[lug] OT: Avaya Card Performance -- Was: cheap 802.11b for linux...

[Nate Duehr]

Archer Sully wrote:

>On Thursday 21 March 2002 01:21 am, rise wrote:
>
>>I suspect their range isn't going to be as good as an Orinoco or Symbol
>>card and they lack the external antenna connector.
>>
>
>My Avaya has absolutely terrible sensitivity w/out an external antenna.  I'm
>lucky to get a signal strength of 40 when I'm sitting just a couple feet from 
>an AP.
>
When you say "signal strength of 40" what do you mean?  Is that a 
percentage or is that the linux 40/92 thing from iwconfig?

If you have the Windows client, go into the advanced stuff and look at 
the Signal to Noise ratio.  What you might actually be seeing in 
iwconfig is a composite number that gives "link quality" (whatever that 
is) and S/N readings may show that the noise floor in your location is 
so high that the AP is doing its job fine -- it just can't be heard over 
the interference.  It's an unlicenced ISM band and anything and 
everything could be transmitting there, including the microwave oven, of 
course.  :-)

I've seen phones, range extenders for video/audio, 802.11b, the older 
802.11 standard (which interferes with 802.11b -- grin), and all sorts 
of other stuff for 2.4 Ghz.  It's getting to be a busy band, and 
considering it was "too high" for everyday use and generally unused just 
a few years ago, it's a tribute to RF engineers that they're still 
pushing the envelope on size, power, and frequency.

(Of course, some ham operators just made the world's first recorded 
contact on 322 Ghz recently.  Heh heh... the "world's record" is like 
170 feet there right now.  Hard to make a radio contact when the air 
molecules are heating more than they're passing RF!  A 170 foot contact 
reminds me just a little too much of the Verizon guy... "Can you hear me 
now?  Gooood.")

Nate