Alfa AWUS036H Stability problems, can you help?

[mikeote]

Hi

I share a net connection with a friend across the street, with my Alfa and a Yagi antenna the signal streangth and link quality is around 60%, but it has recently started to cut out every few minutes, when I refresh the network list I pick up another signal which is 95-100% but not the 60% one, if I unplug and plug it back in it works again for another few minutes.

It is definately not the connection or AP itself cutting out as it's always available instantly after I have plugged the Alfa back in, and my friend is not reporting any cut outs.

In BT2 the signal gets lost but It seems to resolve the problem itself and reconnect instantly, so I don't even notice it, apart from the message box saying the connection has been lost.

In windows I have to either unplug and replug or click repair, any ideas ?

(apart from always using BT, as this is not an option unfortunately.)

Thanks in advance for your help !

Mike

[anathema]

Are you using the WirelessAssistant?,
If so, then its a known problem

[imported_=Tron=]

Are you using the WirelessAssistant?,
If so, then its a known problem

I second that. Personally I have not experienced any problems regarding the reliability of the connection using my Alfa 500mw since I switched from the Wireless Assistant to using the command line instead.

[mikeote]

Thanks for your advice guys, yeah I was using wireless assistant, though WA is ok for me, as even if it comes up with "connection lost" messages the connection never suffers.

I emailed the fleebay seller I bought it from, and to my amazement he has actually offered to replace it ! A rare fleebay merchant indeed.

Cheers
Mike

[mikeote]

"Be very careful out there today, we're at terror alert orange! Which means something might go down somewhere in some way at some point in time. "

Haha, nice sig, made me laugh out loud.

[imported_=Tron=]

I emailed the fleebay seller I bought it from, and to my amazement he has actually offered to replace it ! A rare fleebay merchant indeed.

Replacing a perfectly fine piece of hardware due to software related issues seems like a rather foolish act to me.

[mikeote]

I'm not sure it's software related, considering it started to happen with out any software changes.

A hardware problem which is troublesome on windows may not be as bad on linux.

[imported_=Tron=]

I'm not sure it's software related, considering it started to happen with out any software changes.

A hardware problem which is troublesome on windows may not be as bad on linux.

Allright, I missed the fact that the issue appeared just recently and that the same set-up had been working fine before, although you do mention this in your first post.

Since the e-bay seller did agree to replace the device I guess this is a natural way to go about trying to solve the problem. Of course if it does not solve the issue it it might still be hardware related, but to one of the other devices you use for your connection.

If you live in a densely populated area it might also be that another strong AP nearby has started broadcasting on the same channel as your friends AP, interfering with the signal. Apart from looking into this possibility you could ask your friend to put his AP near the window and build a cheap parabolic reflector to boost the signal even further and improve its reliability. Good and easy to follow templates for this can be found at www.freeantennas.com

[ghaze]

with my Alfa and a Yagi antenna

You should test your antenna and pigtails. Almost sounds like a bad cable termination on your pigtail. We run into this with field installed lmr-400 connections sometimes.

I'd move closer and use the stock antenna and see if your problem persists.

What type of antenna is your neighbor using on his ap? For an "across the street" connection I'd probably use a patch antenna on both ends. Yagis can be hard to "zero in" sometimes. For across the street a yagi is probably overkill. You could also try switching the orientation of your antenna and see if it helps. (rotate it 90 degrees from vertical to horizontal or vis versa) Small adjustments with yagis can make a big difference. Try tapping it around in small increments. A degree or 2 can might be all you need.

[mikeote]

Thanks for your replies guys, i'll definately try the cheap parabolic antenna if the problem persists with a new alfa.

I've tried 2 antennas with 2 seperate cables, the yagi and a 5db unidirectional panel, same problem with both, so probably not the cable.

Cheers
Mike