Do I Need A Bridge or Another Router?

[Fadzi]

I have a wireless b network. When I take my laptop onto my deck the signal drops dramatically and surfing is very slow. Should I buy a bridge or another router and place it on the deck and then hook up the laptop to the bridge/router to make it faster? Will this work?
If you need more information let me know.
TIA

[multiplexed]

I'm a wireless noob, and this advice is free, so take from it what you will...

No matter how low of a speed your're connected at, it shouldn't effect your browsing speed because wireless speeds are much greater, even when lowered, than internet speeds. You *may* be experiencing a "spotty" connection due to the distance though, which *probably* would slow your browsing. This may sound crazy, but try lowering your connection speed. This will give you additional range and thus a better quality connection, which may actually improve your browsing speed. My setup allows me to change connection speed in the nic driver, and you may also have to change the router speed, but I'm not sure on the router part.

[Bodi]

Possibly you could improve things by moving your existing router a bit? The weakest signal area is usually right below the router. Try changing the angle of one or both (if you have 2) antennas. Make sure you sit with the wireless antenna facing the router, both the laptop shell and your body will block the signal.
Otherwise you may need another wirelss access point near the deck. You don't need another router, the WAP gets wired via CAT5 to a router port and uses the router's DHCP server.
If you have SSID broadcast on, you should see both access points in your laptop wireless setup screen.
You can try an external antenna on the router pointed towards the deck. These cost ~$75.00 and do wonders, the 11dB flat plate ones even look fairly inconspicuous. Fleeman Anderson Bird sells online. Ths works best for sets with 2 antennas, one stays stock covering the house and the high-gain one handles the difficult area.