Suddenly low wireless signal

Yesterday, I added an additional 512 mb of ram to my iBook, making it a total of 768 mb of ram. My computer recognized it, and I was able to surf the internet for several hours immediately after. Last night, however, when I went on the computer again, my wireless signal was extremely low, and it kept disappearing. I'm wondering if I did something wrong when I replaced the Airport Extreme card after installing the new memory, or perhaps that the memory is screwing things up.
I have already checked the position of the card and the antennae, and the only thing I notice now is that a portion of the 'insertable' part of the Airport card is visible, but I didn't notice before I began tinkering to know now if that is normal or not.
We have not touched the router, which is one that we received from Verizon. I don't know off hand the make and model, but it has been great up until now.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Cat

Its been a few weeks since I posted this question, and the problem is just getting worse. I took my ibook to school with me, and received a near full signal, making me think that the problem lies in our wireless network, not the laptop. But it has gotten worse, most times I am lucky if I get 2 'bars' of signal strength. My husband just bought a brand new laptop yesterday, and he is receiving a beautifully strong signal everywhere in our home. I think the only reason I got such a strong signal at school is because the strength of their signal is incredibly powerful all over the campus.
I took another look at the airport card and I think I have dicovered the problem. The antenna, which is actually just a wire coated in plastic or rubber, seems to be wearing away at the connector. It actually feels like it could just rip apart with a slight tug. Has anyone had this happen before? Now the problem is this: is it worth fixing? Obviously, fixing a problem like this isn't something I could do myself. I might try a little electrical tape to secure it, but I worry that some of the wires have actually ripped, and no amount of tape will reattach them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Cat

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