WRT54G - Power (transmit) output adjust.

Is there a way to lower the AP's output signal?
I want to limit the wireless range.

I've read that the WRT54G puts out 19mW. I want
to know if 15 or even 10 mW would suffice.

I've also tried to use small home-made
antennas (www.freeantennas.com) but it tends to
do the opposite - increase directional power.

Any ideas?

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 20:11:40 GMT, MP wrote:

> Is there a way to lower the AP's output signal?
> I want to limit the wireless range.
>
> I've read that the WRT54G puts out 19mW. I want
> to know if 15 or even 10 mW would suffice.
>
> I've also tried to use small home-made
> antennas (www.freeantennas.com) but it tends to
> do the opposite - increase directional power.
>
> Any ideas?

I'd be curious as to other's reactions to it, but I'd try to put two soup
cans over the antennae, cut enough holes in it to get a connection, then
stop cutting. If heat build up is a problem, cut a hole in the top. You can
use a piece of styrofoam in each can to help keep them positioned well.

There were some hacks to lower the power output of the old Linksys WAP11,
but I prefer to leave the unit intact. If there are network problems down
the road, you don't have to worry about whether your hacks are part of the
cause.

--
Barry

MP <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I've read that the WRT54G puts out 19mW. I want
> to know if 15 or even 10 mW would suffice.

If that were the case you would not be able to get any signal anywhere!
You probably are mixing mw and dbm.

The output is somewhere between 64 and 84 mw.

Why would you want to limit output where everybody is trying yo
iincrease output?

--
Groeten,

Antonio (Voor email, verwijder X)

In article <Xns950BA4BD997B8123abcorg@216.221.81.119>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> Is there a way to lower the AP's output signal?
> I want to limit the wireless range.
>
> I've read that the WRT54G puts out 19mW. I want
> to know if 15 or even 10 mW would suffice.
>
> I've also tried to use small home-made
> antennas (www.freeantennas.com) but it tends to
> do the opposite - increase directional power.
>
> Any ideas?
>
The easiest (and best IMHO) is to flash the router with the code from
wifibox.net ( Firmware Version: v2.00.8
Wifi-box.net Release Version: 2.00.8.1i-pre6.wfb 22/01/2004 ) which
allows you to increase and decrease output power. Plus it give you some
very nice other features.
Jim
--
Jim Sanchez - Bellevue WA
JH_Sanchez AT hotmail.com

Sveasoft makes firmware which makes the (WRT54G) power output adjustable.

"MP" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns950BA4BD997B8123abcorg@216.221.81.119...
> Is there a way to lower the AP's output signal?
> I want to limit the wireless range.
>
> I've read that the WRT54G puts out 19mW. I want
> to know if 15 or even 10 mW would suffice.
>
> I've also tried to use small home-made
> antennas (www.freeantennas.com) but it tends to
> do the opposite - increase directional power.
>
> Any ideas?


---
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AnToNio wrote:

> If that were the case you would not be able to get any signal anywhere!
> You probably are mixing mw and dbm.
>
> The output is somewhere between 64 and 84 mw.

This is not right, in my router (WRT54G DE) the default antenna power is
set to 18mW. After a firmware update with
http://www.f4.fhtw-berlin.de/~s05030...8.7sv-pre3.bin
you can increase or decrease the power.

Vitali Esau <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> This is not right, in my router (WRT54G DE) the default antenna power is
> set to 18mW. After a firmware update with

Incorrect!!

Like I said, you are mixing dbm and mw, which are 2 totally different
thing. 100 mw is about same as 20 dbm.

Below, the email I got from Linksys when I needed to know exact numbers:

=======================================
Thank you for contacting Linksys Technical Support.

Model Number RF Output Power (dBm)

1. WRT54G v2 18dBm
2. WRT54G v1.1 15dBm
3. BEFW11S4 v4 15dBm

Should you have further clarification, don't hesitate to email me back.

If you have further questions, please contact us at (800) 326-7114 or
send us an email at (E-Mail Removed) so that we may further assist
you. Please use this phone number given as reference for future support
calls.

Have a pleasant day!


Sincerely,

Aldrin S. Casas
Linksys – A Division of Cisco Systems, Inc.
Product Support Specialist
800-326-7114
(E-Mail Removed)


--
Groeten,

Antonio (Voor email, verwijder X)

AnToNio wrote:

> Vitali Esau <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>
>>This is not right, in my router (WRT54G DE) the default antenna power is
>>set to 18mW. After a firmware update with
>
>
> Incorrect!!
>
> Like I said, you are mixing dbm and mw, which are 2 totally different
> thing. 100 mw is about same as 20 dbm.

Hi,
I didn't formulate correctly. Here a second try:
There are two different output power values we talked about. There is an
internal transmitting power of the router (which I talked about) and a
total transmitting power (which you talked about). The total
transmitting power is calculated like this:
(Linsys approximate values)
internal transmitting power of the router (18,0 mW ~ 12,6 dBm)
-
cable and ports losses ( ~ 4 dBm )
+
antenna gain ( ~ 9 dBm)
__________________________________________________ _____
total transmitting power (63,1 mW ~ 18,0 dBm)

So I talked about the internal transmitting power, wich you can change
after the firmware update.

Best regards
Vitali

Vitali Esau wrote:

> So I talked about the internal transmitting power, wich you can change
> after the firmware update.
You can for example look at: http://www.zytrax.com/tech/wireless/calc.htm

>
> Best regards
> Vitali
>

Thanks for everyone's help!

I managed to download a firmware patch that allows me to
adjust the power output from the default of 28mW all the
way down to 2mW.

Using my Sony Clié with a built-in 802.11b interface, I
was able to quickly survey the range and got pretty
much the coverage I wanted without sacrificing in speed
over errors.

I'm doing more surveying today to tweek the AP.

Cheers everyone!


Vitali Esau <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:cb6erk$skn$(E-Mail Removed):

> AnToNio wrote:
>
>> Vitali Esau <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>This is not right, in my router (WRT54G DE) the default antenna power
>>>is set to 18mW. After a firmware update with
>>
>>
>> Incorrect!!
>>
>> Like I said, you are mixing dbm and mw, which are 2 totally different
>> thing. 100 mw is about same as 20 dbm.
>
> Hi,
> I didn't formulate correctly. Here a second try:
> There are two different output power values we talked about. There is
> an internal transmitting power of the router (which I talked about)
> and a total transmitting power (which you talked about). The total
> transmitting power is calculated like this:
> (Linsys approximate values)
> internal transmitting power of the router (18,0 mW ~ 12,6 dBm)
> -
> cable and ports losses ( ~ 4 dBm )
> +
> antenna gain ( ~ 9 dBm)
> __________________________________________________ _____
> total transmitting power (63,1 mW ~ 18,0 dBm)
>
> So I talked about the internal transmitting power, wich you can change
> after the firmware update.
>
> Best regards
> Vitali
>