[Dokter_doug]

I've just removed my ehternet cabling and set up a wireless home network, with the ultimate goal of using one of the Slim Devices products to play flac files through my home soundsystem. I'm using a d-link DI 624 router. My laptop which sit 10 inches from the router registers a signal strength of "low" as does my PC which sits 5 feet away from the router. I am told that the type of router I use will make no difference to this reading and that this inexpensive router is just as good as more expensive ones (with more than 1 antenna etc.). Is this true? And can anyone tell me why a computer 10 inches from the router reads the signal strength as "low"?

Thank you.

Doug

[wafermadness]

What a coincidence!!!

I just REMOVED that DI-624 D-Link wireless box of crap from my system because I could not get proper connectivity on and off for the past 6 months. The firmware upgrades are a waste of time, never again. I won't even bother to find my receipt and try for a warranty replacement....as far as I am concerned, D-Link blew it.

Gonna try something else, if it sucks, going "hardwired" like I originally wanted to.

This is what happens when da wife got involved and didn't want any "holes" drilled......like painless Dentistry....

Sorry, I cannot offer any helpfull advice, just wish I had "googled"  DI-624 before I bought it and read all the negative comments about it!

Best of Luck
Igor

[zane9]

...I am told that the type of router I use will make no difference to this reading and that this inexpensive router is just as good as more expensive ones (with more than 1 antenna etc.). Is this true? And can anyone tell me why a computer 10 inches from the router reads the signal strength as "low"?

Doug, I have not owned the d-link, but have much experience with other wifi routers - -from Linksys and Netgear through to big-iron commercial-grade products. At the distances you describe, all routers should show a signal strength of "excellent" (as long as there is no interference on the signal path, highly unlikely in the scenario you describe).

I suggest you power down the router, power down all PCs, then power up the router and then power up the PCs. If you still get the same signal strength, then d/l and install Net Stumbler (www. netstumbler.com), which will let you see the signal-noise ratio from the radio portion of the d-link.

It's hard to say if the router is defective, but my intuition says it is not. Be sure to check the seating of the antennas.

Let us know the outcomes of a re-boot, and we'll go from there.

[Bemopti123]

I have had good luck with my NetGear Range Max router, which replaced my Apple Airport Extreme (it clashed with Cable Web settings.)  Have 3 comps wirelessly connected and have not dropped signal ever since its installation (2 weeks ago.)  Other routers that seem to be good are the Belkin ones.  I have read extensively about Linsys issues...But no manufacturer is ever 100% without problems, this is especially more true looking at the amount of units that they ship.

[accentstryping]

  I went through the wireless router fiasco about 4 mo. ago.    My home was built in 1919 and the walls are all plaster/lathe and innumerable coats over the years of LEAD paint.
   That said I tried e'm all, Dlink,Netgear and Belkin and multiples of each all  except the Apple Airport ($200+)   save yourself the trouble !!!
      THE only one that allowed me to sit on the porch and surf   aa was the AIRLINK 101   :thumb:and it just so happens to be the cheapest and easiest to setup. End of story, and it regularly sells for $19.95 @ Frys.
       Another nice touch is the fact that the antennas ? are removable and you can run coax and outboard mount your antenna anywhere you want 

                                                                                                 

[jhenderson010759]

The Belkin Pre-N Wireless MIMO Router has provided the best range and performance of any router I've ever used in my house.  My previous D-Link and Linksys 802.11g gear is gathering dust in the garage.   

[mca]

THE only one that allowed me to sit on the porch and surf   aa was the AIRLINK 101   :thumb:and it just so happens to be the cheapest and easiest to setup. End of story, and it regularly sells for $19.95 @ Frys.

What model did you buy? There are a couple listed on their site.

[jakepunk]

The D-Link DI-624 is junk.  Get a new router.  I like the Linksys WRT54G Ver.4.  Ver.5 had buggy firmware.

[Dokter_doug]

Thanks for the replies folks. I suspect there's a new router in my future.

Doug

[Ferdi]

Let me add to the noise:

I have a large house and am using 3 wireless access points:

Apple Airport Extreme; This is the unit I started with and is still very useful as it also does print-server duties.
Apple Airport Express; Used downstairs
Linksys WRT54GL v1.1; Supposed to be same build as WRT54Gv4 and using it with DD-WRT, mainly to play

All work well at what they intend to do

[datman]

I second the Belkin Pre N MIMO Router.  I have replaced both Linksys and a Netgear routers with the Belkin with tremendous success.  The Belkin far outdistances the other Routers and is rock solid stable.

[Thump553]

I owned that same D-Link router briefly and absolutely hated it.  Fortunately Best Buy took the turkey back.

I'm using a Linksys router now with the router in the basement and the Slimserver on the first floor, almost diagonally opposite on the floor plan.  Reception is adequate/fair.  I've installed third party software to my router and boosted it's power to the max with little appreciatable effect.  Reception seems to be the worst in humid or stormy weather. 

I can get wired access to where my stereo is and I may go that route (one of my many to-do projects).

[AphileEarlyAdopter]

I have a Netgear WPN824 which seems to do well in the 'competitive' situation in my neighborhood - there were 5 networks around my home. Earlier, my MS router failed to deliver good strength to my Squeezebox, diagonally opposite but on the lower floor in my 1800 sq.ft home.

[DSK]

I've also been having great success with my Netgear WPN824 for my SB2 and wife's laptop... not a single glitch since I installed it (about 10 months ago). FWIW Wayne (Bolder Cables) also uses this model.