Showing posts with label RF Engineers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RF Engineers. Show all posts

How Far Should a WiFi Router Be From Where You Sleep?

As WiFi becomes more essential to modern homes, many people wonder how far a WiFi router should be from their sleeping area for safety and comfort. While research on WiFi radiation and health effects is still evolving, keeping a safe distance between your WiFi router and where you sleep can help reduce exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation and potentially improve sleep quality.

In this article, we’ll cover the recommended distance for placing a WiFi router near your bed, explore safety considerations, and provide tips for limiting exposure to WiFi signals overnight.

Understanding WiFi Radiation

Is mmWave Safe? When Can mmWave Be Dangerous?


The safety of mmWave technology is a topic of ongoing research and discussion. While mmWave technology has been used for various applications, including medical imaging and airport security scanners, the use of mmWave frequencies for widespread wireless communication is relatively new, particularly in the context of 5G networks.

There are a few safety aspects to consider when assessing the safety of mmWave technology:

RFK & Joe Rogan on WiFi & Cell Phone Radiation Can Cause Cancer

Robert F. Kennedy on the danger of Wifi Radiation, including cell phone tumors behind the ear, and that he is representing hundreds of people with such tumors.

Cell Coverage Hole Detection

cell coverage map hole
Cell coverage hole detection refers to the process of identifying areas or locations with poor or no cellular network coverage. These coverage holes can result in dropped calls, slow data speeds, or complete loss of connectivity in certain areas.

Detecting cell coverage holes is essential for telecommunication companies and network operators as it helps them identify areas that need improvement in terms of network infrastructure and signal strength. By identifying these coverage gaps, network providers can take necessary actions to enhance coverage and improve the overall user experience.

Here are some common methods used for cell coverage hole detection:

Customer Feedback: Network operators often rely on customer complaints and feedback to identify areas with poor coverage. Customers may report dropped calls, weak signals, or data connectivity issues, which can help pinpoint potential coverage holes.

Drive Testing: Drive testing involves driving or traveling through various areas while monitoring signal strength, call quality, and data performance. Specialized equipment or mobile apps can be used to collect data on network performance, allowing operators to identify coverage gaps.

Signal Mapping: Signal mapping involves creating detailed coverage maps by measuring signal strength and quality at various locations. This can be done using specialized tools or crowdsourcing data from users through dedicated apps or services.

Network Performance Monitoring: Network operators continuously monitor network performance metrics, including signal strength, call drop rates, and data throughput. Anomalies or patterns indicating poor coverage can be detected through data analysis.

Site Surveys: Network operators may conduct physical site surveys in areas where coverage issues are reported or suspected. These surveys involve evaluating the signal strength and quality on-site, assessing the surrounding environment, and identifying potential obstacles or interference sources.

By utilizing these methods, network operators can gather valuable data and insights into areas of poor coverage, enabling them to plan and implement solutions such as adding new cell towers, adjusting antenna configurations, or deploying signal boosters to improve coverage in those areas.

Do TV Signals Affect Your Phone Reception?



Yes, it’s true that LTE signals from local cell towers can interfere with TV antenna reception. This is because LTE is now carried on frequencies that used to be used for television, and so if an antenna isn’t designed to block those signals there can be problems. In an ideal world, signals in the air wouldn’t mingle, mix, or blend with other signals. Our world would be simpler if wireless RF signals would dutifully follow separation rules. However, they are freewheeling spirits that enjoy visiting their friends in the cables. This means that using your cell phone near your TV can result in interference.

In order for a TV signal to interfere at all with a cell signal, it would have to first be stronger than that cell signal. Over the ages engineers have done their very best to keep the interference to a minimum. A simple way to do this is to have the signals in the cable use a different frequency range than the signals in the air. It turns out that signals at different frequencies don’t like to mingle. However, the wireless spectrum has gotten crowded, and relatively recently cellphones have begun using frequencies that cable TV systems use. With our natural separation solution out the door we have to fall back to our next line of defense: RF shielding. This includes using multiple layers of shielding on our cables, tight connectors and well-designed cable modems and set-top boxes.

Transmitter Interference

Communication systems that transmit signals capable of generating interference include amateur radios, CBs and radio and television stations. Design flaws such as insufficient filtering and inadequate shielding or frayed or corroded wires may make equipment susceptible to transmitter interference. To determine whether the interference is caused by a transmitter or electrical equipment, unplug one household electronic component at a time to see if you can isolate any electrical interference source. If your equipment is reacting to nearby transmitters such as an amateur radio or CB, you will have interference only when the radio operator is talking and you will be able to hear only half of the conversation. If this is the case, you may be able to verify the interference source if you see an antenna mounted on a nearby house or car. Cordless telephones use radio frequencies and have no protection from interference. If you are experiencing interference on your cordless phone, you should contact the equipment manufacturer for assistance.


Electrical Interference and The TV


Electrical interference appears on the audio and video portion of television programming. Short bursts of interference may be caused by hair dryers, sewing machines, electric drills, doorbell transformers and garage door openers. If the pattern is on continuously, it may be caused by equipment that is in use full time. Electrical interference may be caused by power lines or electrical equipment in your home. Interference caused by your power company’s electrical equipment is normally continuous and your power company should be notified. A simple method of determining the location of electrical interference is by using a portable AM radio tuned to a quiet frequency at the lower end of the dial. You should hear static or a buzzing sound as you get close to the source of the interference. The closer you get, the more intense the static will be. 

What Should I Be Doing?

If you find that interference has befallen you and the video on your TV is breaking up when you use your portable device, the first thing to do is check that the connector on the cable leading to your set-top box is tight. Experts at https://longrangesignal.com/which-direction-should-a-tv-antenna-face/ are able to assist others with a step by step guide in helping diagnose and solve the connection problems you face. So, whenever in a predicament on what to do, try doing a little light reading before touching anything.

Tightening the connector with your fingers is another sufficient solution, but keep in mind that if you move the set-top box the connector may get loose again. Next, check the cable feeding the set-top box. They’re not the least expensive in the store, but they also aren’t much more expensive than poor-quality cables. You will want to look for the cables with quad layer shielding. Finally, check for any RF splitters in the line. Look at the back of the RF splitter if the back plate is glued on instead of soldered on then you will want to replace the splitter.

While some of these problems can be fixed by yourself, it’s best to check with your cable provider first. They may offer you cables or splitters for free or a nominal fee, or provide you with suggestions for which ones to buy. Whatever the case, there’s always a solution to these problems and all you need to do is ask the right questions. 

Advantages of In-Building Wireless Solutions in Work Environments


In a versatile world, it just bodes well to have better wireless and remote correspondences inside our places of business and other different structures. However, very frequently, remote gadgets work ineffectively – or don’t function in any manner at all – inside business work environments, even in the event in-building remote solutions have already been introduced.

As of now, the desire for "consistently on networks” is very strong. The most recent advances and issues in technology have already been revealed – words such as narrowbanding, 4G and work systems – however the fundamental concern now is getting progressively business buildings to change over to remote connections.

WHY ARE IN-BUILDING WIRELESS SERVICES NEEDED?

At the point remote radio-frequency (RF) signals go through a material, for example, a block or drywall, they lose their quality. RF conveyance frameworks are utilized to keep signals powerful and strong within buildings.

In-building wireless (IBW) solutions need a couple of fundamental parts. To start with, one would need a donor receiving wire, which is generally fitted on the rooftop. A bidirectional RF amplifier enables signals to come in and go out, which helps the force for both the downlink and uplink roads.

In the end, the links work as a solitary receiving wire or are bugged down the track by numerous antennas as a feature of a disseminated radio wire framework. At best, the reception wires are obvious from each spot clients will require them at, in spite of the fact that RF signals can go through a couple of drywall dividers and still function admirably.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF  IN-BUILDING WIRELESS SERVICES AT WORK?

In any case, various advantages are driving the most recent flood of IBW frameworks. Some of these benefits are given below.

For business structures, the greatest benefit is the employee versatility, which can boost working performances for prospective customers, for example, medical clinic nurses or even instructors and understudies at schools.

In-building wireless services are capable of totally changing the work environment of a business. Proprietors of commercial buildings have utilized IBW as an approach to separate their assets and to improve inhabitant maintenance.

IBW additionally decreases requirements of a cable system, which can enhance activities and style in numerous offices while reducing expenses at the same time.

Remote connections can be incorporated with safety and other plans of insurance.

Open-to-public security communities of people are remunerating IBW selection, and back up plans have started offering discounts for property-and-loss insurance, as of late, to building proprietors with indoor remote interchanges.

IBW is known to have a great impact on responses to fires and life security.

The remote framework guarantees almost full coverage for audio, information, and crisis correspondences in every aspect of the building. This does not exclude lifts, staircases, and a parking structure broadening five levels underneath the main level.

At the end of the day, regardless of whether it's upgrading or creating an entirely new development, it is now understood that remote and wireless solutions are the most recent 'must-have' enhancements in the business land industry.

Carrier IQ: Mobile Service Intelligence ?'s

Why are wireless carriers unwilling to look at open data source solutions (ie. deadcellzones.com) to solve problems and would rather spend 1000X more on a solution that might not return any more value than free solutions. Is it a control issue?

When I speak with telecom industry insiders about the value that Carrier IQ providers to their customers (who?) it isn't clear.  The only things I have heard from people who know the company is that they have "issues" and their data is "too expensive".  I have tried to reach out to the company several times unsuccessfully to see about building a mutually beneficial relationship.  One of my biggest "pet peeves" being a telecom industry outsider is the incestuous nature of protected carrier business relationships.  As I see it the carriers are unwilling to look at open data source solutions to solving the problem and would rather spend 1000X more on a solution that might not return any more value than we do.  In my view, the RF engineers are trying to protect their jobs at all costs and continue to create complicated stories that the marketing / business people can't comprehend.

From what I hear about their fancy mobile handset intelligence solution is that it provides quantifiable data that their customers can act on but are they really solving the problem better than we are?  What is wrong with having actual customers log complaints where the network stinks for free.  Carrier IQ probably thousands of handsets on the market that are generating data on their behalf that the consumer doesn't even know about. Its impossible to fill in all of the billions of places that have coverage gaps so shouldn't a smart carrier purchase data where their customers WANT it most.  As you can see I am a reluctant supporter of applications that sit on the handset and eat up bandwidth, battery life and network bandwidth.

Bridgescale Partners recently led a a $12M series D round of financing for CarrierIQ a provider of mobile service intelligence solutions that use the mobile phone to give detailed metrics on service quality and usage. Mohr Davidow Ventures, Accel Partners, Charles River Ventures, Nauta Capital, and Intel Capital also participated in the round.  If anyone can share customers or revenue history please post on the comments section below.  However, here is a summary of their funding history which seems very elaborate considering the simple problem they are solving.

Total Funding - $42M

Series A, 8/06 $10M
Mohr Davidow Ventures
Accel Partners
Benchmark Capital

Series C, 1/09 $20M
Intel Capital
Presidio Ventures
Sumitomo Corporation

Series D, 6/10 $12M

Clearwire Adds "Honest" Coverage Maps

Kudos to Clearwire who has taken the “coverages map battle" to a whole new level, in a way that potential wireless users might find more useful than anything offered by Verizon or AT&T.   Their coverage maps use anecdotal network data signals from testing to show actual expected performance on a block-by-block level.  View the new maps at Clear.com/imap, which combine RF engineering network-performance graphs on top of a Google Map, allowing you to see a more detailed map of WiMAX deployments in each of its live markets.

It will be interesting to see how Clearwire customers users begin to add locations to our map of 4gdeadzones.com. Not all dead zones are treated equally and eventually 4G and LTE coverage maps will have to be audited for their claims as well. Maybe Clearwire would be open to being the first company to view user-generated maps as a customer-friendly service similar to financial auditing services Deloitte or PricewaterhouseCoopers.  It won't be long before major retailers Amazon, Best Buy Mobile and Radio Shack get into the coverage map business and will force carriers to be more transparent about their coverage.  Auditing is one of the best ways to accomplish this.

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