Program or app to analyze the strength of the wireless signal (preferably in dBm).Wi-Fi enabled device like a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop with Wi-Fi adapter.
#Typical wifi signal strength dbm how to#
Six Things That Block Your Wi-Fi, and How to Fix Them. Dos and Don'ts of Wi-fi connectivity: Maximizing Range and Reception. Brain, M., Wilson, T., and Johnson, B.What is a Decibel-milliwatt? Which is a stronger signal: -20 dBm or -80 dBm?.What materials do you think will block a Wi-Fi signal? What materials do you think will let a Wi-Fi signal pass through? ( Hint: Look at some of the references in the Bibliography, and do your own background research).Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum does Wi-Fi use?.For more detailed information about dBm, see the reference in the Bibliography. For example, a signal strength of -15 dBm is a fairly strong signal, whereas a signal strength of -90 dBm is a very weak signal. It is important to note that a value that is closer to zero means a stronger signal than a value that is farther away from zero. The dBm values you measure for this project will most likely be negative. So, positive dBm values have a power greater than 1 mW, and negative dBm values have a power less than 1 mW. Decibel-milliwatts measure the power level of a signal relative to a base level of 1 milliwatt (mW), which is equal to 0 dBm. Decibel-milliwatts are different from the regular metric units you are probably used to working with like meters, grams, and seconds. Wireless signal strength is measured in units called Decibel-milliwatts, or dBm. Do you think the same thing applies to radio waves? Will some materials weaken or totally block radio waves, while other materials let them pass through? In this science project, you will find out by testing the ability of different materials to block Wi-Fi signals from your wireless router. Other materials, like water or tinted glass, will only let some light through and others like wood or metal will completely block visible light. Some materials, like air or clear glass, let visible light pass through with hardly any attenuation at all. Humans are most familiar with visible light since that is what we can see with our eyes, but there are many other types of radiation, including radio waves, that we cannot see (image credit NASA, Wikimedia Commons users InductiveLoad and NI47).Įlectromagnetic radiation can be attenuated, or weakened, when it passes through different materials. Each type of radiation has a different frequency. A diagram explaining the electromagnetic spectrum. Radio waves have the largest Wavelength (on the scale of large buildings), while gamma rays have the smallest wavelength (on the scale of atomic nuclei).įigure 1. Giga is the metric prefix for one billion (1,000,000,000, or 10 9).ĭiagram of the electromagnetic spectrum with radiation type, wavelength, approximate scale of wavelength, and frequency. Wi-Fi devices operate at either 2.4 or 5 gigahertz (GHz). Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), so one hertz (1 Hz) is one cycle per second. Each part of the electromagnetic spectrum has a different frequency, or number of waves per second. You are already very familiar with one type of electromagnetic radiation: visible light! Visible light and radio waves are just different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum (see Figure 1). Wi-Fi devices do this using radio waves, which are a type of electromagnetic radiation. Wi-Fi is the common name for a type of communication that allows electronic devices to exchange data or connect to the Internet wirelessly, meaning they do not need to connect to each other with cables. Before you start, you will need to learn a little more background information about Wi-Fi.
Have you ever been frustrated by a poor-quality or slow connection? In this science project, you will learn about one aspect of getting good reception: materials that can physically block Wi-Fi signals. Odds are that you have probably accessed the Internet with a wireless device like a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
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