Is the range of an Access point (in this case the bellow setup) determined by the WIFI card I install in the PC or by the antenna?
I plan to install RouterOS on an old PC (400mhz cpu, 128MB RAM, 2 x USB, 5x LAN)
Reason being that if I were to purchase a RouterBoard with all the above Id pay a lot more than if I purchased a license and used an old PC. (that I already have)
Is my thinking correct on this point or are there factors I’m not considering?
I need to install an outdoor antenna so plan to place the pc next to the window, drill a small hole in the frame for the antenna cable and then fix the antenna to the wall.
the range is determined by (at least the following, and possibly more…)
your wifi card (transmitter power / receiver sensitivity)
the frequency chosen
the noise floor
co-channel interference
adjacent channel interference
other unspecified interference
the quality of the pigtail
any aerial coax cable losses
connector losses
any other losses (eg lightning arrestors)
fresnel zone ‘problems’? (assuming there actually is LOS at all)
weather conditions
antenna gain
antenna polar diagram
antenna type (omni, sectored, dish etc)
polarisation
antenna positioning and its relative positioning to any other other reflective or absorbent surfaces in the near field
your antenna height
configuration of wireless settings in MT ROS
MT ROS protocol chosen and version used
then the same again at “their” end.
Any other experts out there want to add to the above list of variables that can have an effect on the link working or not at a particular range?
