Wireless N router b/g signal boosting

[Amphiprion]

I recently bought a Linksys WRT160n to replace my old WRT54G with hi-gain antennas (and associated repeater). The wireless N does great over 60ft away and 6 walls, but the g and b signals leave a lot to be desired. I use a PS3 and a Wii, so they must rely on these signals to access the internet and moving the router or the systems to a different room is not an option. Currently, the PS3 shows about 50% signal strength or less. My initial thought is to get a longer ethernet cable and place the router higher. It is currently ~6ft high on top of a desk hutch. I was thinking of mounting it to a wall a foot or two higher than that. Would this be a reasonable fix and would it be worth it? Any other ideas to boost the range/signal? Keep in mind that this is one of the models that features the internal antennas, so hi-gains aren't an option, either.

 

[DooSPX]

I have found that the internal so called "hi-gain internal" suck for distance w/ g/b. I would say try to find a range booster, I have used them in the past with old g routers with good success.

 

[Amphiprion]

I had a repeater and the new N router was meant to replace that. I did think to attempt to use it just to boost b/g signals, but the router is not compatible with the repeater when I have the router set to broadcast any n signals. I'd have to set it to b/g only to be able to use the repeater. Not only that, but repeaters have a noticeable lag for me, so I want to try to not use them. FWIW, when i used the g router, the hi-gain antennas worked fairly well, but still didn't have the range I wanted. The n signal range is excellent, but the router has a problem transmitting signals compatible with my other devices.

 

[msjinkzd]

i am clueless but i ave that router! LOL, works fine for me

 

[Amphiprion]

Well the router works great--it does precisely what I wanted it to do. I was just expecting a bit more out of the b/g xmit strength. I'm hoping I can find some quick, easy (and cheap) fixes for boosting the signal as much as possible without jumping through hoops.

 

[coach_z]

aluminum foil reflector.....it surprisingly gave me about a 10% signal boost across my house.

 

[Amphiprion]

I've seen that with models that feature antennas, but does it work with internal arrays?

 

[coach_z]

it might be more difficult to setup depending on the location of your router and all the equipment that needs signal....but it might work.

 

[Amphiprion]

Worth a try, I guess. I'll post the results here in case anyone else is interested.

 

[Sploke]

Does the new router have ports for hard-wiring? Maybe hard-wire in a b/g wireless access point and mount that in the upper corner of the room or something?