too short. Measure twice, cut once. In your case, maybe measure 5 times.

Temporarily remove the baseboard trim near where you want the cable to go through the floor. Drill as close to the wall as possible. Use a drill that is much longer than you probably own so that you can go through a floor joist if necessary. Notch the back of the baseboard trim and run the cable up to a "muffin" jack (box with RJ45 receptacle). Replace baseboard trim.

There are also HomePlug adapters. Figure on about $80/pair. I use these when I'm either desperate or lazy. They work but are a problem if the wall jacks are on two different phases.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Nope. The "filter" puts the line pair straight through to the router. What it is filtering is the voice frequencies for the phone.

Do it. It'll fix your problem for sure.

f*ck's sake. Buy a 305ft reel, run the cable and terminate it yourself. it isn't hard.

Or an abacus.

--
 (\_/) 
(='.'=)  "Between two evils, I always pick 
(")_(")   the one I never tried before."  - Mae West
Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

I guess he lives in one of the redneck states.

--
 (\_/) 
(='.'=)  "Between two evils, I always pick 
(")_(")   the one I never tried before."  - Mae West
Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

Fixed that for you (but it's a commie weapon!!)

--
 (\_/) 
(='.'=)  "Between two evils, I always pick 
(")_(")   the one I never tried before."  - Mae West
Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

Unfortunately "redneck states" don't have a lock on stupid. It's everywhere.

--
Jeff-1.0 
wa6fwi 
http://www.foxsmercantile.com
Reply to
Foxs Mercantile

But...It's real popular with "real 'murkins" 'cause the gubmint hates 'em.

--
Jeff-1.0 
wa6fwi 
http://www.foxsmercantile.com
Reply to
Foxs Mercantile

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