[Novalug] Router signal strength

[Charles M Howe]

List,

Friday night I got a Hardy Heron installed on a machine. Wireless
worked, but the gap between my machine and the router was just a few
feet.

But when I get home, it doesn't work. This can probably be attributed to
what is between my router and the machine -- on a different floor and at
least three and maybe as many as five walls to go through. What advice
can you give me? As I see it, the possibilities are: (1) more powerful
antennae (the router is a Linksys); (2) move the computer so that the
signal would go from one floor to another and through just two walls;
and (3) use wire, requiring drilling holes in the floor and maybe a wall
or two.

A second DSL modem and router probably isn't an option. When I bought
this house in 1999, I got a second physical line installed, from the NID
to my basement office and got a second line, for dialup only. Then, when
I dropped dialup and got DSL I discovered that the only place I could
hang the DSL modem was on the new line inthe basement office. The rest
of the wiring was too old to be useful. (Julia Christenson explained why
this was the case. The house was built in 1960 and extra wiring was put
in, probably by owners.)

Ideas and possible solutions gratefully accepted.

Charlie