RF Detection

[rnance]

Could someone please tell me what a good inexpensive tool to use for detecting radio interfence.

[scottmac]

"One man's signal is another man's interference"

Probably the easiest and least expensive way to track in-band interference (from a similar device to that which is being interefered with) would be to attach a directional antenna and sweep the horizon for other signals.

For out-of-band interference (like noisy power lines, AC hum, etc) something like an AM radio tuned off-station can give you a good indication of the noise source. The antennas in AM radios tend to be somewhat directional (like a dipole - the ferrite bar antennas). Rotating the radio should pick up any (out-of-band) noise capable of interering. Just trace back in the direction of the noise.

What kind of interference are you experiencing?

The ARRl (www.arrl.org) may have some tips on tracking down interference as well.

Good Luck

Scott

(Chicago)

[rnance]

When we first did our site survey we were not getting any problems in one area of our manufacturing facility. Now we are having problems in that area. It is not a problem with the Acces point because I can associate with it and work fine in a different location.

Of course nothing has changed so they say, but something has or something was not turned on when we did the survey. I am trying to locate where the noise is coming from and what channel.

This is a large production line running 24x7 so I cannot have them shutting machines down at will.

We are using 802.11b Aironet 1200 Wirelss Access Points.

[thisisshanky]

AirMagnet is a very good commercial tool that can be used to find interference from other 802.11b networks nearby. I know this is not probably an option for you, because you are trying to find a freeware. Well if you goto Airmagnet.com you can download an evaluation version of the same software. It will run only for 7 days, and not more than 5 minutes. Each time u ll have to close it reopen it. This software can be used to scan what other channels are nearby, causing interference. It is always recommended that you use some tool like this to find out what other radios are causing interference. I will let you know if i do find some inexpensive rf scanner..

I would also recommend a spectrum analyzer hardware to find out interference from a wide range of equipments.