Mitsubishi Electronics R100 Network Card User Manual


 
4. Performance
84 R100 Wireless Gateway
Chapter 4 - Wireless Performance
Range
Every environment is unique with different obstacles, barriers,
materials, etc. and, therefore, it is difficult to determine the exact
range that will be achieved without testing. However, some guidelines
have been developed to estimate the range that users will see when
the product is installed in their facility, but there are no hard and fast
specifications.
Radio signals may reflect off some obstacles or be absorbed by others
depending on their construction. For example, with two 802.11b radios,
you may achieve up to 1000 feet in open space outdoors where two
devices have a line of sight, meaning they see each other with no
obstacles. However, the same two units may only achieve up to 300
feet of range when used indoors.
The IEEE 802.11b specification supports four data rates: 11 Mbps,
5.5 Mbps, 2 Mbps, and 1 Mbps. Operation at 1 Mbps provides greater
range than operation at 11 Mbps. The R100 Wireless Gateway will
automatically adjust the data rate to maintain a usable radio connection.
Therefore, a client that is close to the gateway may operate at 11
Mbps while a client that is on the fringe of coverage may operate at 1
Mbps. As mentioned earlier, you can configure the data rates that the
R100 Wireless Gateway will use. Note that if you limit the range of
data rates available to the gateway, you may reduce the effective
wireless range of the Diamond Digital Wireless products.