Problems with wifi

I'm very techinologically challenged, and I'm having some issues with the wifi on my recently purchased (brand new) ipad2. I see that in the settings there is one wifi possiblity with a strong signal, but when I click on it I get a pop-up box that says this wifi is not available (there is no lock on this server). In addition, when I do get another signal it comes and goes frequently. Lastly, even when there is a decent signal, not always does the internet work. I have already tried turning the wifi on and off, as well as turning the ipad on and off, with minimal results. When I first started using the ipad (about 6 weeks ago), there were no problems getting the connection. I don't really want to restore default settings. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thaks!