Linksys WRT54G Wireless Disconnects

Well... unfortantly nothing in that department has changed... One 900Mhz phone and one 2.4G phone, which I had a long time before this problem started. I also had my Bluetooth before this error happened, same with my microwave. Also the wireless drops dont coinside with anything say like using the microwave, or a call coming in, or anything like that.

Sorry, was just a thought.
Make sure especially the 2.4Ghz phone base station is well out of the way.
Another common problem is using the Windows Wireless Zero Configuration service, however that wouldn't affect multiple workstations at the same time.
http://www.overclockers.com/tips1164/

Hopefully somebody els will have more suggestions.
--Rob

Not much you can do besides wrap your place in tinfoil and chicken wire ... ;)

You could get a hold of a 802.11a router & NIC - not many people use those and they're on a totally different frequency.

Try to change the channel selected on the router.
I have positive experience with selecting an other channel with lower number.

LG

yea... if you look at my original post, I have tried switching channels and it didnt work...

One item that did HELP, NOT FIX, but help was along the lines of the Windows Wireless Zero Configuration. I went in and removed ALL wireless from the perferred list except for mine. Then I went in and told windows NOT to connect to non-perferred access points.

This helped reduce the number of times I was dissconnected, but did NOT fix the problem.

I found a very interesting article about this exact topic.
It is free to read at washingtonpost.com.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38700-2004Apr24.html

Here are some key points to the article:

"... when all the college students moved back to Boston, all of these [wireless] access points showed up around me," he said. Soon, his laptop started getting dizzy from all the conflicting networks and began dropping connections.

"he later wrote in a report, arguing that the boom of WiFi hardware sales compared with the available airspace in urban areas will lead this year to a wireless Internet traffic jam that in some places could be worse than the Beltway on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend."

"Traffic jams are at the top of that list: When multiple WiFi access points, the hubs of individual wireless networks, sit near each other, WiFi receivers can see senseless noise instead of a clear data stream. This is what happened at the CeBIT computer trade show in Germany last year, where a maze of overlapping WiFi networks stopped many laptops from getting online"

"The treatment for WiFi interference should be familiar to anybody who has wrestled with an old analog cordless phone: Change the channel. The WiFi standard most people use, called 802.11b in technical jargon, allows for 11 different frequencies, clustered around the 2.4 GHz band.  WiFi experts, however, generally recommend choosing from only three of these channels -- 1, 6 and 11 -- to ensure there's enough room between to avoid interference."

Another related article was at:
http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2004/0816wizards.html

Its key points were:

"Microwave ovens are No. 1.  They provide a pulse form of inference and typically hammer the middle of the Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz band.  When they send their pulses, the majority of consumer ovens occupy 802.11 b/g channels 5, 6 and 7, but they may start their pulse on channels 1 or 11.  

The second biggest interference comes from older continuous wave frequency modulated cordless phones.  These are not the more recent frequency hopping variety.  These continuous wave cordless phones typically occupy channels 0 through 2.  

The third biggest interferers are the frequency hopping spread spectrum cordless phones.  These phones jump all over the 2.4 GHz spectrum. They don't even listen before they talk, and typically cause a large number of Wi-Fi data packets to get trashed.
 
Fourth on the list are Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) cordless phones.  These phones are in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrums, and are a little nicer because both 802.11b/g and 802.11a access points can recognize the traffic and treat it somewhat like another Wi-Fi device.  The catch?  When these phones are handling a call, you can lose half of your bandwidth for the duration of the call.  If you have multiple handsets on a single base station, though, the second remote handset will permanently cut your Wi-Fi bandwidth in half.  

The fifth interferer is typically Bluetooth.  It is minor if you only have one device, but it can become a nuisance if you have several devices all over the house. "

So after all this what I did was run netstumbler again, and this time pay even more attention to what channels the other access points are running around me.
I found that one was running on channel 6 and one was on channel 9.
So I went back into my AP settings and changed mine to 11, since that is the "default" and its not being used. Then I used the feature of netstumbler where you can see a graph and the signal strength along with interference levels. What I found here was my signal strength shows it is running at 100% (it should be since my AP is only 50 feet away) and it showed that there was basically no interference. Then all of a sudden a new AP showed up. This AP shows up randomly and never stays on very long. Its almost like the owner of it just turns it on when he needs to use it and then turns it off. Anyways, when this AP showed up on channel 9 (this is the AP on channel 9 mentioned before, not aother one) my interference levels went up. However when I say they went up, its relative, because before this AP showed up there was no visibal interference on the graph and then with this other AP it was now visible. It was maybe a milimeter. You could barley see it. So with the fact that I am on different channels then the other APs and I barley register any interference, you would think I would be having these issues.
But at last I still am...

i had this problem too but i changed my channel to 1  also try to increase network security  that might help

cf101

Thanks for the comment. I was on channel 1 before I changed back to 11.
I am using WEP, and MAC address filtering.
I also had my SSID not to broadcast but that caused more issues.
When I read some stuff from Microsoft, they said having your SSID not broadcasting "could" cause similar issues, and to just turn it back on to fix them. So I turned my back on, and it didnt happen as much, but it did/does still happen

kdbdallas, good articles, thanks for posting. This is likely why switching off the zero configuration service helped a bit. Still a hard one to resolve in a highly populated area. As pseudocyber  suggested wrap the place in tinfoil. It's not as funny as it sounds. Years ago, I was in the construction industry and we had a project to build a 20 x 20 test room for the military, lined with copper foil which was carefully grounded. It was pricey.

I also heard that there was a special type of wall paint that blocks out radio waves.
Has anyone heard of this? I would be interested in knowing what type (if its real) does that.
I am getting so fed up with this that I am about to go to this extreme. The only problem is that it would block out my cell phone, but crap I get sucky service as it is. I would just have to use a lan line at home, which I would be ok with if my wireless would work (shows how geeky I am, that I care more about the internet!) :-)

Wow, I have to say that I am honestly kind of suprised that the stuff exists.
Thats really cool! Thanks for the links man.

It is "possible" to run cat5, however it would suck...
I use the wireless for my laptop and my wife's laptop
(Yes I am a computer geek/programmer and I am married) :-)
Anyways, so we always use our laptops out in the living room infront of the big ass tv.
So if I was to move the router into the front room, then I could easily run cable but then it strings across the front room floor to the table/cough/our laps on the couch.

So while possible, its not practical.
Hence the reason for WiFi...

>>"I am honestly kind of suprised that the stuff exists."
Did you notice they have foil for the windows too.

>>"I am a computer geek/programmer and I am married) :-)"
That is an accomplishment in itself !    :)

I have never used bluetooth but what about wiring your living space and having a bluetooth transmitter in the living-room area. Has a 30' range, but I hear it is pretty slow. However for Internet access should be fine at a little less than 1mbps.

Yes I did notice that. It rocks!
I already got my wife to ok the stuff if I cant get this issues resolved soon.
(I am rubbing off on her so she is now becoming very internet dependent too)

I am going to go back through your post about the MS Wireless Zero thing, to see if I missed anything, because I noticed when I started Netstumbler it pops up saying its going to turn off the Zero thing. While I was using the program I didnt get dissconnected (now that could be just being lucky, but what do I have to lose besides like a half hour)

Good luck with it. I know it can be frustrating.
--Rob

VERY frustrating...
I just tried turning off the Windows Wireless Zero Configuration service.
The only difference that it made was once my connection dropped it did not connect to the other availble network and when I try to look for my AP it says I cant use the normal MS XP tools to reconnect. Therefore I was forced to turn it back on, since at least with it on, it will reconnect and let me see other possible availble networks. I just might have to order some of that paint.... I wonder what my land lord would say... I normally wouldnt care since you would never see them again, but mine is my father! He doesnt own the place, just manages it, so once I move and someone else moves in and starts getting mad about their cell phone not working.... I have to deal with my dad. hahaha. Anyone know anything about this paint? Once you paint it on, how do you ever get it off if you decide you dont want it anymore? Having to sand down every wall sure would suck.

Everyone knows cell phones are finicky right ! Who would suspect paint. <G>
It's acrylic latex. You would have to coat the walls with oil paint, then prime with good latex primer (regular latex paint doesn't bond to oil) then paint with the special shielding paint. Down the road, theoretically, you could soak the wall to soften the latex paint and scrape it off, and the water wouldn't soak through the oil. GOOD LUCK, basically once it is on it is staying on.

Here is something that you might want to try.

http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/band_pass_filters.php

If you look at the chart on the bottom of the page it will show you how the channels play out. There is quite a bit of overlap per channel and the devices look at the center frequency for the channel. The filters may be easier than painting. You may also be getting interference from someone with a ham radio that is nearby (sometimes will throw off mutliple harmonics and sidebands). I have also seen flourescent lights give off interference when the ballasts are starting to go bad or the bulbs are not in tight. If this signal you have found with netstumbler comes up around the time you are having the problem - I would try to track it down.

OK maybe I am dumb but I just dont get it....
What is it exactly, and how does it work?
Where do you put it?
Where do you connect it?
How does it work exactly?
What is the difference between the 4 and 8 pole versions?

The answers to all your questions are at the bottom of the page ;)

Basically it will only allow whatever channel (whichever you choose) to get through to your router and only let just the channel out (in case the router transmitter is getting 'noisy'). You would remove the antenna off the back of the router and connect this unit between the antenna and the router (I don't know if it comes with a cable to do this or if you need to get one seperately) You can also use a power amplified external antenna with one of these. You may also want to try to get the manufacturers wireless utility for your particular card. The 'zero config' stuff is too easy for Windows to become confused if there are more than one AP in the area, especially if you move the laptop nearer to it than your router. The 'zero config' will tend to try to lock the strongest signal which may not be yours. Then the connection will drop while it tries to connect, then when it times out you can usually connect again. Usually with the utility you can 'hard code' your settings as far as the AP you have and it will not try to connect to another one with a stronger signal. This problem is sometimes a tough nut to crack. Is it interference that is causing it or the computer trying to connect to another AP? Is there a certain spot in the house it happens more often, time of day, internal interference, external interference, is there any noise heard somewhere when it happens, etc. It is also possible that another router may work better in your situation.

The issue I see with this is that this filters out the interference to the router, however I do not know if the interference is an issue at the router side or at the machine side.
I think it is at the machine side most of the time since half the time my machine gets dissconnected other machines are still connected (they go down at times when my machine does not go down) however 50% of the time they all go down at the same time.

Is there a way to figure out if the interference is an issue at the router end or the machine end?

Also is there any way I can figure out where a signal is coming from?
I DONTmean the EXACT spot, but it would be nice to know what wall(s) in my house the other signals are coming through, that way if I do use the above mentioned paint, I can paint only certain walls/doors to help kill the signal instead of painting my entire house.

Thanks.

Tracking it down if is not another AP 'cutting in' will be difficult. You could leave your laptp in a stationary place for awhile and see if there is a place in the house that is doesn't do it as often or at all. If it is another wireless computer or router that may be knocking you off, you can see the signal strength with your wireless utility and basically 'home' in on it. If it is just radion interference, you would need a spectrum analyzer to see what frequencies are there and then wait to see if any show up in the frequencies for your wireless channel when your connection goes down. If it is a sporadic frequency that is causing it - catching it is half the battle. Once you have found it, then you have to find the source. It is a slow process. I have had to do this to isolate interferance to certain channels on my system, then find the source. It can be anything from a cordless phone to a power transformer going bad or having a bad ground (very sporadic bursts that cover a wide band of frequencies). I have literally spent a few weeks tracking a noise source down, you will track it so far and then it disappears - when it comes back you go a little further. Using triangulation once you find it is the best way to get you close, but it has to be on long enough to get a directional fix on it from at least two directions. The bottom line is there is no easy way to solve this. It could even be power fluctuations in your AC outlet making the router do weird things.