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View Full Version : Wireless signal/Airport Express/Caiman question



andybee33
29-04-2011, 20:56
Hey folks,

So, I've just bought a Caiman (with Gator2) and it's great. Alas, I live in a long bungalow with my Wireless router at one end, iMac (with music library on it) roughly in the middle and the Aiport Express, to which the Caiman (and hifi) are attached at the other end - so the wireless signal is pretty weak. I use the 'Remote' app on an ipod Touch to control the music selection.

Sometimes, especially when the imac is (e.g.) also being used to surf the web, I get some judderring to the signal and, worse still, sometimes the Airport Express loses the signal altogether (i.e. the light goes yellow and starts to flash).

The simple answer here seems to be some sort of wifi signal booster, but I wonder if there are any sonic pros and cons (or other solutions). It isn't practical to move the Wireless router (I also have a very weak ADSL signal so it needs to be at the master socket to work at all!) and I'd rather not have a computer set up in the living room (well, I would but HQ has forbidden it!!).

Any suggestions?

Cheers, Andy :)

Beechwoods
29-04-2011, 21:17
Not a direct answer to your question, but I use Homeplug to get a wired network round my house; more reliable than Wireless and might be good for you in your situation. It uses the mains wiring to distribute the signal around your house; just needs an adapter near your router, and another near where you want to data to 'come out'.

http://www.homeplug.org/home/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=homeplug&x=0&y=0

andybee33
29-04-2011, 21:24
Not a direct answer to your question, but I use Homeplug to get a wired network round my house; more reliable than Wireless and might be good for you in your situation. It uses the mains wiring to distribute the signal around your house; just needs an adapter near your router, and another near where you want to data to 'come out'.

http://www.homeplug.org/home/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=homeplug&x=0&y=0

Hi Nick,

Thanks for that - that's a cool idea. I wonder, given how excited many hifi people get about mains conditioning, especially for analogue gear, do you know if there are any possible problems with adding a digital signal to your mains?

thanks again,

Andy

Beechwoods
29-04-2011, 21:30
It's something you need to be aware of; I run my gear off a mains block that has a filter / surge protector, which blocks the Homeplug signal. You'd be best doing the same if you went down this route.

andybee33
29-04-2011, 21:44
Excellent - thanks :)

Beechwoods
30-04-2011, 14:22
Anyone else got any ideas?

Werner Berghofer
30-04-2011, 14:45
Andy,


sometimes the Airport Express loses the signal altogether (i.e. the light goes yellow and starts to flash).

just an idea: Why do you use a wireless router *plus* an Airport Express? It looks as if the Airport Express has troubles in maintaining the connection to the wireless router. Is this wireless router an Apple product? From hearsay I know that not every combination of a non-Apple wireless router plus an Airport Express works flawlessly.

If this is possible, just try to omit the wireless router completely and configure the Airport Express to act as a wireless router: Plug it directly into the LAN port of your DSL modem and configure it to establish a wireless LAN instead of joining or expanding the wireless LAN provided by the wireless router you’re currently using.

In my flat there are one Airport Extreme (in my office), one Time Capsule (upstairs in the living room) and four Airport Express stations. I’m sure the topology of my flat is much more complicated than your bungalow, because there’s a staircase leading up to the living room and the kitchen. When streaming from my desktop Mac mini located in my office upstairs to the main stereo in the living room the wireless signal never is interrupted, even if both my girlfriend and I are simultaneously surfing the web.