Linksys WMP54G Intermittent Problems

[dj4uk]

I've installed a Linksys WMP54G card into a PowerMac G4 and for the most part it works fine.
I'm using 128bit WEP and again this causes no problems. In fact I'm very impressed with the bandwidth available.

The problem I'm having is occasionally the signal drops to nothing (from the usual 4 out of 4 bars!) and there is nothing that can be done to get the signal back apart from restarting the machine (I've tried turning the airport off and then back on). Once restarted the signal strength is at full level again.

As the machine is not moving around I can only think that either there is interference (in which case I would have thought the signal would recover eventually but it doesn't seem to) or that there is a problem with the setup on the machine.

Has anyone had any problems like this or could help me track down what exactly is going wrong.

I don't think this is an Access point problem but as this is the only wireless adapter at present I can't check it.

Help would be very much appreciated.

DJ

[glc]

Do you have any 2.4 GHz cordless phones in the vicinity? I'm not familiar with the Mac at all, but is there something in the power management that might be shutting down the NIC?

[dj4uk]

I don't think it is a power management issue as the user is accessing the network at the time.

I'll check out if there are any cordless phones and also bluetooth equipment as I hear these can interfere too and Microwave ovens!

I have heard a rumble that there might be a software problem with OS X's latest version of airport which might be to blame.

For the moment I check for interference sources and try changing channels to see if it helps.

Thanks for your suggestions.

DJ

[mbossman2]

Don't think its interference. when you get interference the signal drops but then reconnects when the interference passes (happens in my office in certain cubes when the microwave ovens are in use).

It sounds like the OS (more than likely the driver) is "losing" the NIC. What happens when you remove the card and reinsert it?

[dj4uk]

Yep I am 99% sure it is a software issue now. I haven't tried removing and reinserting the card because a restarting the machine sorts the problem.

Looks like I've got to wait for Apple to come up with a new software update for airport.

DJ