TX power adjustment

[iAirJordan]

Quick question. I searched the web a lot and would like some feedback on the tx power adjustment value. I have it at stock right now cuz idk wat to set it to..

 

[GoNz0]

if you don't know then leave it at stock

 

[PrivateJoker]

Try getting a laptop and testing results in different places at different TX settings (jump around in 5-10mw increments).

Both OSX

& Windows

offer you built in ways to check TX/RX rate, and if you have OSX I put some more tips on the built in wireless utility here. I'm sure similar stuff exists for Win for free or built in.

Besides getting best RSSI and tx/rx speeds, actually push files across (1gb+) to test and make sure that it holds up.

I personally use around 150mw for 2.4ghz and 110mw for 5ghz, but also neighboring traffic (or lack thereof) helps figure out what is best. But as prev response said if you don't know, don't fool around with it, the difference between worse wifi performance and better formance might only be a few mW, you really have to test and make sure and also keep an eye on your router temps http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_PerformanceTuning_Content.asp.

Make notes of temps, RSSI on both bands, and speeds on both bands at X, Y, & Z positions in your home/apartment/building (like I said also try to do a large file txfr test, pushing something over your lan via wifi at that location). Then adjust power on one band, and measure all those things again, etc. That's really the best way to dial it in and goes quicker than it sounds.

hth

 

[iAirJordan]

Try getting a laptop and testing results in different places at different TX settings (jump around in 5-10mw increments).

Both OSX

& Windows

offer you built in ways to check TX/RX rate, and if you have OSX I put some more tips on the built in wireless utility here. I'm sure similar stuff exists for Win for free or built in.

Besides getting best RSSI and tx/rx speeds, actually push files across (1gb+) to test and make sure that it holds up.

I personally use around 150mw for 2.4ghz and 110mw for 5ghz, but also neighboring traffic (or lack thereof) helps figure out what is best. But as prev response said if you don't know, don't fool around with it, the difference between worse wifi performance and better formance might only be a few mW, you really have to test and make sure and also keep an eye on your router temps http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_PerformanceTuning_Content.asp.

Make notes of temps, RSSI on both bands, and speeds on both bands at X, Y, & Z positions in your home/apartment/building (like I said also try to do a large file txfr text, pushing something over your lan via wifi at that location). Then adjust power on one band, and measure all those things again, etc. That's really the best way to dial it in and goes quicker than it sounds.

hth

Wow. Thankyou very much. I didn't expect a post that big. Very helpful. I don't have a laptop but i have a tablet and use wifi analyzer to see the dbm strength. Ill look into this. Thanks again

 

[RogerSC]

Quick question. I searched the web a lot and would like some feedback on the tx power adjustment value. I have it at stock right now cuz idk wat to set it to..

This makes me curious...are you having range problems? Is there a signal strength problem? Have you played with the settings yet? I found that the best improvements I could make were to orient the antennas so that the strongest signal went to the furthest area. You may be surprised how much difference playing with the antenna (and router) orientation can make. I'd personally just leave it at the default power. If you double the power, you get at most 3dB, risk distortion of the signals, and raise the heat level of your router. Raising the temperature can shorten its life.

 

[iAirJordan]

This makes me curious...are you having range problems? Is there a signal strength problem? Have you played with the settings yet? I found that the best improvements I could make were to orient the antennas so that the strongest signal went to the furthest area. You may be surprised how much difference playing with the antenna (and router) orientation can make. I'd personally just leave it at the default power. If you double the power, you get at most 3dB, risk distortion of the signals, and raise the heat level of your router. Raising the temperature can shorten its life.

I been thinking and i have 3 9dbi antennas in place of the ones that came with it.. So i think i might leave it at 80... Thanks guys

 

[jgrove]

As a general rule i wouldn't tinker too much with your output power, this will cause the router to run warmer, and most likely wont give you any significant performance gains. IMHO

 

[PrivateJoker]

This makes me curious...are you having range problems? Is there a signal strength problem? Have you played with the settings yet? I found that the best improvements I could make were to orient the antennas so that the strongest signal went to the furthest area. You may be surprised how much difference playing with the antenna (and router) orientation can make. I'd personally just leave it at the default power. If you double the power, you get at most 3dB, risk distortion of the signals, and raise the heat level of your router. Raising the temperature can shorten its life.

@RogerSC, I'd be curious to hear your input on this. . .say on the RT-N66U which has the 3 small omni-directional antennas, and it uses some magical beam forming or something, is it possible to literally aim them at something? (other than orienting the antennae 90 degrees down so they were parallel with the router giving it a completely different polarization?)?

Luckily, the with the newer routers, at least in my RF environment and physical space, the need for me to play around with aiming has decreased substantially.

I'd be interested in hearing what cause & effect you've observed with the antenna, or even in some routers that don't have external antenna, re-orienting of the routers themselves.

thx for thoughts in advance!

 

[PrivateJoker]

As a general rule i wouldn't tinker too much with your output power, this will cause the router to run warmer, and most likely wont give you any significant performance gains. IMHO

I concur. I think minimally, if you're going to take it upon yourself to adjust the TX power, you should also monitor your router temps in the process of tuning, before, after, and throughout its use.

I use a Vornado Zippi fan on all my router's for the last 8yrs or so, they are $20, silent in slow mode, and move 120CFM in slow which is about double the average 5" muffin fan. And I've had great router life (but also limited, if any power boosts). I also run one by my a/v equipment which sets on a ventilated (perforated) shelf, just cause why not.

Also I think if you want try to to take advantage of any increased power on 5ghz (good luck getting great distance out of that already) I believe you should manually select a higher channel because they have a different power cap than the lower ones, by FCC regulation. But I use 5ghz for short hops and get good results from relatively low power in my setup.

 

[RogerSC]

@RogerSC, I'd be curious to hear your input on this. . .say on the RT-N66U which has the 3 small omni-directional antennas, and it uses some magical beam forming or something, is it possible to literally aim them at something? (other than orienting the antennae 90 degrees down so they were parallel with the router giving it a completely different polarization?)?

Luckily, the with the newer routers, at least in my RF environment and physical space, the need for me to play around with aiming has decreased substantially.

I'd be interested in hearing what cause & effect you've observed with the antenna, or even in some routers that don't have external antenna, re-orienting of the routers themselves.

thx for thoughts in advance!

My experience with this is that yes, it makes quite a bit of difference how the antennas are pointed. The furthest point from my router is my living room. If I have the router oriented in that direction and the antennas oriented accordingly, I get maybe twice the strength on 5GHz. If I orient it towards the Roku on my enterainment center, that makes it a little less strong on the couch in that room *smile*. In fact, I've found that if I'm tweaking my router for highest signal strength that I get the most increase by getting the antennas aimed correctly. By aiming the router antennas the way that I do I get a great signal in the living room furthest away, and the closer areas are good anyways.

 

[PrivateJoker]

Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing @RogerSC.

When you say "aimed" do you mean the router's 3 antennas are vertical, and sort of form a plane that is oriented in the direction of a given room?

Like if the if I'm looking squarely at my router, face to "face", that's the direction it's more or less aimed? (Ie looking through me)

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
As a life time HAM and for career work on RF, antenna work is still much empirical engineering.
Design an antenna and when tried in the real life field situation, out come is often way off needing endless tweaking. Over the years using routers of many shape and forms, I developed several habits. I always find best tuned channel to the antenna to maximize ERP, I never position router too close to a wall. I hunt for sweet spot for the router location. Even moving it a foot or so away from that spot makes quite a difference. On my desk I mark the seat for the router. In theory power level and signal
strength is exponentially related. I mean when power is doubled, signal strength may not be even to make a difference. So far always one router has been enough to cover our ~3000 sq. ft. 2 story house from top level loft down to basement. House is designed atrium style with lots of central open space and many windows. Maybe that has some thing to do with my good luck.

 

[PrivateJoker]

CQ CQ CQ @TonyH I knew something was up when you recommended keeping a spare router on hand (something I've done for years)! Aha, a HAM! This explains it...extensive field day preparation scenarios and an excellent technical knowledge of RF. It all makes sense now.

My license expired over a decade ago but I think I still have my PK-232 & a stack of QSL cards somewhere around here. I sold my Yaesu FT-101EX a long time ago, but miss it.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
I just had a few QSO with EA, HA, stations. Still swinging the bug. Out at cabin I have
5W QRP brick radio with mile long wire antenna, LOL! Here in Canada DOC gave us
all life time licence some years ago.. No more renewal fees/paper workl. FD was last week end. Once a HAM always a HAM?

 

[PrivateJoker]

Hi,
I just had a few QSO with EA, HA, stations. Still swinging the bug. Out at cabin I have
5W QRP brick radio with mile long wire antenna, LOL! Here in Canada DOC gave us
all life time licence some years ago.. No more renewal fees/paper workl. FD was last week end. Once a HAM always a HAM?

In the states that motto is mostly taken up by our Marines, but yes why not! Ham radio definitely turned me into a lifelong techie/gadget addict. And it's also reminiscent of the early days on the net, just helpful strangers coming together and sharing their time & knowledge.

I'm pretty sure I could still at least tap out my call sign in morse, that's about it.

 

[RogerSC]

Small world, I've had an amateur radio license for over 50 years (started early *smile*).

The way it ended up for me at the moment is that the router is "vertical" and is facing my living room (by facing, I mean that the plane of the front of the router faces my living room). The center antenna is essentially vertical, and the two outside antennas are at about 135 degrees from the center antenna. And yes, the antennas also form a plane that is essentially vertical, also facing my living room. Aside from that general orientation, the rest is fine tuning which can be done with an Android phone ("WiFi Analyzer" works for me) and any fixed client devices. My Roku gives me wireless signal strength indications, so that's a useful one. It's pretty much fixed, haven't moved it in years *smile*.

Anyways, it is fun to play with this stuff, especially when it works as well as the rt-n66u. Like I said, great signal in the living room *smile*.