Wifi users: Don't have a cow!

One of the more common problems faced by computer users with home wireless networks are connectivity interference issues. Several potential problems come to mind for anyone who has looked into the issue:

Cordless phones
Cell phones
Ham Radios
Baby monitors
Living near the airport or power lines

If you think harder about it, these items can also cause interference:

Microwaves
Fluorescent lights
Aluminum siding
Sunspots
Lead-based paint


Here are a couple of things you wouldn't think of:

Pine trees
People on the Atkins diet.

Apparently, there are problems with pine tree needles as it relates here. 802.11b/g operates in the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Pine needles also oscillate within the 2.4 GHz spectrum. One Pine needle is approximately the same length as one quarter of a 2.4 GHz sine wave.

I heard at work a report about a guy who strictly went by the Atkins diet. He ate a lot of beef. When you eat a lot of beef, there is a lot of iron in your blood stream. Anytime this guy would walk near the wireless router, his wireless network went down.

If this happens to you, I suggest you learn how to make an antenna booster from a pringles can.