Why would wireless wobble?
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From: T i m on 16 Dec 2009 05:06 On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:11:13 +0000, usenet(a)alienrat.co.uk (Woody) wrote: >T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > >> On Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:22:15 +0000, Peter Hayes >> <aphnospam(a)blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: >> > >> >I've got an old OS X backup on a firewire disk which does support >> >MacStumbler and my old scanner, it's worth buying a new backup disk just >> >to keep them working. >> >> Luckily, all the software I require just needs 'Windows' and for >> nearly 10 years that seems to include XP. ;-) > >Lucky to be you. Not sure about that ... ;-) > I now have two tools with system requirements I use for >work. One is Vista or Windows 7 (ie, windows 7!) and the other is XP >only. I have seen some apps / utils that when I've gone to download they said Vista only etc but they were never deal breaking things (and not had that for a while strangely? Maybe they realised many people were still happy with XP?). I've seen a good few more that state they aren't Vista / W7 compatible of course but that hasn't bothered me. ;-) It just seems to me that since 2001 I have been able to continue to use new / old stuff whereas even since I've been using OSX I've been caught up in the 'you must have ,' or 'it won't run on' type things (didn't OSX come out in 2002 and how many versions of it have we had now). The only thing that did affect XP similarly is the 'Needs SP1' and that's easily resolvable. >I finally have an actual requirement for having to use VM of an XP >image. Whilst I like the idea of VM's (and I know it's the future in some fields) I can't think of how I could make good use of one. Like, running OSX on XP might be good to be able to look at stuff without having to Bootcamp into OSX, but, it would have to cleanly shut itself down if I shut down the host system (and I don't think those I tried did so?).[1] Cheers, T i m [1] Probably XP on Linux via Virtualbox or XP on OSX via Parallels3.
From: John Hill on 16 Dec 2009 11:49 Peter Hayes <aphnospam(a)blueyonder.co.uk> wrote: > On 15/12/2009 09:39, T i m wrote: > > > > > The way to try to improve your own situation (it could change at any > > time of course) is to download a WiFi sniffer, possibly: > > > > http://www.macstumbler.com/ > > > > then turn your router off and run the sniffer to show you all the > > channels that are being used locally. Pick one that is the lest used > > (or unused) or if there isn't a completely spare slot, one with the > > lowest signal strength (suggesting it's further away) and ideally a > > couple away from any other channel. > > > > MacStumbler has not been updated since 2007, and does not work at all > with the latest OS X. Shame as it was a product I liked and supported. > I've got an old OS X backup on a firewire disk which does support > MacStumbler and my old scanner, it's worth buying a new backup disk just > to keep them working. > > > Pete H I found an application called AirRadar, which is shareware but gives you a few days free trial. It revealed two networks besides my own, of which one is also on channel 11 and one is on channel 7. If I change to for example, channel 9, will this take place automatically? Will Airport handle it or will it have to be turned off and on again? I'm a bit nervous about this... John. -- Please reply to john at yclept dot wanadoo dot co dot uk.
From: T i m on 16 Dec 2009 12:41 On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:49:00 +0000, nemo(a)erewhon.invalid (John Hill) wrote: >I found an application called AirRadar, which is shareware but gives you >a few days free trial. It revealed two networks besides my own, of which >one is also on channel 11 and one is on channel 7. If I change to for >example, channel 9, will this take place automatically? Personally and for no real technical reason I'd probably go for channel 3. The feeling comes from seeing the leakage from microwave ovens walking all over the middle range (with a WiSpy sniffer). Whilst a microwave oven might not be on all night, 20 mins of interference could still be a pain. > Will Airport >handle it or will it have to be turned off and on again? Can't answer that one, never seen an 'Airport' in the flesh. > >I'm a bit nervous about this... I can't see there being any issues (unlike changing the security code over Wifi can be in a few instances) *as long as* you also have access to the device via an Ethernet cable. In general, changing the channel is in an innocuous action, the client simply re-finding and connecting to the router when it sees it re-appear on it's new channel (SSID and key being the same etc). The only 'risk' is arbitrarily choosing another channel and then finding it's swamped by some 'other' (non WiFi) signal, that didn't (wouldn't) appear on a device, only looking for real WiFi traffic. Using my WiSpy kit I've located the 'unseen' source of such RF signals. One was a rouge HiFi remote speaker setup and the other a TV sender. http://www.metageek.net/ These may help explain how it all works. http://www.metageek.net/support/videos Cheers, T i m
From: John Hill on 17 Dec 2009 12:42 T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:49:00 +0000, nemo(a)erewhon.invalid (John Hill) > wrote: > > >I found an application called AirRadar, which is shareware but gives you > >a few days free trial. It revealed two networks besides my own, of which > >one is also on channel 11 and one is on channel 7. If I change to for > >example, channel 9, will this take place automatically? > > Personally and for no real technical reason I'd probably go for > channel 3. The feeling comes from seeing the leakage from microwave > ovens walking all over the middle range (with a WiSpy sniffer). Whilst > a microwave oven might not be on all night, 20 mins of interference > could still be a pain. > > > Will Airport > >handle it or will it have to be turned off and on again? > > Can't answer that one, never seen an 'Airport' in the flesh. > > > >I'm a bit nervous about this... > > I can't see there being any issues (unlike changing the security code > over Wifi can be in a few instances) *as long as* you also have access > to the device via an Ethernet cable. > > In general, changing the channel is in an innocuous action, the client > simply re-finding and connecting to the router when it sees it > re-appear on it's new channel (SSID and key being the same etc). > > The only 'risk' is arbitrarily choosing another channel and then > finding it's swamped by some 'other' (non WiFi) signal, that didn't > (wouldn't) appear on a device, only looking for real WiFi traffic. > > Using my WiSpy kit I've located the 'unseen' source of such RF > signals. One was a rouge HiFi remote speaker setup and the other a TV > sender. > > http://www.metageek.net/ > > These may help explain how it all works. > > http://www.metageek.net/support/videos > > Cheers, T i m Thanks, Tim - yet another WiFi has turned up n channel 11 :-( I'll consider my options... John. -- Please reply to john at yclept dot wanadoo dot co dot uk.
From: T i m on 17 Dec 2009 12:56
On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:42:22 +0000, nemo(a)erewhon.invalid (John Hill) wrote: >> >> These may help explain how it all works. >> >> http://www.metageek.net/support/videos >> >> Cheers, T i m > >Thanks, Tim - yet another WiFi has turned up n channel 11 :-( > >I'll consider my options... Well, as long as you have (or can arrange easily) a hard wired connection to the AP then you can always / easily change stuff. A mate recently gave me a Belkin cable router. Another mate turned up today who has recently got a laptop from work and was considering a suitable router (he's on cable). I offered him my spare, pre configured it for him, printed off all the settings / passwords and sent him on his way. He popped up MSN not long afterwards from his WiFi laptop and was a happy chappy. ;-) I'd left the channel selection on the router to 'Auto" as I wasn't able to do a site survey and at least it might set / change to a free channel if he has problems. Cheers, T i m |