Best place for a wireless router?

[no_pulse]

I recently bought my first home which is a one story house which has a finished basement. I had the ISP technician hookup the cable modem next to the fuse/breaker panel in the basement as it would be not only an easier setup, but also a cleaner setup as well. I also hooked up my Netgear WNDR3700-100NAS RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router right beside the cable modem. I mounted them both on the wall next to the breaker/fuse electrical panel.

I'm noticing that I'm getting a pretty weak signal from my wireless router. Is it because I mounted the router on the wall next to the breaker/fuse electrical panel? Would the fuse/breaker panel interfere with the signal? What about having a cordless phone in proximity of the router and computer?

What can I do to boost the signal? Purchase a wireless repeater? Change the routers wireless channel? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[YukonTrooper]

Reading some reviews of that particular router, it seems its range is only average, and that was in 2009. I would first try changing wireless channels just to see if you get a better reception, but I'm wagering the average range and interference the floor is creating is your problem. Do you know what materials are used in the floor between your basement and upstairs?

 

[blaze_125]

a trash can is the best location for any wireless device.

 

[Nodscene]

If you aren't into drilling a hole in the floor so you can hardwire it on the main floor then what I'd probably do is move it a few feet away (or more) from the breaker box and mount it to the ceiling. Sorry, I just noticed it was a finished basement. Is the room where the fuse panel also finished? Is it drywalled in the basement or drop ceiling?

 

[LarkStarr]

putting it beside an unshielded electrical line is only going to cause issues. The best , idealplace for a wireless router is in the center of the house really.

 

[JD]

That's a very solid router. Absolutely love mine. Granted I flashed it with DD-WRT right out of the box, but I have it in the middle of the basement (with a 75ft cable running back to my cable modem). It's a good looking device so it doesn't look that terrible being out in the open IMO. Mines located on one of the middle posts to support the main beam for the main floor. Other side is my laundry/furnace room so all the cables run in there out of sight from the finished part of the basement.

Maybe post a floor plan of your basement?

But yeah, can't have wireless signals beside the fuse panel. Nor should you have any unshielded Ethernet running by electric cabling. If you must, it should be perpendicular (90 degrees) to the electrical wires to help prevent electrical noise.

 

[lcdguy]

you could try installing it in the attic

 

[no_pulse]

Its an older house, i'd say at least 50-60yrs old. The walls are drywalled as well as the ceiling in both upstairs and basement. The electrical is only two wire, hence no ground wire throughout the home which is really disappointing. I'd love to hardwire a direct line to my computer, but the ceiling in the basement is not a drop panel etc, its finished. What about using Powerline Networking? Is that any good to use?

 

[Lpfan4ever]

In all honesty, if you can't physically move it closer, try putting DD-WRT on it. I don't know about that specific router, but DD-WRT made my signal go from barely there and unstable to rock solid on my WRT150N.

 

[no_pulse]

In all honesty, if you can't physically move it closer, try putting DD-WRT on it. I don't know about that specific router, but DD-WRT made my signal go from barely there and unstable to rock solid on my WRT150N.

What is DD-WRT? :doh: