Behavior unbecoming an officer of the corporation

Tue Aug 9 13:30:04 PDT 2005

On Tue, 9 Aug 2005, Gwendolynn ferch Elydyr wrote:
> On Tue, 9 Aug 2005, Roy S. Rapoport wrote:
> > So my girlfriend is finally entering the wireless age with her new laptop.
> > While her current card is 802.11b/g only, I'm thinking of getting her an
> > 802.11a/g router, because IME, 802.11a is less congested and less affected
> > by neighbors (she's in an apartment building).
> >
> > A) Does this seem reasonable?
> > B) Any brand recommendations?
> 
> I found that the range on 802.11a was distressingly small and prone to
> issues with interference.  For all that 802.11b/g is more likely to
> have a conflict with her neighbour, it's infinitely more reliable and
> less frustrating.
> 
> You might consider turning down the tx on the access point (if that's an
> option) to help with the congestion issue.

Another option is to get MIMO, or 802.11pre-n, which is supposed to work
around 802.11g interference issues.  The standard has not been formalized, 
which is why I avoided it.

<hearsay> Regarding 802.11a, I've heard that it is intended as a
work-around for 802.11g issues and that MIMO is where trends are heading.
</hearsay>

As for g, I changed my WAP to a non-standard channel and haven't had 
problems with the neighbors' WAP.  It appears that there are no cordless 
phones in the area (they can interfere with 802.11g devices).

John
-----
John Costello - cos at indeterminate dot net