agarbino

I'm trying to get a better grasp on the theory behind the wireless communications. Namely, does the less powerful wireless card matter? Is the range purely determined by the more powerful transmitter/receiver, or do both actually matter? It seems all the antennas/boosters/APs have equal Tx & Rx power, so the less powerful unit becomes irrelevant.
Example:
A) 500mW AP connected to a 20mW laptop wifi card
B) 500mW AP connected to a 250mW laptop wifi card

As long as either is within the AP's "bubble" it will be able to pick up the transmission, and thus the range is determined by it.

Or is there a benefit in scenario B?

Regards,
Alex

Jay95

One way to think about it is for two way communication to happen, both AP's must be within the others 'bubble'.

So if the 50mW laptop is within the bubble of the 500mW AP it will hear it with no problems, but because the 50mW laptop bubble will be smaller than the 500mW AP, the AP may fall outside the laptops bubble and the AP may not hear the laptop.

Hmm, that's sounds confusing.. lol

Basically both ends must hear each other well enough to keep a good signal.

J

Wiredwrx

Power of the radios is not the only thing to consider, the location and height of the antennas, any feedline loss, as well as "RFI" devices nearby, BUT, as a general rule, the power of the units should match for an even coverage area.

Michael

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kizer

I always think of Wifi like a CB. You could have the best CB in the world, but if your antenna is to low or basically a piece of junk it will not matter.

Now with that in mind. I have a good setup, but if somebody trying to talk with me has a bad tuned antenna, junk antenna or a CB that just doesn't perform I might be able to reach them, but they will not be able to reach me.