Need help for wireless network.....

[JayStPeter]

Anyone have problems with cordless phones killing the wireless connections? Any solutions (aside from replacing my phone with one on a different band)?

Thanks,

Jay

[Jim Becker]

Anyone have problems with cordless phones killing the wireless connections? Any solutions (aside from replacing my phone with one on a different band)?

I was actually worried about this when I first started using wireless, but have not had an issue with the Panasonic multi-line, multi-handset 2.4ghz phone system I put in the house about four years ago. If your phone setup is killing your wireless connection, you can try a 5ghz phone or switch to 802.11a wireless, which also runs at 5ghz. The latter tends to have a little less range than 802.11b/g, however, and is more affected by environmentals, such as building materials. (The reason I have to run two access points is due to the wire lathe behind the plaster in the 250 year old portion of our home...it attenuates the signal big-time to the other end of the house)

[Brian Hale]

I've heard the 2.4ghz phones can mess with the wireless. AFAIK, a different bandwidth is the only solution.....

I could be wrong here.... just passing along what i've heard

Brian

[JayStPeter]

Currently I have Linksys 802.11g and a Panasonic cordless 2.4G phone. The phone is multi-line and built in answering, so I'd rather not have to spend the cash replacing it. But, about every 5th call, the wireless just dies when the phone is used. Very aggrivating to say the least.

Jay

[Brian Hale]

Does the wireless cut out when the phone rings or when you use the phone? Perhaps a cheap phone on another freq. on the same line could be used for general conversations....

Just spitballing.........

Brian

[Dan Mages]

Brian,


I am building a house in the spring. I am very excited EXCEPT no DSL, no cable. So far (becase of my job its free) I had been considering going wireless (GSM/edge) it wouldnt be nearly as fast or efficient as broadband.

I woudl also consier Directway. How has your experience been? Was the upfront $$$ big? How are the speeds?

Thanks for any info.

Good Morning Jeremy. I HIGHLY reccomend running CAT-5 or CAT-6 (a higher rate cable) in your new house. It is very similar to running telephone lines except that you want to home run the wires to a central location like a den or a basement. On the higher end side, you can wire your house wit a structured wiring system. This will give you a wire bundle of two CAT-5 or 6, two coax, and the option for rough wiring fiber optics. The wire bundles are run to a central panel which gives you amazing flexibility for sharing resources throughout your house. I used www.futuresmart.com for my house.

Jim has done a great job covering the questions on networking. I also want to reccomend Linksys for home networking. I also want to reccomend some security items to set up on your network. This will help prevent hackers from getting into your system.

1. Change your sys admin password!!! mine is 28 characters long, both letters and numbers with a mixture of upper and lower case letters. The longer and more complicated, the harder it will be to hack.
3. Change the SSID on your network and disable the SSID broadcast on your network.
4. Enable MAC address filtering. This is not as effective in keeping out hackers, but it gives them another layer of fustration.
5. Enable WPA encryption with a temporal key. Make the key as long as possible with a combo of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and punctuations.

If you have problems with cordless phones, try changing the channel on your router. That may help eliminate the interferance.

3 bits (adjusted for inflation)

Dan

[Jim Becker]

Currently I have Linksys 802.11g and a Panasonic cordless 2.4G phone. The phone is multi-line and built in answering, so I'd rather not have to spend the cash replacing it. But, about every 5th call, the wireless just dies when the phone is used. Very aggrivating to say the least.

Sounds like my setup is similar...I have the Panasonic 2 line (there is a 4 line version that I didn't opt for) and both a Linksys 802.11g AP/FW as well as an Orinoco 802.11b AP. No problems with interference outside of the "house environmentals I previously mentioned. Try changing the channel on the AP to see if you get better results.

[JayStPeter]

Does the wireless cut out when the phone rings or when you use the phone? Perhaps a cheap phone on another freq. on the same line could be used for general conversations....

Just spitballing.........

Brian

It's hard to tell exactly when it cuts out. But, I was thinking about putting a cheap phone out and using the base of that one just for an answering machine. Our 2nd phone, also a 2.4G (but a GE), never has a problem. So, when I'm working on something important, I bring that handset down and stash the other in a drawer.

Try changing the channel on the AP to see if you get better results.

I've changed the channel once with no luck. But, I'll definitely try at least a few more channels before I resort to throwing money at the problem.

Thanks for the ideas.

Jay