So I picked up a v2.2 to give Tomato a try. Firmware loaded no problem. Changed the admin password and set-up WPA2 password.

The wireless signal seems weaker than the v5 that it's intended to replace. I have 2 devices (a PC and an IP camera) 30 feet away and both have a weak signal. I changed channel (from 6 to 7) with little impact. Then, I used the 'Advanced' menu to boost the transmit power from 42 (default) to 80. This increased the connection on the devices to strong, but then both devices were dropped. Additionally, another laptop 6ft away was dropped. The laptop could "see" the wireless signal, but was not connected. Dropping transmit back down to 42 did not solve the problem. Rebooting both PC and router with the 42 setting allowed me to get back to the connected but low signal situation.

One of the main reasons I wanted to try Tomato was to boost signal (in addition to usage monitoring and QOS). What am I missing here? Do I have a potential hardware fault? Is there additional configurations needed? Ideas?

Wow. Nobody?

I upgraded to Tomato Firmware v1.28.8754 ND USB Std

Based on some info at linksysinfo.org, I put the following in the WAN Up script:

Still using mostly default settings. A laptop can "see" the wireless signal, but connections are frequently lost. A ping will deliver several packets in 1-3ms, then degrade, then timeout, then resume again. I see everything from 1ms to 3800ms to timeout. Occasionally, a "Hardware Error" or "Destination Host Unreachable" is returned.

Also, did a 30-30-30 reset just to be sure everything was clean.

Seriously, wtf??? Any advise before I toss it out the window?