AP in client mode problems

[Michael Skowvron]

Bryan Irvine wrote:
> I have 2 Linksys wap 54Gs.  One is in AP mode and allows for wireless
> connections, the other is in client mode, and allows my 'wired'
> machines access to the network.  Problem is that the access really
> really sucks in the garage.

Is the garage where the AP client and wired machines are?

> I have a good signal, at least so says macstumbler, the APS are
> seperated by about 20 feet, with 2 walls in between them.  My signal
> strength to a laptop when in the garage varies but rarely dips below
> even 75%.

You are right to not completely trust tools like macstumbler. They can 
only report what the card tells them and most cards report highly 
exaggerated signals. They might report 50% signal strength when in 
reality they are receiving at the barest threshold of what they are able 
to detect.

At least you can experiment and learn your particular card. If 
performance starts getting spotty at 50-60%, then just treat that as 
really being about zero.

> Another oddity, is that I have 2 computers presently hooked up, and
> when one is busy the other one can't access the internet.  For example
> if I have an ftp download going, the second computer is utterly
> useless.

Are you referring to 2 wired computers attached to the AP client?

Are there any systems on the AP-side of the link, directly connected to 
the router? If so, does an ftp download to one of these machines have 
any effect on access to the Internet?

Michael