concrete walls?

Someone told me that concrete block walls would inhibit wireless networking.
Is this true?




Kevin Altizer

yep about 3db pre wall
"Kevin Altizer" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:BDqzc.50695$(E-Mail Removed). com...
> Someone told me that concrete block walls would inhibit wireless
networking.
> Is this true?
>
>

I live in the Keys, my house sits 10ft off the ground, 40ft x 36ft, CBS built to a 165mph wind
load(ie: a lot of poured block), with an 12"x18" collar beam on the 1st & 2nd floors, poured 12x18"
columns, floor sits on 16" engineered joists, with two layers of 3/4" cdx ply, mud, & 16"x16" tile,
in each column and collar is a 6 x 4, # 5 rebar box..

When I take my system down stairs,, maybe 40ft from the router, I drop to around 65-75%,, up-stairs
in all rooms 95-100%,, so there is some loss..

Jim
An Old Parrot Head,
In the Conch Republic,
Just South of Reality

Taking a moment's reflection, (E-Mail Removed) mused:
|
| When I take my system down stairs,, maybe 40ft from the router, I drop to
| around 65-75%,, up-stairs in all rooms 95-100%,, so there is some loss..

Probably has more to do with going beneath the plane of transmission.
Have you tried re-orienting your antennae angle to broadcast vertically
instead of horizontally?

Actually,, I only tried out in the yard,,down stairs,, to see if the link worked.. We have 80%++
humidity most of the year,, on top of the humidity,, We live next to a 300 acre saltwater estuary
across the street and have ocean access in the back yard.. not good for electronic equipment,,, only
good for fish'n.....

The actual user(s) will be my kids when they visit,, they are dot.com'ers and their lives are laptop
enabled,, they tent to be very disoriented if something doesn't have a mouse.......

Thanks for thinking,,
Jim
An Old Parrot Head,
In the Conch Republic,
Just South of Reality

So, can one operate a wireless network at 65 to 75%?

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:dj6Ac.803$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> Actually,, I only tried out in the yard,,down stairs,, to see if the link
worked.. We have 80%++
> humidity most of the year,, on top of the humidity,, We live next to a
300 acre saltwater estuary
> across the street and have ocean access in the back yard.. not good for
electronic equipment,,, only
> good for fish'n.....
>
> The actual user(s) will be my kids when they visit,, they are dot.com'ers
and their lives are laptop
> enabled,, they tent to be very disoriented if something doesn't have a
mouse.......
>
> Thanks for thinking,,
> Jim
> An Old Parrot Head,
> In the Conch Republic,
> Just South of Reality
>
>

Taking a moment's reflection, Kevin Altizer mused:
|
| So, can one operate a wireless network at 65 to 75%?

Yes, and quite well. I don't think you start seeing issues until you
reach about 20% or lower.

> So, can one operate a wireless network at 65 to 75%?

yes and much much much much lower than that.

If you're in a typical CBR structure (outer walls block, inner stick
construction, footprint maybe ~30x30') you should get good range indoors
depending on major appliance placements etc. Outdoors might depend on
amount of rebar in the CBR walls, and router antenna placement (window
proximity, windowsill's best). Wire screens can be a problem.

Between 2 structures on my property about 60' apart foliage on a
grapefruit tree between prevents a link between an upstairs window near
a PC and the windowsill cable modem router in my ofc (with the rest of
the LAN, and cable service, out here). Solved with a 100' Cat5e cable
off the upstairs house PC's ethernet card and a downstairs windowsill
bridge, clear window-to-window line of sight under that tree.

Linksys WCG200 router in ofc, WET11 bridge in house. Nice old
through-the-floor ventilator I could drop that cable downstairs through.
House may be 80 years old but it has its advantages.

If you're in the Keys, stilts or not shouldn't matter much, though rebar
in a concrete pad on the stilts might make through-the-floor links to
any downstairs spaces iffy.

Wherever you are humidity likely doesn't matter much unless you want a
200-300' link between structures in a Cat 5 hurricane, and you shouldn't
be anywhere near home then anyhow.

Best and fastest ride I ever had from Big Pine all the way up to Sebring
was the morning before Andrew arrived. Me, cat, a little food/drink, and
precious docs in briefcases. Must've been the last person out, but I was
in a few hurricanes in a few places some years ago, and it's really
really dumb to play the denial game. Keep an up-to-the-minute eye on the
forecast tracks is our motto.

Kevin Altizer wrote:
> Someone told me that concrete block walls would inhibit wireless networking.
> Is this true?
>
>



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> Kevin "So, can one operate a wireless network at 65 to 75%?"

I think it depends on the load,, The 1st time I tested the link I did a couple emails and web
pages,, didn't see any degradation,, so I ran a little load test:

Files moved: Total size 350MB, folder consisted of several hundred files from a nav chart pgm, files
sizes 1kb to 16mb

System 1: Dell 8250, 2.4GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512mb mem, 80gb hf w/8mb cache, xp home, int-nic wired to
netgear WGR614 router

System 2: TP-600E, 366MHz, 66MHz FSB, 544mb mem, 10gb travelstar w/? cache, xp pro, netgear wg511
pc-card

Both systems had Norton anti-v & firewall running & router has wep active, & solitaire(had to be
doing something)... The folder move was imitated from the laptop in all instances & both
directions..

1) in the same room: signal strength 100%, transmit rate 54, copied folder from the desktop to the
laptop, 5min

2)copied the same folder back to the desktop, 8 min 15sec

3)down stairs out on the dock (50ft + - ), signal down to 59%, transmit rates bounced around, 2 to
30,, maybe averaged 8-10, stopped copy after 10 minutes,, copy stated 196 minutes remaining..

net-net,, speed fell off big time,, but I don't plan to use it outside,, do not plan to fiddle with
antenna,, in the house I get 100% in every room,, the idea is inside access for the kids...

The reference to humidity and salt in my earlier post, was a statement of corrosion,, not
interference..

Dan, I was here for both Andrew, up on the main land, and Georges, stayed on BPK,,, Hell of a ride,,
we had wind spikes in the neighborhood of 146mph,, shore made the shutters rattle,, wish I had a sat
link,, would have made a great bog for a couple weeks...

Tight-lines
Jim
An Old Parrot Head,
In the Conch Republic,
Just South of Reality