Somebody's screwing with my AirPort (interference)

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I've had an AirPort Base Station since 1999. It served me well until two capacitors blew early this summer. I finally replaced them a few weeks ago thanks to Constantin von Wentzel's <a href="http://www.vonwentzel.net/ABS/index.html"; target="_blank">instructions</a>. Now that my AirPort Base Station is operational again, I've been experiencing severe interference.



When all is well, I get 4 bars (out of 4) in the OS X AirPort menu item in the whole house. When interference is bad, I get one or zero bars. I've enabled interference robustness and changed AirPort channels to no avail. Our own phone is 900Mhz, so that's not the problem.



My hunch is that our upstairs neighbor (or somebody else in the building) got a 2.4Ghz phone while I was waiting to repair my Base Station. Now, whenever she's yakking on the phone, I'm out of my wireless connection. I obviously can't (reasonably) prevent my neighbor from using her phone. Short of tethering myself to an Ethernet cable, what can I do to avoid interference from my neighbor's 2.4Ghz cordless phone with my AirPort?



Escher



[ 12-16-2002: Message edited by: Escher ]</p>

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    wmfwmf Posts: 1,164member
    You could try an external antenna.
  • Reply 2 of 13
    Buy her a new phone. Hell, it's Christmas?
  • Reply 3 of 13
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    wmf: I'd rather not use an external antenna, unless I am 100% certain that it will fix my problem.



    SPJ: As for buying my neighbor a new phone, that is a kind thought. But it would be rather expensive. And I'm not sure which neighbor it is either. I only have a suspicion. More importantly, it wouldn't prevent my other 49 neighbors from getting 2.4Ghz phones.



    BTW: Somebody on MacNN <a href="http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=136307"; target="_blank">suggested</a> that I call each of my neighbors and see how the respective calls affect my AirPort signal to determine who the offending 2.4Ghz neighbor is.



    Escher
  • Reply 4 of 13
    one thing you could try is shielding your airport from directions where you won't be using it. (such as above and/or below it)



    that might kill their signal enough to keep it from screwing you over.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    [quote]Originally posted by alcimedes:

    <strong>one thing you could try is shielding your airport from directions where you won't be using it. (such as above and/or below it). that might kill their signal enough to keep it from screwing you over.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    That's actually an interesting idea. I wonder whether I would have to shield the Base Station, my iBook, or both. 802.11a would certainly be easier.



    How about I plaster the ceiling of my office with Aluminum foil? Even if its effective it wouldn't be very aesthetically pleasing.



    Escher
  • Reply 6 of 13
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Sheet metal. Add some bolts, a little welding scar work, and voila... industrial art.
  • Reply 7 of 13
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    [quote]Originally posted by Kickaha:

    <strong>Sheet metal. Add some bolts, a little welding scar work, and voila... industrial art. </strong><hr></blockquote>



    If I was still a bachelor that would be just my style. But I'm married. I had to fight hard enough to fit my office with modern designer furniture.



    Escher
  • Reply 8 of 13
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    In that case, get tin ceiling plates (c. 1900) they're all the rage right now... Martha says so.



    Toss in some tall bookcases with sheet metal on the *back* against the wall(s), and ta-da. RF shielding your wife can love.
  • Reply 9 of 13
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    [quote]Originally posted by Kickaha:

    <strong>In that case, get tin ceiling plates (c. 1900) they're all the rage right now... Martha says so. </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Kickaha, you rule my world! I admire your creativity and resousourcefulness. My wife blesses your soul. Only problem with tin ceiling plates is that we live on the ground floor (so that we can have a yard for the dog) and don't have ceilings that are high enough. Still a great idea.



    Escher
  • Reply 10 of 13
    [quote]Originally posted by Kickaha:

    <strong>Sheet metal. Add some bolts, a little welding scar work, and voila... industrial art. </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Hot Designer Tip Number 2: Wallpaper your house in Tin Foil...



    You really only need to discourage the signal, right?
  • Reply 11 of 13
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    [quote]Originally posted by Escher:

    <strong>



    Kickaha, you rule my world! I admire your creativity and resousourcefulness. My wife blesses your soul. Only problem with tin ceiling plates is that we live on the ground floor (so that we can have a yard for the dog) and don't have ceilings that are high enough. Still a great idea.

    Escher</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Maybe I'm running too far with this, but the plates I'm thinking of are no more than 1/8" thick. They mount directly on the ceiling. Add a little crown molding, and voila. You've got... er... a metal ceiling.



    Okay, I'm tapped out. I got nuthin'.
  • Reply 12 of 13
    You could paint the metal. Jonothan Ives does it?
  • Reply 13 of 13
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    i was thinking more along the lines of a tasteful looking wooden box that your airport will fit inside. on the inside of the box, use tinfoil on the directions that you want blocked. not sure if that would though. i'm trying to figure out if the phone is messing with the base station or just flooding your entire apt. with noise so it won't work anywhere.



    otherwise you can try a directional boost in the area you use it most.



    in my case, the wireless is used over 90% of the time in the living room. something akin to a pringles can pointing towards the living room gives the signal a huge boost in that direction, but kills it off in others. although that will not pass the wife test.
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