Massive Headache

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Alright, I'll try to make this as short as possible. I work in a two level restaurant. The internet feed is upstairs, connected to a PC, and the wireless router is called a Watchguard Firebox Edge. The music for the restaurant is played via our Mac Mini on the first level. The wireless signal fades pretty bad by the time you get downstairs, I'm sure it's because of all the concrete in the structure of the building. The Mac Mini has a faint signal. We like controlling the music via Remote on our iPod touch. The iPod touch gets a decent signal, usually stronger than the Mac Mini. We have connectivity issues between the iPod and the Mac Mini. The iPod is constantly cutting off connection and then begins a night long search for a signal.

At first we thought perhaps the iPod was at fault, but I took the iPod and tested it on other networks and it works flawlessly. So the iPod, I don't think is the issue. The Mac Mini might actually need a stronger signal from the wireless to have a more reliable connection.

Now here comes my question...exactly how can I do this? Do I have options as far as wireless signal boosters that work with Mac and PC? If I connected an Airport Extreme to the Mini would it first even connect to the current network and second would it boost the signal? I was thinking if this method works, could you also have an Airport Express mid way to make the signal even stronger?

Thanks for your help in advance.
 

cwa107


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The second floor is probably the best position for the router, but I suspect you might be getting some interference.

Thinking about the location, do you have any other wireless devices near the router? Things like intercom systems, cordless phone base stations, microwave ovens, security cameras, etc are all known to operate on the 2.4GHz spectrum and could cause interference.

Have you experimented with changing the channel on the router?
 
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Try changing to one of the 3 non overlapping channels. These are 1, 6, and 11. You can look into an antenna upgrade with higher gain, and also check the power setting on the router. Up it if necessary and experiment with signal strength.
 
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We don't have much around it in the form of the things you listed. There's a workgroup switch, a wired router, and the wireless router. I'm not familiar with how to change the channel or control the power output of the router. Is this all don't through the PC via a control panel of some sort?
 
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We don't have much around it in the form of the things you listed. There's a workgroup switch, a wired router, and the wireless router. I'm not familiar with how to change the channel or control the power output of the router. Is this all don't through the PC via a control panel of some sort?

The interference will not necessarily come from you, it could be from an outside source as well. With as much wireless technology we have these days there can likely be a dozen in a given area that can cause issues.

The channel and power settings are typically handled through a web interface into the router. You will need the IP of the router as well as the username and password for login.
 

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