[Doublej]

Don_S

A couple of questions/suggestions.

What music server are you using?

Do you have the latest firmware on the router and music server? If not you may want to upgrade the firmware on each. I would start with the music server and see if it makes any difference.

Do you know if the music server has a jack for an external antenna?

Who is your internet service provider?

Not all wireless G or N servers have the same range. They all operate on the same frequency band but each design is unique. It's like FM tuners. They all operate on the same band but some are better than others.

You may want to read this. I think it well summarizes the stuff folks have mentioned in this thread.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/setup/wirelesstips.aspx

 

[rahimlee54]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833998041&cm_re=router_antenna-_-33-998-041-_-Product

Haven't read the whole thread just skimmed, but has anyone mentioned that ^^^.  It could alleviate the whole situation.  You can also get a router that can support tomato or ddwrt and just turn up the power to the antennas.  I can go a couple blocks from the house and still ping my router with tomato.  Been running rock solid for 3 years.

[Don_S]

The Rosewill antenna and the one on my server appear to have the same size connector so I could swap them. I read the user reviews and found it disappointing how many duds there were. 

I am going to see if my "tech support" can flash my router based upon the recommendations posted above and put a turbocharger and nitrous on it. If he does not want to flash it then we will at least update the firmware. If we blow it up then I can buy a new router guilt free.  I found the Netgear router allegedly in stock at a local Fry's.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833998041&cm_re=router_antenna-_-33-998-041-_-Product

Haven't read the whole thread just skimmed, but has anyone mentioned that ^^^.  It could alleviate the whole situation.  You can also get a router that can support tomato or ddwrt and just turn up the power to the antennas.  I can go a couple blocks from the house and still ping my router with tomato.  Been running rock solid for 3 years.

[Don_S]

Is this what I have been looking for? My router is a WRT54G.  Could I put the WAP in the middle of my home (I have the perfect spot for it) and connect my server to it without a wire?


Setting up a WAP54G as a wireless repeater with a WRT54G:

http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=231


Update:  Just noticed 48/197 Amazon customers gave it one star.  I think that is because the Amazon rating system does not allow zero stars.    Very sad and even more scary.

[srb]

Is this what I have been looking for? My router is a WRT54G.  Could I put the WAP in the middle of my home (I have the perfect spot for it) and connect my server to it without a wire?

That may work for you.  For some people it works great, for others not so much.  The speed through a wirelessly connected WAP will generally be cut in half, but that probably wouldn't be a problem if the main use for it is to stream from a music server.  If you wanted to be able to "roam" with a laptop, you would want the same SSID and security for both the main router and WAP, but again, if it is just to enable connection to the music server, they could be different.
 
You might want to read some varied user experiences from these Amazon reviews.  http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-WAP54G-Wireless-G-Access-Point/dp/B00007KDVJ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
 
Steve

[Don_S]

Steve,

I just edited my post.  I was reading the reviews while you were typing your response.

I think the best bet is a new router and hope for the best. 

[Jon L]

The Rosewill antenna and the one on my server appear to have the same size connector

Just make sure both your gear and the antenna have same connector, SMA vs. TNC usually.  SMA will usually fit D-Link routers and TNC Linksys routers.  It's also usually much more important to have a dongle so antenna can be placed where reception is better than size or gain.

Also antennae are very hit and miss and bigger isn't always better.  For example, a smaller 5 dBi Primiertek antenna is giving me much better speeds than a gigantic generic 9 dBi antenna from Amazon.