Home AMX User Forum AMXForums Archive Threads AMX Hardware

Odd wireless behavior w/WAP200G & Ch 11

We recently had an installation with a WAP200G and when we got everything up and running only one of the two laptops that we use for accessing the master and touchpanel through the WAP would connect. The other computer worked fine. The computer that would not connect could "see" the WAP just fine, it just wouldn't connect.

Turns out that we had chosen channel 11 on the WAP and for some reason, the problem laptop would not connect on channel 11. When we reset the WAP to channel 1 (out of desperation, really. had no idea it would change anything) both computers connected fine. I don't think it was a wireless interference problem with channel 11 -- it seemed to be relatively free of traffic. Besides, the other laptop and the touchpanel connected and worked just fine. We didn't investigate further to positively isolate the problem to the laptop, but suspect the laptop rather than the WAP.

The problem computer is a Dell "SomethingOrTheOther"-on with an Intel wireless card.

I guess the moral of the story is that even when the wireless network is set up on what appears to be a "clean" channel, it's possible to have problems with some wireless devices on one or more channels but not others. I don't know if this is ever a problem with the cards AMX uses in the TPs (I suspect not or we would probably hear about it here), but sometimes other devices have to use the same network (whether we like it or not) and when the customer has a problem it sometimes rebounds to us, as Dave Hawthorne has mentioned.

Just something to watch out for

Comments

  • What's the laptop doing on channel 10?

    On WiFi, there are limitations in channels (US: 1-11, Europe 1-13, Japan 1-14), but never heared that there's a limit on channels < 11...
  • DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    I would guess you have a radio interference problem. Not everything in that bandwidth is an access point, and something is stepping on your signal. It doesn't appear in your survey as a competing access point because, well, it's not :). It could be a cell station, or just RFI noise from high-tension wires; even something like the old Viewpoint Wave transceivers interfere with wi-fi.
  • Spire_JeffSpire_Jeff Posts: 1,917
    I will say that there may very well be some issue with the Intel card on the Dell. I have what sounds like a similar dell computer and I have had some odd problems with the AMX WAPs. Nothing that I have ever pinpointed, but now that you mention this, it seems like the Intel card is a likely culprit.

    Jeff
Sign In or Register to comment.