Wi-Fi antenna

[Tripper11]

I have been having a few what seem like, specific Wi-Fi issues lately.
I used to be able to have proper video chats with my folks back east without any issues via skype and yahoo messenger.
About 2 weeks ago, as we tried, I found that their audio was extremely garbled and impossible to understand. Video was fine.
They could see and hear me perfectly well.
In yahoo messenger I would get an occasional message saying weak Wi-Fi signal.
Everything else, surfing, downloads all seem to be at speed and just fine.
Pages load as quick as ever, downloads, same deal.
My tower is wireless, and has a little antenna in the back. So the question is, will getting a stronger antenna help this problem? Is it as simple as unscrewing the one in the back and screwing the new one in?

Thanks for any advice, help. :toast:

[canetoad]

1. Yes, just unscrew the antenna

And replace.

I'd check a few things first though. Maybe this poor connection was an aberration. Try a few other calls and see if the signal is still weak.

Despite what Yahoo says about signal strength, what does your Windows Wireless Network connection signal strength read?

Check for obstructions between router and computer.

Consider changing the router antenna to a high gain one. Note, you may sacrifice some omnidirectional capability for a stronger but more directed signal.

Maybe your router has an extra port to add a supplementary antenna which can be purchased where networking supplies are sold.

[ChromeFoundry]

2. There may be interference causing...

a weaker signal. You will want to check your RSSI for DB losses.

Assuming you are running Windows...

Free tool to monitor your WiFi spectrum here: http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/

You will also want to set your Router/Access Point's channel on the least congested channel to avoid having to contend with neighboring radios.

Run a speedtest both before and after any changes. http://www.speedtest.net/

[struggle4progress]

3. I would expect the video signal used much more bandwidth than the audio signal.

So I'd expect if there was a signal reception problem, I'd expect the video to deteriorate significantly too

Could it be a bad mike at their end? Or maybe your speaker is damaged? Or maybe you have a corrupted audio driver?

What's the situation with audo when (say) watching YouTube?

Can you connect your tower to the wireless station with network cable to check whether the audio is acceptable when wired?

[Tripper11]

4. Thanks for the replies...answers to questions inside

Here is the test I ran with metageeks software ChromeFoundry

My signal is the one in blue



Here is my speedtest.net results as well



Changing router channel. I've read about changing channels. A couple questions in that regard:
1. Which channel?
2. Once I change the channel will I have to do anything to the laptops and computer in the house to reconnect?
I also have my tivo connected to my router via ethernet cable. Will that be affected by a channel change.
That being asked/said, see my answer to struggle4progress below

struggle4progress :
youtube is fine
mic and video tests all fine

I did a skype with my sister in law in Florida and it was totally fine.

The more I go through things the more it is becoming evident that it's something on my parents end. And apparently they had the same issues with friends who are wintering in Florida.
Not that this should make a difference, but they are in Canada, and I am in Washington State.

[darkstar3]

5. These are two separate issues.

Your video chat was a problem on your parents' end. Here's the hint:
"I found that their audio was extremely garbled and impossible to understand....They could see and hear me perfectly well."

That means that YOUR upload was working fine, and so was their download. However, the return trip, their upload/your download wasn't working properly. Generally, in situations like that, the upload end is the culprit. Without getting into too much detail, that's just how telecomms work on this continent. Now, it could have been a temporary issue, or a software upgrade/misconfiguration issue, or a telecomm foul-up, but from your description it's clear the problem with the video chat was on their end, not yours.

Now, as for your message about weak Wi-Fi signal, that's a totally separate and unrelated issue that just happened to crop up during a close time frame. Since your post treats this as a new and singular occurrence, I'd call this a temporary interference issue. With luck, your router is designed to detect these and then auto-hop to another, clearer frequency. During that time, power levels on the router will fluctuate, causing your laptop's wireless card to report a signal error and then attempt to re-establish a "good" connection to the router. Oftentimes, this goes completely un-noticed, but in certain situations it can take a little longer and then Windows pops up with its "helpful" message about low Wi-Fi signal, because the people who wrote that particular popup window software think you might want to move closer to the router.

The thing about routers and transitory interference is that it's GOING to happen if you live in the city, or if you own a microwave, or if you happen to purchase a new cordless device for your home that operates in the same restricted frequency range. The good news is that the 802.11 protocols designate methods for dealing with this interference and ensuring that some sort of connection is successfully established. So you really don't have to worry too much.

Oh, and as a bonus "don't worry about it", if all you're doing is connecting to the internet, even "high-speed internet" doesn't come close to fully utilizing your wireless capacity, so you should be able to stream youtube and other high-bandwidth sites without much trouble even if your signal strength is between 30-50%.

[Tripper11]

6. Thanks Darkstar..I appreciate your explanation

My parents aren't as tech savvy and tend to rely on a neighbour, but as luck would have it, they have taken in my nephew who is quite tech savvy and enjoys making things work better, and figuring things out.
I'll have him go try and sort them out and see what happens.