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Wi-Fi and network installation in Hercules
Planned neighborhoods on a former dynamite works. Contra Costa County, California.
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Homes in Hercules
Almost nothing in Hercules predates the 1970s except the old company town. After explosives production ended in 1964, developers began building in 1974, and the population went from 252 in 1970 to nearly 17,000 in 1990. Those first suburbs, known by their street themes as the Birds, the Trees and Flowers, the Astronauts and the Islands, are two-story detached and attached homes.
Newer districts near the bay, including Victoria by the Bay and the Waterfront, mix tightly spaced houses and townhomes with three to five-story mixed-use buildings. Homes of that age usually sit on slabs, and many have a wiring panel. A cluster of surviving buildings from the powder works is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Hercules Powder Company opened its explosives plant in 1881 and the company town incorporated in 1900. Explosives manufacturing ended in 1964, and developers began turning the land into suburbs in 1974.
What that means for your Wi-Fi
Attached homes share walls and Wi-Fi channels
In rows of attached homes your neighbors' networks sit a few feet away. We wire access points where you need them and set channels and power so they are not fighting the house next door.
Multi-story townhomes with the router in the garage
Service often enters at the ground-floor garage, two floors below the bedrooms. We run cable up through closets to an access point on each level, powered over the same cable.
Newer homes often have cable already in the walls
Districts built in the 2000s often have Ethernet or phone cable run to each room. We test each run and reuse what passes for wired access points and desks.
Around Hercules
- Refugio Valley Park: Refugio Valley Park is the city's central park, part of more than 98 acres of parkland in Hercules.
- Hercules company town buildings: Thirty-six buildings from the powder company era were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
- Hercules Powder Company administration building: The 1918 administration building of the explosives plant still stands and is awaiting preservation.
Questions about Wi-Fi in Hercules
Why is my Wi-Fi unreliable in an attached home in Hercules?
Shared walls put your neighbors' networks a few feet from yours, and they all compete for the same channels. We wire access points where you actually use the network, then set channels and power levels so yours is not competing with the house next door.
Can you reuse the cable already in the walls of my Hercules home?
Often. Many newer homes here have a wiring panel, with Ethernet or phone cable run to each room. We test every run first. The ones that pass can feed wired access points and desks, and we only pull new Cat6 where the old cable fails.
How do I get signal from the garage to the top floor of a townhome?
By wiring it. Service often enters at the ground-floor garage, well below the bedrooms, and a single router cannot push through that many floors. We run cable up through closets and put an access point on each level, powered over the same cable.