Hi Guys,
OK, this is bugging the hell out of me. About a week ago I finally managed to get a representative from Belgacom to come and sort out our telephone and ADSL problems, which he managed to do so a big "hurrah" there. Additionally, I also asked him to setup one of the telephone sockets in our office upstairs so that it can connect to the ADSL (landlord installed a wacky PBX-esque system in the apartment so that you can call other rooms (it ain't that big) but seems to require sockets to be "initialised" so that they can receive an ADSL signal). This was duely done and the modem, printer, and Airport Extreme base station were moved into the office instead of littering up the guest bedroom. Unfortunately, this movement of the base station has meant that my signal strength downstairs has gone to hell...
The apartment isn't very big but is duplex with the Airport Extreme station located upstairs. I am presently sat downstairs and about 8 meters away from the station itself (as the crow flies, although it'll have to pass through a floor of unknown construction, so it'll be a dented crow) and I'm getting 2-bars signal strength (or 60% according to the Air Traffic Control widget) on my PowerBook Ti 1Ghz. The problem is, the signal strength is not only weak, it's exceedingly erratic and can go from a 4-bars signal to none at all at the drop of a hat. If I move about 4-meters further can in the apartment (irritatingly, to the position where I want to use the laptop) then I often get no signal at all. My query comes down to the following:
1. Why is my signal likely to be crap in a small apartment where 802.11b/g is expected to give me 150' range (outside)?
2. Why is my signal fluctuating so much? Neither myself nor the Airport Extreme base station is moving...
So far I have tried changing the broadcast channel and setting the station to reduce interference, neither of which made the slightest difference. What does worry me a bit is that the office contains a lot of books (although they are all behind the base station) and that paper is apparently really bad for the signal. I am not aware of the exact construction of the apartment's floor (probably papier mâché or something judging by the overall build quality) but there are no metal objects, such as an immersion heater, between myself and the station.
Any suggestions (particularly those that can suggest solutions) would be greatfully received.
OK, this is bugging the hell out of me. About a week ago I finally managed to get a representative from Belgacom to come and sort out our telephone and ADSL problems, which he managed to do so a big "hurrah" there. Additionally, I also asked him to setup one of the telephone sockets in our office upstairs so that it can connect to the ADSL (landlord installed a wacky PBX-esque system in the apartment so that you can call other rooms (it ain't that big) but seems to require sockets to be "initialised" so that they can receive an ADSL signal). This was duely done and the modem, printer, and Airport Extreme base station were moved into the office instead of littering up the guest bedroom. Unfortunately, this movement of the base station has meant that my signal strength downstairs has gone to hell...
The apartment isn't very big but is duplex with the Airport Extreme station located upstairs. I am presently sat downstairs and about 8 meters away from the station itself (as the crow flies, although it'll have to pass through a floor of unknown construction, so it'll be a dented crow) and I'm getting 2-bars signal strength (or 60% according to the Air Traffic Control widget) on my PowerBook Ti 1Ghz. The problem is, the signal strength is not only weak, it's exceedingly erratic and can go from a 4-bars signal to none at all at the drop of a hat. If I move about 4-meters further can in the apartment (irritatingly, to the position where I want to use the laptop) then I often get no signal at all. My query comes down to the following:
1. Why is my signal likely to be crap in a small apartment where 802.11b/g is expected to give me 150' range (outside)?
2. Why is my signal fluctuating so much? Neither myself nor the Airport Extreme base station is moving...
So far I have tried changing the broadcast channel and setting the station to reduce interference, neither of which made the slightest difference. What does worry me a bit is that the office contains a lot of books (although they are all behind the base station) and that paper is apparently really bad for the signal. I am not aware of the exact construction of the apartment's floor (probably papier mâché or something judging by the overall build quality) but there are no metal objects, such as an immersion heater, between myself and the station.
Any suggestions (particularly those that can suggest solutions) would be greatfully received.
