Antenna information
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Are there any data sheets or useful information on the 4 antenna which could be shared. For example, the dBi for the antenna and what each antenna is used for.
The reason I ask,
-I'm using the WA1201 in repeater mode with both wired and wireless clients connected.
-My main AP/router is on the ground floor
-My WA1201 repeater is on the first floor.
-There is an approximately 45degree vertical angle between my main AP and the WA1201 in repeater mode.
I understand the higher the antenna dBi, the more directional it becomes in the vertical plane. This suggests that for the best connection between my main wifi router and the WA1201, at least some of the antenna on my WA1201 should be positioned at a 45 degree angle towards the main AP. But then for the clients on the 1st floor, some WA1201 antenna should be vertical, so the signal radiates horizontally across the 1st floor.
so my question, of the 4 antenna on the WA1201, when in repeater mode, which antenna are better angled in the direction of the main AP/router, which are better in the same plane as the clients?
My secondary question, what differences does antenna position make in other modes, for example if I configure the WA1201 in the following, how is each antenna used?
-Client
-AP
should I have some antenna pointing vertically, and some at a 45 degree angle or horizontally? This is for coverage over two floors of a building.
I have an engineering background so happy to read technical data sheets if available, but currently I can find no information on the antenna of the WA1201 so I am left with trial and error which has a lot of combinations with 4 antenna. If we take 3 positions, vertical, horizontal and 45 degrees, that is 64 different combinations to test! If I can reduce that with some information from you, that will be most helpful.
many thanks.
Hey
Looking at the device specs there are 4x antenna and these appear to be 2x 5ghz and 2x 2.4, it doesn't say exactly but based on the size and shape I would estimate around 3.5 /4db omni-directional each.
In relation to your query regarding horizontal vs vertical alignment of the antenna, this has been a long running debate.. speaking as a Huawei engineer they tend to recommend the 2x outside aerials at 45 away from the AP and inner straight in their training manual.. \ I I / that style as apparently it helps with beamforming and that is what I generally recommend when asked.. but really from what I have read and experience, it doesn't matter a great deal..
However its generally accepted best practice not to mix this up between client and AP, namely if you choose vertical on one don't go horizontal on the other.
For what you have indicated on a 1st floor setup I would follow the \ I I / recommendation, small changes to the antenna isn't going to drastically help your signal.
From experience the most drops in WiFi tend to be from the client to the AP and not the other way, be worth checking the rate and Tx Rx packet drops. If the AP is dropping packets on the Rx (ie from the client) then swopping the client to directional paddle style aerial may help you.. something like this below. I had a WiFi desktop and once upgraded to 2x paddles sytle point the right direction it did improve the quality, not groundbreaking but from "could be better" to "acceptable"
