Airport WLan

[damtaz]

A WLan project has landed on my lap recently. So far I have gathered that the signal was great at the start of the project when the vendor set it up.

Now the signal has degraded, what could have casued the signal SR to go down? Keep in mind that this is at an airport. I will start looking into changing channels and wireless phones in the tower. Any other suggestions would help greatly as this is the my first wireless site to trouble shoot.


One last note, I'm using Microsoft Windows CE as the OS on a Fujitsu PenCentra 200 tablet.

Thanks!

[JimGeier]

Lots of airports seem to have construction going on. Were any physical changes made around the access points that could cause a greater amount of attenuation? Also, could large groups of people be present during the testing when signal strengths are low? I've done extensive testing at the Miami International Airport (refer to my article at http://www.80211-planet.com/columns/article.php/1479831) and we found that passengers moving in large groups through baggage claim and the concourses provided significant attenuation.

[oshea85]

Jim's on target. I've followed behind other installation firms, like 12 months later, when the customer started complaining about coverage issues. I've found everything from storage rooms filled to the ceiling with metallic clutter, to huge wooden bookcases filled with books, to copper-lined rooms, to floors completely reconfigured, all after the original installation.

If none of this fits, start looking at the AP: check the antenna connections, maybe try swapping the AP out with another one to see what happens. Check the config on the AP to make sure that a misguided IT person hasn't botched it up. You could have a dead AP, but still have spotty coverage from nearby APs.

Good luck.