Question : Problem: I am requesting help with Linksys wireless router and wireless usb network adapter

Basically I am fed up totally with the technical support at Linksys...they totally suck !
I have been working now about 3 days on this project.
to connect up 3 workstations (normal pc..dell desktops) that are running W2K Professional.
They have Sonic Firewall , Motorolla cable modem, the connection to the internet is thru a local cable company in Massachusetts. They have 3com Switch.
They have Win 2000 server with dhcp running.

About 20 normal clients (cabled) into the switch.
They have 3 desktops that are Dell Precision workstations that they need to run wireless usb linksys adapter.

it works sometimes, but other times it fails to reach the wireless access point and the internet.
other times it works fine...when you reboot sometimes it works...other times it fails...
This is driving me crazy... is this typical performance for wireless networking in the Linksys world ...is so their product sucks.
Finally after 3 days of being on the phone with tech support at Linksys (all overseas ofcourse).... they recommended that I consider buying a wireless access point (WAP11) just that ...no router.

Originally the client had decided to buy a bridge , also from LInksys but then the tech support team at Linksys told me that based upon the environment that I had described we did not seem to need a bridge.

I am somewhat confused , I will admit that.
Personally , I would never buy wireless products for myself or my friends. The technology is not there yet.

the signal strength level just kept on fluctuating like all the time... 75 percent to 65 percent to 85 percent to 45 percent....etc...etc...etc...

I am frustrated, my client is frustrated, my boss is frustrated...please help me !!

Richard

p.s. the other suggestion that Linksys tech support made to me was to upgrade the firmware on the Linksys wireless router, and if that doesn't work to get the wireless access point.

Answer : Problem: I am requesting help with Linksys wireless router and wireless usb network adapter

Richard....  take it easy ... it's not hopeless.
My english language knowledge lacks so please be patient with me.
You're losing signal. There can be different causes, we'll see which one.
Let's start with a few tests. What happens if you place the usb cards just near the 802.11x router? Do you see any signal improvment? Try placing in a position with maximum signal strength and then play with the USB card in different positions and see if the signal weakens ( normally it shouldn't go under 90%)
BUT:
there are a few things that can spoil your build, thing such microwave cookers or 2.4GHz cordless phones near your equipment. Also take note that at this frequency walls are attenuateing a big amount of your signal's strength. I never recommend transmitting through more than 2 walls, and that's  relative too.
So, if we conclude that only signal noises or attenuation through walls is the problem, then your chance is to attach external antenna (if the equipments allow this) either to relocate the computers referenced to the wireless router.
As about what the guys from Linksys said about buying an Access Point, that's crap. The router acts as an accesspoint and in fact the electroni circuits are the same with an AP's but it has the routing chips added.
A bridge is usless unless you conclude it's a attenuated signal issue, and in this case you can solve it by reducing the distance between the "emmiter" and "receiver" (I mean AP and card ... in reality they both RX and TX). So, that's the only reason why you'd want to buy a bridge.

One more culprit can be the settings of the cards. If the speed is not set to be autonegociated (on router's side also) when the signal strength goes under a certain level instead of autonegociating to a lower speed (ie 5Mb or 2.2) it just reports a lost connection.

About what Linksys techsupport said regarding a firmware update, that never hurts (unless it fails and you can trash the router :-))  so you can do it.

For testing purpose disable the WEP encryption (if set).

Waiting for your comments

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