Tue May 23 21:42:14 PDT 2006

Something is being noisy...
Quality:0/0  Signal level:-51 dBm  Noise level:-67 dBm
Quality:0/0  Signal level:-51 dBm  Noise level:-69 dBm
Quality:0/0  Signal level:-52 dBm  Noise level:-63 dBm
Quality:0/0  Signal level:-51 dBm  Noise level:-69 dBm
Quality:0/0  Signal level:-53 dBm  Noise level:-66 dBm
Quality:0/0  Signal level:-51 dBm  Noise level:-70 dBm
Quality:0/0  Signal level:-54 dBm  Noise level:-58 dBm
Quality:0/0  Signal level:-54 dBm  Noise level:-58 dBm
Connection is down and won't associate.

Mon May 22 19:50:34 PDT 2006

I was planning to adjust the antenna tonight, but when I checked the link, everything was surprisingly good:
eth1      IEEE 802.11-DS  ESSID:"svwux"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:0C:41:**:**:**
          Tx-Power:19 dBm
          RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr=2346 B
          Encryption key:****-****-****-****-****-****-**
          Link Signal level:-51 dBm  Noise level:-95 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:50693  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
256 packets transmitted, 252 packets received, 1% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 2.0/27.5/515.3 ms

--- 192.168.1.118 ping statistics ---
270 packets transmitted, 226 packets received, 16% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 5.4/100.3/1694.0 ms
Instead, I guess I get to play with routing.

May 20, 2006, 00:20:

Looks like it was finally able to associate while I was gone:
eth1      IEEE 802.11-DS  ESSID:"svwux"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:00:00:00:00:00
          Tx-Power:19 dBm
          RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr=2346 B
          Encryption key:****-****-****-****-****-****-**
          Link Signal level:-53 dBm  Noise level:-95 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:3106  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0
...and then lost it again at some point. Strange. The S:N ratio has never been better, yet I can't get/keep the connection up. I think my AP is impotent :-P. I bought a WRT54GLv[haven't opened it yet] today. I'm currently running a WRT54GSv4. Maybe it'll work better.

May 18, 2006, 21:37:

Dang. Shouldn't have messed with the adapter. Ever since I switched from the mess of adapters to the right adapter I haven't been able to associate. Then I tried rotating the antenna 90 degress.

I seem to get pretty good signal from iwlist scans:

    Quality:0/0  Signal level:-54 dBm  Noise level:-86 dBm
    Quality:0/0  Signal level:-54 dBm  Noise level:-86 dBm
    Quality:0/0  Signal level:-51 dBm  Noise level:-58 dBm
    Quality:0/0  Signal level:-54 dBm  Noise level:-61 dBm
    Quality:0/0  Signal level:-54 dBm  Noise level:-80 dBm
Well, most of the time anyway. I wonder, since the access point is in the attic, if some of the hotter days screwed it up. Probably not. I can associate to other access points nearby.

May 14, 2006, 13:32:

This morning I replaced the mess of connectors I had assembled to get from N-Male to RP-TNC Plug with the right adapter. Tried for 3 hours to aim the antenna back such that I get a decent signal. I gave up for today. Here's where it stands right now:
eth1      IEEE 802.11-DS  ESSID:"svwux"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:0C:41:AC:5E:3B
          Tx-Power:19 dBm
          RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr=2346 B
          Encryption key:****-****-****-****-****-****-**
          Link Signal level:-58 dBm  Noise level:-72 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:1196  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
240 packets transmitted, 90 packets received, 62% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 3.6/3217.6/23863.7 ms
Disappointing. I've had the antenna in the horizontal position, I'm thinking of trying the vertical position and seeing if I get better results.

May 11, 2006, 22:28:

Switched from my yagi to the popular 24 dB reflector grid antenna. Thanks to Brian, who sold me an extra one he had on hand.

I'm needing an N-Male (barrel) to RP-TNC Plug adapter to properly connect it, but for now I rigged an adapter using several miscellaneous adapters and a 7-foot RP-SMA Jack to RP-SMA Plug extension cable.

The connection is pretty darn stable at the moment:

--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
1000 packets transmitted, 973 packets received, 2% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 2.3/26.0/1234.0 ms

Updated picture as soon as I have a free moment while the sun is shining.

May 10, 2006, 21:19:

Yikes:
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=424 ttl=64 time=147831.7 ms
Also the connection keeps dropping out. I think I'll try raising the antenna and asking my neighbor if I can cut a small branch off the top of their tree.

May 8, 2006, 19:32:

Came home to find the link down.

ifdown wan; ifup wan; wifi
fixed it. If it lost the signal, why didn't it automatically recover when it was available again?

Maybe I should downgrade to OpenWRT whiterussian rc4.

May 7, 2006:

Antenna mounted, link up and relatively stable. VERY stable at the moment (12:38am, May 8th). Zero percent packet loss while pinging the repeater 100 times.

May 6, 2006:

Initial connection test. Mounted antenna and amp on a hand-held pole. Able to associate, but not obtain an IP address.