Don's Home Technology Network Help Wi-Fi Wi-Fi Personal Testing and experience Contact

Under Construction.

This is mainly notes on my personal experiences those of friends.
See


Bandwidth:
Standard definition television 3.5 Mbps
DVD movie quality steaming 9.8 Mbps
HDTV 10-15 Mbps
HDTV 1080P 15-28 Mbps
Blu-ray video up to 40 Mbps.
High-quality Internet radio 128 Kbps
New CODEXs require less bandwidth.
Netflix says you can get HD on 5 Mbps and Ultra HD on 25 Mbps.
see Internet Connection Speed Recommendations | Netflix.com
See Internet TV - Web TV
Network Analysis Apps [on Google Play, Android rating (# of reviews) Fing - Network Scanner 4.6 (170,424) Google Play WiFi Analyzer 4.5 (2,450) WiFi Anayzer Pro $3 4.6 (400) SpeedTest.net 4.4 (887,689) Google Wifi (router setup and speed check) 4.3 (4,176) Fluke Network AirMagnet Survey Software $2,175 (Express), $4,360 (Pro) Does a hot spot map of your home or office. Wi-Fi SweetSpots 3.8 (590) See Wireless Witch: How to Test Your Wireless Performance | PCMag.com Top Ten Wi-Fi Apps for IT Specialists on iOS

Macintosh

AirPort is 802.11 compatible.
The 2015 MacBook Pro has an 802.11ac (300 + 1300 Mbps) wi-fi
Go to "About This Mac" under the Apple icon Menu
Select System Report > Network > Wi-Fi to see the specs

Hold down option when clicking on the Wi-Fi icon at the top of the screen. See Mac Wi-Fi diagnostics for more. This will give you data Transmit Rate (Tx), Signal Strength (RSSI dBm) Channel, Noise etc.

I primarily use TX and RSSI

TX = Transmission rate
Home:
I get 867-1300 Mbps 30 inches from my D-Link DIR-868L from Optimum.
                           (58 Mbps consistently thru the internet)
I get 176 in the kitchen (15-58 Mbps thru the Internet)
I get 41-88 on the coffee table in the family room (15-58 Mbps thru the Internet)
Cabin: 
I get 7-27 Mbps in the back bedroom at the cabin with the Netgear modem by the TV
I get 50-88 Mbps in the back bedroom at the cabin with the Netgear modem in the kitchen

RSSI - Receive Signal Strength Indicator
dBm - power levels in mW (milliwatts). see MetaGeek
-30 dBm  Amazing
-67 dBm  Very Good - 
-70 dBm  OK - Minimum for reliable packet delivery
-80 dBM  Not Good - Minimum for basic connectivity.
P(dBm) P(mW)
30 1,000
10 10
0 1
-10 1/10
-20 1/100
-30 1/1,000
-40 1/10,000
-50 1/100,000
-60 1/1,000,000
-70 1/10,000,000
-80 1/100,000,000
-90 1/1,000,000,000
Every 3 dB is a doubling.
1000 milliWatt (mW) is the maximun allowed by the FCC. Routers are more like 200mW and the WiFi in your laptop is more like 50-75mW.
There is firmware that you can upgrade your routers power up to 250mw, but running your router at power output will eventually burn it up.

The FCC limit is Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) power.
A radio with output of 100mW and with standard 3dB stick antennas will have an EIRP of 200mW because a 3dB power gain equates to a doubling of the power.

See:
What is the meaning of RSSI? | Stack Exchange
How to measure wireless router performance - CNET

I get -22dBm to right next to my D-Link DIR-868L fromm Optimum.
I get -73dBm in the kitchen
I get -79dBm on the coffee table in the family room

From FR couch
dons-net
  802.11n RSSI -69-70  TX 13-39 Mbps  Download 22-27 Mbps

dons-net5
  802.11ac RSSI -74  TX 117 Mbps  Download 52-55 Mbps

Why High Power Routers Don't Improve Range - SmallNetBuilder
An Experiment In Wireless Power And Range | smallnetbuilder
Apps [on Google Play, Android rating (# of reviews) Fing - Network Scanner 4.6 (170,424) Google Play WiFi Analyzer 4.5 (2,450) WiFi Anayzer Pro $3 4.6 (400) SpeedTest.net 4.4 (887,689) Google Wifi (router setup and speed check) 4.3 (4,176) Wi-Fi SweetSpots 3.8 (590)
See the attenuation table in Multi band wireless

There will also be a Wireless Diagnostics menu item you can click to get more information.
It will open the Wireless Diagnostics app.
Click Scan under Window in the menu bar.


Brenda Bell's initial comments March 2017:
The AC-68U has great user rankings, but about a third of the users list issues with the 2.4 GHz band.

User reviews of both the AC-68U and AC-88U include the issue of random disconnections and reboots -

#4 on the list, the Linksys WRT1900ACS, apparently has some known issues with random reboots and dropping WiFi, and according to one user review, support (what little there is) is aware that the device has issues.

The Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 (R7000) seems to also have some software issues, as well as kicking off users if more than one is trying to stream content at the same time.
We currently have a Netgear R6220 AC1200 at home. We have 14 connected devices at the moment (some of our tablets are off, and one of our computers is in the shop). Things sometimes get dicey when we both are streaming video, but that could as easily as not be the sources of my video.


Range extenders:
If you have a large house and your signal has to go thru several walls, closets, a refrigerator, etc. you may need a second device to extend your signal.
They don't work that well and cut your speed by 50%.
A 2nd hardwired access point is better.
You can get devices to send ethernet over your powerlines for $40 to $100.
Search for Ethernet over Powerlines

Links:
Multi-Band wireless for more.
WiFi Analysis
Wireless Routers in Products
Bandwidth at Internet TV - Web TV
How To Access The Wi-Fi Scanner In Mac OS X El Capitan - Let's Talk Tech
Understanding RSSI | MetaGeek
7 Router Features You Should Be Using for Better Wi-Fi | PCMag.com
How to Make Wi-Fi Faster in Your Home | The Family Handyman

last updated 13 Jan 2017