I really dislike the commentary on Slashdot. It is worse than reddit in a way. Well, not really, but it is very annoying that an interesting question can be raised, and then seven thousand geekoids feel that it is very important for the world to read their own stupid little joke about the question. If someone provides actual information or rephrases the question usefully or anything like that, then it is lost in the sea of irrelevant yammering that is Slashdot.<\/p>\n
So, yesterday or so, acer123 posted this:<\/p>\n
\n“Lately I have replaced several home wireless routers because the signal strength has been found to be degraded. These devices, when new (2+ years ago) would cover an entire house. Over the years, the strength seems to decrease to a point where it might only cover one or two rooms. Of the three that I have replaced for friends, I have not found a common brand, age, etc. It just seems that after time, the signal strength decreases. I know that routers are cheap and easy to replace but I’m curious what actually causes this. I would have assumed that the components would either work or not work; we would either have a full signal or have no signal. I am not an electrical engineer and I can’t find the answer online so I’m reaching out to you. Can someone explain how a transmitter can slowly go bad?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And we learn that it is actually the expansion of the universe, we hear some of the usual algorithm jokes, and so on…Well, maybe there is some good discussion in there, but it is hard to find.<\/p>\n
Anyway, what is the cause of wireless degradation, with the first sub-question clearly being: “Does it happen?”<\/p>\n
Should we submit this one to the Mythbusters? Is there a reason to blow up a wireless router? Probably not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I really dislike the commentary on Slashdot. It is worse than reddit in a way. Well, not really, but it is very annoying that an interesting question can be raised, and then seven thousand geekoids feel that it is very important for the world to read their own stupid little joke about the question. If … Continue reading Do wireless routers degrade over time, and if so, why?<\/span>