Luc,
OK, you're right. Some folks can't handle ridicule, so I will try to be more tutorial and less shaming. But it never stops amazing me how folks in a technical wireless avocation such Amateur Radio can have such an extremely narrow focus in wireless!
For example, hand a standard satellite telephone to the average Ham, even an AMSAT member, and ask him to make one phone call, just one. Or give them a Linksys 802.11g Access Point (AP) from Radio Shack and ask them to set up a small wireless local area network (WLAN). Or this one: Hand them a old laptop PC and ask them to upgrade it to a WiFi wireless client and then go down to their local coffee shop and surf the Internet.
Please keep in mind, these are ALL common consumer wireless devices! And our lovely test subjects are all supposedly sophisticated wireless licensed RADIO amateurs. But chances are excellent they would NOT HAVE A CLUE how to do any of these common consumer wireless tasks. They left their wireless curiosity on the door step somewhere and got super specialized. Opps...there is that ridicule tone again. Got to stop that! (HI)
Why am I rambling on like this? Because the result of all this is that satellite Hams can send a signal on a 50k mile round trip to some bird they helped design (remotely) and build (remotely) themselves, but they can NOT figure out how to manage a $60 unlicensed wireless device their neighbor bought at Best Buy. So they spend hours on this reflector lamenting the potential loss of a cherished Mode S instead applying just a tiny little bit of traditional Amateur Radio ingenuity and tracking down and dealing with the low power device(s) in their own neighborhood.
However, there is one saving grace. The WiFi users are no better, buth then they don't claim to some kind of wireless guru. They will come to me because their AP is running slow. They suspect interference. I will tell them about free NetStumbler software. Load it and tell me what you see.
Next day. They return and say they saw that all three of the other neighbors and themselves are all on the device's default radio channel 6! So I advise them to go back into their AP configuration software and change their AP channel to 11. The next day...miracle! The slow problem went away! Amazing!
Well, Hams can do the same thing! Chances are if they use NetStumbler to look at their neighborhood they will see the following frequency channel distribution of devices:
90% on channel 6 (most common WiFi default channel) -- NO problem. Ignore these. 5% on channel 11 -- NO problem, that's not even in the Ham Band. Ignore these. 10% on channel 1 -- Ahh! Those are the problem! They must be gently persuaded to go to some channel above 1. That may solve your problem. Better yet, ask them to move to some channel above 6. That way they are starting to get out of the Ham band entirely.
That 10% on channel 1 may amount to only 1 or 2 WiFi users in your entire neighborhood. A little TVI-type PR in reverse and a little TLC and the problem is solved!
How's that Luc? A little more encouraging?
Vy 73, John - K8OCL AMSAT Life Member 1069
From: Luc Leblanc VE2DWE lucleblanc6@videotron.ca To: AMSAT-BB@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: S band interference solution Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2006 10:08:49 -0400
On 5 Oct 2006 at 8:21, John Champa wrote:
I really do get bored reading about all these threats to Mode S from
WiFi,
etc.
For a bunch of supposedly sophisticated wireless guys, you sure don't
know
beans about consumer grade wireless devices. That includes our wonderfully
dedicated
but pessimistic AMSAT satellite engineers!
I agree... but it sometimes very hard to convince and ridicule may prove too much for some readers but it can be of some help for some stubborn minds who are not pessimistic but unrealistic.
"-" The medium is the message...The content is the audience...;)
Luc Leblanc VE2DWE WAC basic,CW,Phone,Satellite Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
On 5 Oct 2006 at 13:12, John Champa wrote:
Why am I rambling on like this? Because the result of all this is that satellite Hams can send a signal on a 50k mile round trip to some bird they helped design (remotely) and build (remotely) themselves, but they can NOT figure out how to manage a $60 unlicensed wireless device their neighbor bought at Best Buy. So they spend hours on this reflector lamenting the potential loss of a cherished Mode S instead applying just a tiny little bit of traditional Amateur Radio ingenuity and tracking down and dealing with the low power device(s) in their own neighborhood.
How's that Luc? A little more encouraging?
Yes in a sense it is another stone in the pound of those who said S band interference is not manageable at to a point they want to TX there!!! Did you know that amateur radio operator here cannot interfere with any other RF users and ultimately it is the amateur radio station who will have to shut down.
I can imagine the free for all when some folks will start to use amplifier on S band. I play with a 5 watts model use to boost commercial point to point wi-fi link some will have to start to save some money to buy phones and wi-fi routers for all the street houses around.
When we are suffering from 2.4 GHZ interference we are very few to complain but i am not too sure when we will all transmitting on 2.4 ghz if we will not open a pandora box? As per Bob wb4apr a very week signal can be very disastrous at close range but with a very high ERP we will reach more than our next neighbour...
Here is my microwave oven ridiculous analogy post who is coming back again...
"-" The medium is the message...The content is the audience...;)
Luc Leblanc VE2DWE WAC basic,CW,Phone,Satellite Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe
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Luc Leblanc VE2DWE