[Steve Viegas]

Milt,

You mention the antenna is in the USB port. Does this antenna have line of sight to the router or is the computer in the way?

The Wifi signal operates at 2.4GHz. This signal is attenuated by metal and water very easily. If there is a tree in the way, that will cause issue. If the computer case is in the way, same thing.

One more thing, microwave ovens operate at 2.4 GHz, the resonate frequency of water. If you have a microwave oven operating near by, this would really screw things up.

Your connection should be very solid at 30 feet. Assuming that the radios are putting out 100mW and that you have a 2dBi gain antenne at both ends, you should be able to connect at 100 yards with no obstacles.

If you are opperating a G radio instead of a B radio, if the signal weakens, the signal will drop back to B speeds.

My first step would be the following:
1. turn off the computer
2. turn off your wife's computer
3. Unplug the router
4. wait 30 seconds
5. turn on the router
6. Let the router boot up (can be a couple minutes)
7. turn on wife's computer
8. turn on your computer

The order of these steps is important. The router needs to access an address from the host. Then the router will build an address table for your home computers. This takes place when the router is powered on.