Comment on Protection
Justdaveisfine@midwest.social 2 months ago
Hmm I don’t think I get this one.
Is it because its in a cage? I don’t think that will do much to block the WiFi antenna.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
Grostleton@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Faraday cages cannot block stable or slowly varying magnetic fields, such as the Earth’s magnetic field (a compass will still work inside one). To a large degree, however, they shield the interior from external electromagnetic radiation if the conductor is thick enough and any holes are significantly smaller than the wavelength of the radiation
I’m certainly no expert, but something tells me the cage in OP’s pic doesn’t fit the criteria to act as a faraday cage.
deegeese@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
The mesh is not dense enough to be a true Faraday cage for 2.4GHz, but is dense enough to hurt signal strength.
socsa@piefed.social 2 months ago
Probably not for a MIMO AP. The whole idea is that you since the equations to optimize in the presence of multipath. It's legit wizard shit but it's the reason why your cell phone works in a parking garage, because the optimal channel is bouncing off the ventilation shaft. For any reasonably modern AP, it should work the same way. This might hurt a bit but not that much.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
It says WiFi is “slow” not “off.”
I have definitely personally experienced WiFi instability with metals in between the WiFi and a PC.
JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Wifi is a fickle beast, though you may be right.
The elements of the cage will probably interfere, but won’t straight up block the signal. To be an effective faraday cage, holes in the material must be no bigger than 1/10th the wavelength.
2.4GHz wifi has a wavelength of 12cm, and 5GHz is about 5cm…so holes in the cage should be no bigger than 1.2cm for 2.4GHz, or 0.5cm for 5GHz.
Problem #1 is this AP is oriented vertically on a wall. The antennas in these models are designed to be parallel to the floor, and usually not much higher than 15ft.
TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
2.4GHz wifi has a wavelength of 12cm
that’s actually massive, I thought it would be like half a centimeter at most
zqps@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Newer standards are substantially shorter at 5GHz and 6GHz, though it comes at the cost of significantly worse signal penetration through walls.
Tja@programming.dev 2 months ago
Which in a gym will be will be fine.
deegeese@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
The bar spacing is smaller than 2.4GHz radio waves. It absolutely will affect signal. Should have used a plastic cage.
Grostleton@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Are they really that big? Huh, TIL.
deegeese@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
12cm
Grostleton@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Fascinating, thanksnfor the info
Aqarius@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Doesn’t look grounded, though.
deegeese@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
Screws in masonry probably act as a poor Ufer ground. The current is minuscule.
nao@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
If it wasn’t grounded the cage wouldn’t block the signal?
ryannathans@aussie.zone 2 months ago
Wrap your phone in aluminium foil and get back to me
psud@aussie.zone 2 months ago
It is probably more of a reflector rather than blocker, sending the signal back through the wall