How Signal is affected:

Wi-Fi propagations are affected by common building materials. Here is how different
materials impact the distribution of a Wi-Fi signal.
Attenuation Properties of Common Building
Materials Building Material
Solid Wood Door 1.75"
Hollow Wood Door 1.75"
Interior Office Door w/Window 1.75"/0.5"
Steel Fire/Exit Door 1.75"
Steel Fire/Exit Door 2.5"
Steel Rollup Door 1.5"
Brick 3.5"
Concrete Wall 18"
Cubical Wall (Fabric) 2.25"
Glass Divider 0.5"
Interior Hollow Wall 4"
Interior Hollow Wall 6"
Interior Solid Wall 5"
Marble 2"
Bullet-Proof Glass 1"
Exterior Double Pane Coated Glass 1"
Exterior Single Pane Window 0.5"
Interior Office Window 1"
Safety Glass-Wire 0.25"
Safety Glass-Wire 1.0"

2.4 GHz Attenuation

6 dB
4 dB
4 dB
13 dB
19 dB
11 dB
6 dB
18 dB
18 dB
12 dB
5 dB
9 dB
14 dB
6 dB
10 dB
13 dB
7 dB
3 dB
3 dB
13 dB

External Device Recommendations:

The industry standard for Wi-Fi coverage is best-effort for outdoor coverage and in
areas near the access point extends to indoor coverage for first wall penetration. At
some locations, some users will be beyond the first wall penetration for the Wi-Fi signal.
This section will discuss how the use of external devices will extend the coverage into
buildings.
Many new notebook computers contain built-in Wi-Fi network adapters. These adapters
are integrated circuit chips. Other wireless laptops utilize external network adapters
such as PCMCIA or USB adapters.
When using a notebook with public hotspots, a strong Wi-Fi signal is necessary to
ensure successful Internet access and good connection speed. A wireless laptop with
limited range is likely to suffer from slow or dropped Internet connections.

Questions: wifitech@conxx.net

There are four options for improving the signal range of a wireless laptop:
1. Use a USB wireless network adapter with external antenna. USB Wi-Fi adapters
hook onto the back or side of a laptop with a short USB cable. The external antenna on
these adapters improves signal range, and the antenna can be adjusted/pointed for fine
tuning. To use this option, the laptop must have an open USB port available.
2. Check transmission power settings. Some network adapters support adjusting
their transmission power. If available, this setting can be adjusted through the adapter's
driver interface program, along with the other settings for wireless profiles and Wi-Fi
channel number. The transmission power should be set to "maximum" or "100%" to
ensure the strongest signal possible.
3. Consider a repeater as another method to extend the range of your wireless
network. A repeater, or wireless range extender, increases the range of a single wireless
LAN by extending the LAN's wireless signal. A repeater will pick up the signal from your
current wireless access point, and rebroadcast it to your clients, and vice versa.
4. Install an external Wi-Fi antenna on the laptop (if possible). For this option to be
feasible, the laptop must support add-on antennas.
Here are some devices which have been tested and meet the requirements necessary to
extend the signal into indoor locations.
Vendor
Ubiquity Networks
Wavion
PepLink
PepLink

Product
NanoStation2
WCPE-24HP-USB
Surf 200 BG
Surf 200AP-BG

Typical Gain
22 dBm
20 dBm
20 dBm
20 dBm

MSRP
$79
$69
$99
$129

Ubiquity
The device designed to advance the Global Wireless ISP industry to the next level.
Featuring a compact indoor/outdoor design and an interface so intuitive even the most
technically challenged can instantly become experts. But, don't be fooled; it is as
powerful as it is simple.
NanoStation packs some phenomenal performance with a revolutionary design
combining a hi-gain 4 antenna system, advanced radio architecture, and highly
researched and developed firmware technology allowing throughput, stability, and
capacity performance rivaling even the highest-end WiMax networks.

Questions: wifitech@conxx.net

http://www.ubnt.com/downloads/ns2_datasheet.pdf
Wavion
The WCPE-24HP-USB is a high-end Wi-Fi USB CPE. Working as part of Wavions end-toend Wi-Fi solution, the WCPE-24HP-USB provides a high-performance cost-effective
solution for residential wireless broadband access.
The unit is compact and can be easily self-installed. It does not require an external
power source and is fully plug-and-play with Microsoft operating systems. It provides
superior indoor coverage due to the high transmission power and sensitivity.
It enables connecting an external high gain antenna that enables quick and simple
product upgrades directly by the customer.
http://wavionnetworks.com/innerData/pdf/Wavion%20Indoor%20CPE%20WCPE-24HPUSB%20Datasheet.pdf
PePLink
The Pepwave Surf series of Wi-Fi modems is an ideal solution to flexibly extend Citywide
Wi-Fi to indoor areas. At one end through a radio unit, the Wi-Fi Modem wirelessly
establishes a network connection with Citywide Wi-Fi.
Through standard Ethernet at the other end, the Wi-Fi Modem connects the indoor area
with Citywide Wi-Fi. Some Wi-Fi Modems are capable of serving an indoor local area
network consisting of multiple devices, while others can connect with only one device at
a time.
http://www.pepwave.com/products/surf/

Questions: wifitech@conxx.net