How uni or omni directional are the EAP 245's?
How uni or omni directional are the EAP 245's?
Hi,
Perhaps an unusual question but how uni-directional or omni-directional are the EAP 245 WiFi access points? That is, how much is their broadcast range affected by their orientation? The reason why I'm asking is that I am installing a bunch of these in a former church converted to convention and wedding hall, and I was told I can't mount any of the WAP's on the walls because that will destroy the aesthetics (they want it to look 19th century but they also want 21st century WiFi access). I can lay them flat along a duct that runs the length of the hall on each side, tucked out of site. They would be oriented upwards and horizontal (as opposed to downwards for ceiling mounting). The other location I'm allowed to hide it is on a wall near the front that would not be visible in any wedding photography. This small section of wall is almost in the corner, and would mean the unit would be 4 feet from the front corner, but facing away from the direction it needs to broadcast to.
If these units are omni-directional (i.e. signal is equally strong everywhere), this is not an issue, but if it's concentrated in one orientation or another, this could mean that I have good placement but a weak signal.
Thanks in advance
-Hugh
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From the picture, we can see that the area with the best signal is 60, when it is about 74 degrees, the signal will be a little weaker. So if it is 80 degrees in your area, the clients can still access the internet, but they will not have the best signal. So please make sure that the clients are not far away from the AP.
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Sorry to bump this old thread @jonas.
Also calling in expertize of @Fae and @R1D2 .
What AP power level was assumed for these recommendations?
What frequency band was used for these recommendations?
What client device was used for these numbers?
Looking for numbers for 5GHz band (UNII-1 and UNII-3), with medium power on EAP225 and for a typical Smartphone (Apple, Samsung) in a larger mostly open area with average AP height of 6 meters and estimated 40 APs (AP to AP distance of about 70 feet). Looking to only provide about 10Mbps up and down speeds.
Thanks
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I think those recommendations are derived from the EAP's antenna radiation patterns.
Antenna radiation patterns do not depend on power levels or client devices.
If the Tx power is high, attenuation in dB at the edges of the covered area will be the same as if Tx power would be medium. Of course, absolute values differ.
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Yes I can understand that attenuation does not change, but they were talking about 15 meters range and having smartphones having difficult time at that range, so they must be talking of absolute signal level as well.
I can assume that these figures are for 2.4Ghz and with default high power. My own but couple of years old experience using Cisco 1800 series APs mounted at about 20 feet high in such environment with 17dBm power (using UNII-3 channels, power level 1 (max), which also has higher power in North America, but UNII-1 channels at least in Cisco level 1 is like 11dBm), was that I could get about 50 feet (was with Samsung Note 8). I do find that iPhones have issues in connecting with 5GHz unless they really have signal level better than -70dBm. So I was assuming 40 feet will be better range to ensure best coverage when set to medium power. I cannot go to test (COVID issues and building closed) and have to provide my ballpark figures. So I arrived at 40 APs with AP to AP distance of about 70 feet.
Thanks
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@dpsguard, the post talking about »15m recommended coverage area« is mis-understanding in my opinion.
There is no »recommended coverage area«, since actual coverage in the real world depends on so many influences at the location as well as on the Tx power of each client device, so one can not predict the coverage area, only give a roughly estimate.
The diagram allows to calculate the covered area with best signal strength (if there is a free line of sight) depending on the mounting height of an EAP. This is not to be confused with the actual area covered by the EAP. Reflections of microwaves will extend the covered area, but distant clients will negotiate much smaller WiFi rates.
It is not even possible to calculate properly where microwaves of an EAP are going and where they can no longer be received. You can only measure this, e.g. with a heat mapper. In our country, radio technicians have a saying: The love and the behavior of radio waves are unfathomable.
The recommendation from TP-Link is that if you have neighboring EAPs at a distance < 15m you might need to decrease Tx power in order to avoid interference. But even this depends on the actual location and must be measured for each single EAP (Omada controller provides statistics for this purpose), so in fact the EAPs could at one location probably as near as 10m to each other w/o interfering since there are obstacles or at another location they can be 20m apart from each other and still interfering, e.g. in a conference room.
Sorry for the metric units, my feet are maybe bigger or smaller than yours. Just some fun. :-)
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yes I fully understand that there are so many variables, but for planning purposes, to even get a budgetary numbers, we need to start somewhere. Sure I can use Ekahau Pro planning tool, but I was trying to see if someone had already deployed and what their findings in the field are. If building was open I would have gone there with a tech to mount the AP up at 2 feet and then measure around with a typical cell phone and then installed two more APs around and then test some roaming around also with AP to AP distance of about 70 feet.
I think for now, I am going to stick with my plan of about 40 APs to provide smartphone grade 10Mbps speeds.
Thanks again for your excellent help.
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@dpsguard, you're right, it's difficult to plan this in advance.
Maybe we can discuss further in a few days, I'm swamped with work tomorrow and have to plan just a similar installation. For the ease of planning, I'll place an EAP every 10 meters (30 feet?), but there are obstacles (2 to 3 walls between rooms). So in an open space I would plan EAPs each 15 to 20m.
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So just that you know: I'm using two EAP 245 in my house in a wall-mount configuration. It is a shame that tp-link does not provide an official wall mounting access point with similar throughput rates. Anyhow, I find the coverage even "behind" the EAP 245 decent.
However, I wondered what the best position for an EAP is, as I bought a third one for my workshop, where the house's AP's signal is not sufficient anymore on 5Ghz.
Judging from the picture on the first page, I think using the EAP on the wall is still the best solution if the ceiling height is not that big (2.25m in my small workshop).
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