"P.Schuman" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:
>We have a classic 2-story house,
Classic as in Greek or Roman and made from stone? Those tall columns
are nifty for antenna mounts, although they are difficult to climb.
>with the wireless AP upstairs in an extra bedroom / den / computer room.
>Downstairs we have the kitchen and eating area and family room.
>We have a fairly new GE over the stove, wall mounted microwave oven.
Den? You keep lions?
>Just noticed that when the oven is running, the laptop wifi goes dead....
>Dell C610 with mini-pci internal wifi card (tried two different laptops)
>Also have an wireless ethernet bridge for the Tivo + xbox live,
>but not sure yet how / if those are also impacted while the oven is running.
>Discussion & comments ?
Well, I think you might want to do a little test. Find a 2.4GHz
cordless phone system, and place the handset inside the oven. Close
the door. Do NOT punch the "start" button. Punch the "call" button
on the cordless phone base. Chances are good that the phone will
ring. So much for perfect shielding in the microwave oven.
Microwave ovens are allowed 1 mw/sq-cm leakage at 5 cm distance during
manufacture, and 5 mw/sq-cm at 5 cm after installation. The
overwhelming major of ovens allegedly can pass these specs. I
purchased a digital microwave oven leakage detector and tested a few
ovens. All passed but mine failed badly. It seems that it was
crunched during shipping and the hinge was slightly bent. It was so
minor that I hadn't even noticed. A bit of careful hammering and it
was able to pass.
<http://www.hps.org/hpspublications/articles/microwaveoven.html>
If you want, I can estimate the relative power and field strengths of
the oven and an access point at the same range. However, I'm lazy and
my back the envelope guess looks like it has a problem. Maybe later.
Meanwhile, using a 2.4GHz spectrum analyzer (Wi-Spy):
<http://www.metageek.net>
I've found that the signal levels from my (repaired) leaking microwave
oven to rather substantially larger than the radiation from my access
point (at roughly the same distance). When you're starting with
perhaps 800 watts (+59dBm) of RF power, even the most insignificant
amount of leakage is going to be more than what the typical access
point radiates.
There's not much that can be done for reducing the leakage beyond
manufacturing limits. It might be possible to add additional
shielding or an RF absorptive cabinet. The problem with shielding is
that it often causes the signal to just bounce around in a different
direction. Since yours is wall mounted, you might consider an extra
absorptive front door, and some inside the wall shielding, for those
times when you must cook and surf simultaneously.
--
Jeff Liebermann
(E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
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