When you need to get a better picture of your Wi-Fi environment, consider turning to the free, open source, inSSIDer program.
Michael Horowitz
Thursday, September 02, 2010 02:37 PM PDT
I recently stayed at a Bed and Breakfast that offered guests two unprotected wireless networks. There were no other Wi-Fi networks in the area, yet the signal strength in my room was poor and Internet access was slow and spotty.
Windows does a miserable job of reporting on some important aspects of wireless networks, so whenever I need to get a better picture of the Wi-Fi environment, I turn to the free, open source, inSSIDer program from MetaGeek. inSSIDer runs on Windows XP, Vista and 7, both 32 and 64 bit.
Perhaps the most important aspect of wireless networks that inSSIDer reports but Windows omits, is the channel.
When setting up a new router, it is best to chose a channel used by the fewest (or none if possible) of your neighbors. inSSIDer makes this easy, as you can sort the display by signal strength. This lets you see the channels being used by the networks most likely to cause the greatest interference, and avoid them.
The 2.4GHz range used by most Wi-Fi networks offers offers 11 channels*. Of these, you should only use channels 1, 6 and 11 because they are the only ones that don't overlap. Some routers claim to be able to find the least used channel on their own.
Both networks at the Bed and Breakfast were using the same channel. No wonder the connection was flaky. The two networks were stepping on each others feet, most unnecessarily.
Who could have made such a basic mistake? According to the manager of the Bed and Breakfast, the Geek Squad set up the Wi-Fi networks.
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If you use a Mac get the program AirRadar. It will provide you with all the possible information you need about wifi networks in your neighborhood.
John H. Armwood
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