Allied Telesis AT-WA7500 - Manual (Page 50)

2 - Installing the Access Points
50
External Antenna Placement Guidelines
Antennas and their placement play a vital role when installing a wireless
network. Every wireless network environment presents its own unique
obstacles. Therefore, the exact range that you will achieve with each
access point is difficult to determine.
Radio signals may reflect off some obstacles and be absorbed by others.
For example, two radios may achieve up to 305 meters (1,000 feet) of
range if positioned outdoors within line of sight, with no obstacles
between them. However, the same two radios may only achieve 152
meters (500 feet) of range when the RF signal has to travel through items
such as cubicles. If the signal must penetrate office walls, the signal
range may decrease to 91
Using the proper antennas for your environment and placing them in
the proper areas can help improve range. For information about
antenna options, contact your local Allied Telesyn representative. Here
are some general guidelines for positioning antennas:
‰ Place the antenna as high as possible. In an office environment, try
to place it above cubicle walls.
‰ Do not place a sheet of metal (such as a filing cabinet) between
two antennas.
These next sections provide detailed information about antenna
placement for those access points that can have more than one antenna.
Positioning
Antennas for
802.11b and
802.11a Radios
The 802.11b radios have two ports: one is a transmit/receive port and
the other is a receive-only port. The 802.11a radios have two ports; both
ports are transmit/receive ports. Allied Telesyn recommends that you
use two antennas for optimal performance of the 802.11b and 802.11a
radios. If you only attach one antenna to the 802.11b radio, you must
attach it to the transmit/receive port.
On the AT-WA7500 use antenna connectors 1 and 2 or 3 and 4 to attach
antennas to the send/receive ports. The antenna ports are marked | and
||. Port | is the transmit/receive port; port || is the receive-only port.
Note
The antenna diversity system uses only one antenna at a time.