Will the signal pass through?

[mint]

Good morning and here is my first brain teazer of the day![:D]

OK, I am hoping you'd find the question ridiculously simple but, you know me, the Original Technically Clueless.

Here is a description of my problem:

You might know from another thread that I am trying to sort out internet reception for my new house.  I know that there is internet in our village and in someone's house across the road so I fully expect to be able to get it at mine.

The property has an older part and also a newer part with the two linked via a glassed-in verandah but the former external wall dividing the two remains.

My question is this then.  If I sited the "box" (if, as it seems likely, I'm staying with SFR) in either the old part of the house or "downstairs" out of the way, would it be possbile for the signal to pass through the external wall or the block-and-beam construction floor/ceiling?

What I'd like to do is to have the computer (wireless) in my bedroom (my piece of tranquille heaven) but have the SFR box elsewhere as the quite bright green light might not be conducive to sleep.

I'm asking because I might need to have someone drill holes in either wall or ceiling to enable wires, etc to pass through and I don't want to have unnecessary holes drilled just for testing purposes!

Thank you in advance for your patience and good counsel. 

[woolybanana]

[geek] You just need some holes in the walls and it will pass my dear, like water.

On the other hand, there are those gizmos which you plug into the electricity sockets which will carry the signal wherever you wish. Some of the tecchie chps and chapesses will be along to give you the right name, but SFR do sell them.

[Bugsy]

The general rule Sweet is get the box as high as possible.

Ours works through two, one metre walls with no problem.

.

[mint]

Thanks, Wools.  I'm getting through all the glitches one by one.  Height wouldn't be a problem as the property is perched on the side of a hill.

[woolybanana]

Steep lawn and drive? All the electricity will run downhill[kiss]

[pachapapa]

The wi fi should get through ONE wall without trouble. There will be in general TWO telephone sockets, the number covered by the standard FT installation by the sub-contractor, either will be suitable for connection of box, one close to a power point is useful; a high point in house is better.

[mint]

Thank you, Pacha.  I have a kitchen-diner and a lounge both with phone points and power points nearby.  My bedroom is fortunately on the same level as these 2 locations so it should be a cinch!!!!!!!!!!! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bugsy]

Are you ignoring me ?

[sid]

Sweet, it depends on the router model and its signal strength. As Bugsy has already stated the signal works better if the router is placed as high as possible, that is, "looking down" into the rooms where you want access. Here at "chez-sid" that isn't an option and the signal will only go through one stone wall, and wi-fi is patchy outside the office where the router is situated. I've opted for Netgear CPL devices (see link below). These plug into any convenient mains socket and transmit the signal via the house mains wiring. I've found that I can pickup the signal anywhere on our property, even at the far end of the barn over 40 metres from the house.

This has been discussed before and the solutions are always the same if you want the router in a different location to your pc; either install a network using CAT5 cabling or use the above CPL devices (they're known as Powerline adapters in the UK, or CPL Courant Porteur sur la Ligne (I think) here in France).

example here http://www.netgear.fr/produits/cpl_config/ (there are other brands besides Netgear)

The big advantage of this for me is that they can be removed or moved around the house as required; no drilling etc. We provide internet access to our gite, which is separate from our house, by this means.  

Sid

[mint]

[quote user="Bugsy"]Are you ignoring me ?[/quote]

Bugs, as though I would!

You know what, Sid, I actually gave one of those thingies away as I didn't know what it was for and someone asked me whether they could have it!  LOL, no clue, no nothing............!

[NormanH]

And come with the two boxes you get from Free, so you can have the computer in one place and the TV in another..

[mint]

Hm.....thanks, Norman.  Choices are so difficult and I always get in a tizz about them.

Anyway, hope you're keeping well etc.  Was thinking about you at the broadcast of the traditional carols and lessons from Kings.  I didn't like the new arrangements, etc and felt quite outraged.....is nothing sacred anymore?

Tell me what you thought/think?

[woolybanana]

We would like to see some fotos of the new down-sized pad, please, Sweet. It was understandable that you dint wanna show us the chateau as there are jealousies, even here - that ****** for example is terrible. But this shepherd's hut on a blasted hill side might be ok to us common folk!

[pachapapa]

[quote user="woolybanana"]We would like to see some fotos of the new down-sized pad, please, Sweet. It was understandable that you dint wanna show us the chateau as there are jealousies, even here - that ****** for example is terrible. But this shepherd's hut on a blasted hill side might be ok to us common folk![/quote]

How dare you say that!

ALL buildings in Dordognyshire are blessed!!

[sid]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

[quote user="Bugsy"]Are you ignoring me ?[/quote]

Bugs, as though I would!

You know what, Sid, I actually gave one of those thingies away as I didn't know what it was for and someone asked me whether they could have it!  LOL, no clue, no nothing............!

[/quote]

Oh dear! But you actually need TWO of those thingies! [:$] One at the router and one at the pc.

 

[mint]

Oh well, nevermind, Sid.  Someone was obviously quite happy with the netgear thingie.

I am now resigned to a longish wait but, as they say, everything comes to those who wait.  I've got the time............![;-)]

[woolybanana]

Oh yeah?

[mint]

Don't tell me, Wools, you've got the inclination?

Just you be patient............she'll appear, as eggs is eggs, and bananas are yellow fruit[:)]

[woolybanana]

I've not had the right inclination for a long while now; in fact it was quite a shock when it happened. If she doesnt appear soon, it will disappear for another decade!!! 

Nothing to do with horny goat weed which has sold out since a certain Norman cornered the market a few hours ago.

[AnOther]

[quote user="sid"]As Bugsy has already stated the signal works better if the router is placed as high as possible, that is, "looking down" into the rooms where you want access.[/quote]Whilst high can be good a radio signal does not 'look' up or down nor is it affected by gravity, it is determined solely by the antenna employed to radiate it. In many routers the antenna is completely inbuilt and hence no adjustment of the radiation pattern is possible other than physically reorientating the the whole box. In others it may be externally fitted on hinge on the the back in which case you can play with it's positioning as well as moving the box. Sometimes there is a connector to which you can attach a totally separate antenna on a flying lead and whilst theoretically this should offer the best solution it will depend almost entirely on the quality of the antenna and it's cable, cheap ones with poor quality lossy cable will often lose 50% or more of the signal thereby making the situation worse instead of better.

A good analogy would be to liken it to picking up a decent signal on a TV with a so called 'rabbits ears' portable antenna where the best reception might be with it held at some crazy angle standing one legged on a chair in the most improbable corner of the house, similarly WiFi performance will be very much a matter of trial and error in which no location should be ruled in or out.

[mint]

Thank you, Erns, though it's not what I want to hear.

So, a few trial holes then for the wiring and then plugging of all the extra holes that aren't going to be needed?[:(]

[woolybanana]

Get the socket plug in thingies, they are by far the easiest

[mint]

Such an informative post, Wools, you have surpassed even yourself!

[sid]

Without wanting to get into a debate about facetious remarks (Gravity??? Who mentioned gravity?? Certainly not me!!) I have to say that several members of this forum seem to sit at home ... or at work... and wait for a posting that they can contradict or make comments about! I don't find it helpful and I dare say the people who ask the original questions get pretty p****d off too.

I have read on umpteen websites that positioning the router as high as possible is one of the ways of improving the signal into the rest of the house/office whatever. None of these websites mention gravity.

The analogy mentioned, a TV antenna, also works better if it's high up, and thus more likely to be out of line of sight of other close obstacles, trees, buildings etc, so that actually corroborates what I said earlier.

number 6 here http://www.ehow.com/how_6111018_location-wireless-router.html

or from Netgear themselves; the second tip on picking good locations: http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1032/~/improving-wireless-range%3A-choosing-the-best-locations

 

 

[mint]

Thank you, Sid.  I find that very interesting as well as helpful.  For example, I was going to try putting the box in the kitchen but my kitchen is tiny and I now know that it should be at least 10 feet away from the micro-wave!

Might have to resort to putting the box in the bedroom after all and somehow, throwing something like a dark coloured cloth over it to dim the green light!  Like putting a budgie to bed, LOL!