Solved: 802.11 and sodium type lights

pirateoftheairwaves · ‎01-24-2009

hello experts!!!

how far should a pole mount ap (1510) be from the light pole lamp which is having sodium type of lights.

voice and data will pass through the wlan. so if the ap is placed 2 meters below the lamp, will it have interference?

scottmac · ‎01-25-2009

While I have never specifically scanned the sodium lamps, I believe you are probably safe at that distance.

Given the number of sodium lamps in the Chicago metro area,for example, if they radiated, even a little bit, I don't think there'd be any radio traffic of any sort during the evening hours.

Of course, this would be revealed during a comprehensive site survey ...

Because the lamps operate on gas discharge, they will be quieter or noisier depending on their age.

You might be able to rent or buy a device from Radar Engineers (www.radarengineers.com)that is specifically designed to locate arc/spark/discharge types of interference. They are used primarily in the power industry, but the concepts are the same for this type of EMI/RFI. Check with your favorite equipment rental dealer.

Even something like NetStumbler (www.netstumbler.com - it's free) should give you some indication of the interference level (if any) relative to the 802.11 signal.

So, IMO, you're probably safe... but you should do a survey to get absolutely definitive information for your specific environment.

Good Luck

Scott

View solution in original post

scottmac · ‎01-25-2009

While I have never specifically scanned the sodium lamps, I believe you are probably safe at that distance.

Given the number of sodium lamps in the Chicago metro area,for example, if they radiated, even a little bit, I don't think there'd be any radio traffic of any sort during the evening hours.

Of course, this would be revealed during a comprehensive site survey ...

Because the lamps operate on gas discharge, they will be quieter or noisier depending on their age.

You might be able to rent or buy a device from Radar Engineers (www.radarengineers.com)that is specifically designed to locate arc/spark/discharge types of interference. They are used primarily in the power industry, but the concepts are the same for this type of EMI/RFI. Check with your favorite equipment rental dealer.

Even something like NetStumbler (www.netstumbler.com - it's free) should give you some indication of the interference level (if any) relative to the 802.11 signal.

So, IMO, you're probably safe... but you should do a survey to get absolutely definitive information for your specific environment.

Good Luck

Scott

pirateoftheairwaves · ‎01-26-2009

Hey Scott,

Thanks for the response.

The customer is just concern whether or not a significant interference will affect the voice and data traffic, most partic, the voice.

Since, IYO, 2m is safe... I could go and increase the distance then from the lamp down to the ap to be able to more safe plus get a wider coverage for the a-band.

Thanks, Scott!