WAP200E Repeater problem

[jon.aril.antonsen]

Hello.

I hope someone out there can help me with this case. i have tried to contact linksys support without any luck.

This is the mail I sent Linksys support.

Hello.

I hope you can help me with this problem. I have installed a small
network with some Linksys WAP200E access points. One of the AP's is
acting as a repeater, but it will not repeat any signals. I have added
the correct MAC for the AP to repeat in the repeating AP, and I have
also ticked the 'allow signal to be repeated' and added the MAC of the
repeater on the other AP.
The access points are not "visible" to each other, therefore I have used
an external antenna, but when I read the user guide it says that the
external antenna is only Tx and the Rx is on the internal antenna. Is
this correct? Do the AP's have to face each other for this to work?

Regards

Jon A.

[Glenn Quesenberry · Accepted solution]

Jon,  That is correct, the APs will need to face each other.  When you connect the external antenna, one of the two internal antennas (TX) is disabled in lieu of the external antenna.  The other internal antenna is the receive side and is still active, so unless the APs are facing each other, no signal will likely be received.  I would recommend positioning them towards one another and if at all possible with at least some line of sight between them.

Regards,

Glenn

[jon.aril.antonsen]

Thank you for your answer. It was as I thought then.....

[Glenn Quesenberry]

Hey Jon, some further internal discussion with the WAP200E product team has identified some isue with the documentation it seems.  The documentation is slightly misleading, actually what happens when an external antenna is connected, the internal antenna switches to a single Rx and the remaining 1Tx and 1 Rx are switched over for the external antenna's use.  So the external antenna has full Tx/Rx capability and the internal antenna is only operating with a single receive antenna.  Now with that all said, it's always best to try and locate the APs so that they are facing one another, however you should get wireless signal connectivity between them even if they are not.

This leads me to ask, what other type of interferiors may be causing you problems?  Are there many physical obstructions between the two APs?  Are you aware of any other wireless devices/signals in the area that may be causing interference?  How far apart are the two APs?

Something you could try in gauging other wireless signals is using a tool on a laptop like "Netstumbler" or some other wireless specturm analysis tool and do a "walk-around" of the area to see just what other devices may be causing you problems.  I would also try to use a single wireless band (say 802.11g) instead of "mixed-mode" and then see how far you can walk around the area with a laptop running the wirless spectrum analyzer tool to help you gauge the signal strength you are getting from the main AP.  Of course any type of physical obstructions like trees, buildings, etc. are apt to cause signal degredation.  I assume the APs are mounted outside, especially the external antennas?

Sorry for the previous confusion, and the product team is aware of the documentation issue and will address that in the next publication.  Thanks for your patience and continued feedback!

Best Regards,

Glenn

[jon.aril.antonsen]

Hello and thanks again for your answer.

The antennas are placed so that there are no obstructions between them. The ap's are configured to 802.11g. the only thing that might be an issue is that they are placed ruffly 50 meter's in hight differense and ruffly 80 meter's apart.

I tried to walk around with my laptop, and I'm lossing signals from the "main" ap before I get near the repeating AP. Is this the hight difference og the lenght between them? The next step now will be to wire the ap instead of running repeater mode....

Regards

Jon A.

[Glenn Quesenberry]

Jon,

     I think your issue is the difference in height between them (50 Meters), not so much the distance between them (80 Meters).  The AP units themselves have about a 50 degree beam off the face of the units so with that height differential that likely explains why the signal is neglible.  If it's not possible to adjust the heigh difference (which is probably the case) then you may have to angle them towards each other in order to get the best signal reception possible.  Alternatively you could investigate using a 3rd Party antenna that is directional and/or adjustable (not sure which type of external antenna you are using now).

     The bottom line is from your description you are having the signal issues likely due to the height disparity between them, not the overall distance.

Regards,

Glenn