I have my wireless network composed by a Linksys WRT54G v7 router and a WPC54G cardbus wireless network adapter. The signal received by the wireless adapter is not so good (the wireless network monitor says it sees a signal of 40-50% with a quality of 35-40%) even if the router and adapter are in the same room with a clean line of sight. As soon as I try to move in another room with at least a wall between the two devices, the signal decrease significantly with a total loss of contact with the router. I thougth to find a control the emitting power of the router to improve the signal but I didn't. How can I avoid the loss of the signal? Can I pump the power up?
Wish I knew, but nobody seems to.... http://www.linksysinfo.org/portal/forums/showthread.php?t=47411 http://www.linksysinfo.org/portal/forums/showthread.php?t=48012
Not sure if custom firmware for WRT54G v7 exists just yet (check out DD-WRT) but you will need one to adjust signal strength on the router. Have you tried switching to another channel on the router? The problem could be caused by radio interference.
The release 7 of the firmware is pointed out by the pages of the web configuration and by a little label under the chassis. I try to switch over the available channels and the best signal strength I can get is the precentage written in the previous post, but I don't know the level in dBm.
The little v7 label under the casing refers to the router hardware version, which is different from the actual firmware (software) version running on the router. In general, custom (non Linksys released) firmware is available for v1 to v4 (hardware) of WRT54G and for WRT54GL, and token support for WRT54G v5 from DD-WRT.
The WPC54G/S seems to have a crappy built-in antenna IMHO. I tested my WPC54GS against other cards, and both its send and receive range is maybe half that of other adapters. The router is not the problem, and pumping up the router's power (if possible) will only make the router reach the card - the card still won't reach the router.
I haven't noticed a problem with my WPC54G - reception at 100ft away from the router without problem - weaker signal strengths notwithstanding, but only slightly worse than my *Centrino* adapter due to the built-in antenna behind the LCD screen for the latter.
