Is low strength a problem?

[Gaston]

Hello to everyone. This is a great resourse.
I got wl 500P. This is my first WiFi router, so I dont know how these beasts behave in my house. But considering what I have read about it, it seems, Asus is quiet short range.
So, this is the environment:
The main walls of the building are thick brick. I got two floor appartment. So, the router is on the 2 floor, near the desctop PC. When the laptop is 1,5 m from the router, the signal by Network stumbler is -40 (Is it OK?). When my laptop is on the same floor, with mostly wooden or THIN brick walls and 10 m. away, the signal falls from -40 to -63. But when I go down to my first floor, (the floor itself is thick),it makes only 4-5 m. away, the signal is lost!
I dont know is it normal or not?
The firmware 1.9.6.9. The drivers of wlan card of the laptop (Intel 2200 BG) are latest. Tried to play with router power, does not seem to have a role. The power saving on the card is off.
So, any opinions are very welcome.

[EddieZ]

What happens is quite normal with wireless. Concrete is the culprit here. It is best to place the router/anetenna in a central place in the house, a lot of people use their staircase, because there are no concrete walls/ceilings that separate the floors. The signal can roam here. Advantage of this is that your wireless signal is directed inwards (that's where you want it ) which is safer (on the street warddrivers are active...)

You also might consider buying a stronger new antenna, preferably with a (max!!!!) 1 m. wire so you can place router and antenna in different places (staircase?). This will increase the signal some more.

By the way: sorry to inform you that Intel Wireless is not recommended. With NIC's they are very good but when it comes to wireless they stink. You might consider an additional PMCIA or USB wireless card with a Broadcom chip (Asus also uses Broadcom)

[Gaston]

Thank you for reply EddieZ.
By the way, I tried a Senao router (http://www.senao.com/english/product/product_wireless01_outdoor_1.asp?pgtl=Wireless&tp1id=02&tp2id=02&proid=000163) which is 400 mW. And i was happy, that on strongest power setting it was only a little stronger than my asus. So, the only choice is antennas or using repeaters.
What you think?

[EddieZ]

Depends on your situation/needs.

When using a repeater you can safely extend the range. Downside is that you will loose speed and 'ping'. So if you're a gamer you are probably better off wiring your house.

If the signal is not all too bad with the standard antenna, you might try a different antenna and optimized placing. Is cheaper (a good one goes for €30-€40).

But If your signal is really near 0 where you need it a well placed repeater/extender will solve your problems.