Wireless Spectrum Analyzer on the Cheap 94
PennyManDeux writes "There's an article over at TheTechLounge looking at the Wi-Spy wireless spectrum analyzer. Here's a quote: 'Although most wireless boxes are able to push through the lower amounts of interference, some people, such as those living in apartments or otherwise deluged with many wireless signals may have problems. It is with this dilemma in mind that the people at MetaGeek created the Wi-Spy spectrum analyzer.' Cool thing is, it's only $100..."
Timing is everything... (Score:2)
Re:Timing is everything... (Score:1)
Looks pretty cool, lets hope there is a Linux version for all the real geeks out there.....
Re:Timing is everything... (Score:5, Informative)
Yes. [kismetwireless.net]
Re:Timing is everything... (Score:5, Informative)
The linux app pretty much looks and works just like the Windows app, but it does have a raw output util that you can do some interesting things with.
I haven't used the OSX app, but the screenshots on their site look very good.
Re:Timing is everything... (Score:1)
Re:Timing is everything... (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2006/02/12/review_w
Lots of questions unanswered...baited with price (Score:5, Informative)
1. Does it do channel characterizations? Apparently not.
2. Does it have channel reticules? Apparently not.
3. Does it do 802.11a? Apparently not.
4. Does it have enough resolution to find Bluetooth and other spread-spectrum devices? Apparenly not.
5. Can it identify specific kinds of interfering devices, like 2.4Ghz phones, microwaves, door openers, etc? Apparently not.
I say apparently not because none of this functionality, commonly found in other spectrum analyzers of this type, is even mentioned. It's nice to have a cool A-to-D converter in the 2.4Ghz region, but comparing this to Cognio or Air Magnet is like comparing a bicycle to a Porche. I can buy a bicycle for under $100. I can barely touch the ugliest old 914 Porche for $3K.
Don't be fooled by price, or comparisions that hardly scratch the surface of what diagnostic tools are all about. For under $100, it's pretty damn cute. But it's just the basics.... and minimalist basics at best.
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:2)
No sour grapes at all...... (Score:5, Informative)
This 'review', however, tries to make the comparison with higher priced equipment, then doesn't cite the features that makes that higher costing equipment compare to the under $100 variety-- only cost is used. Nice bait.... not very sharp hook.
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:3, Interesting)
You act as if the tools are not necesary for the job.
Next time you have to do something that requires the least amount of precision (due to fines, complaints and general hazards of being wrong) try using the bare minimum equipment or none at all.
The guy was dead on in his assessment and insulting him does nothing to further your point.
So yeah, it's crap, if you want this same functionality... you can go out and buy a wireless repeater and flash it with the "spectrum analyzer
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:1)
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:3, Insightful)
How many high end frequency analyzers count as "of this type?" It's a $100 USB accessory. You wouldn't expect the same performance you'd get from a professional grade unit, would you? You mention some exceptionally useful functions, but you wouldn't expect them in a $100 box. Hell, the companion software for some of the nicer analyzers costs way more than $100. As for "oth
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:2)
What kind of cheap-ass spectrum analyzer are you getting for only $5000? The good ones start at $20k.
FSCK that. I'm bying 100 new microwaves first. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:4, Interesting)
$5000 will get you a working HP 8566B on Ebay.
100 Hz to 22 GHz, 10Hz resolution, and if you can lift 100 lbs :-)
you can even call it portable
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:1)
you'll have room to squeeze in some short warranty).
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:2)
It varies. Some of the sellers are calibration labs that
sell the units with a valid calibration and right of return.
For such a unit I've seen it vary between $5000 to $7500.
I would have a hard time shelling out that kind of money
for something from a less known seller on an as-is basis.
The model I'm referring to is very capable, and I still see
plenty of them used at a local EMC lab. But it is the same
model I used at school back in the 1980s.
What I call *proven technology* ;-)
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:1)
We got the new stuff in later in the year, by Agilent Technologies. They push the 5Hz to 26.5GHz range, I believe, with comparable or better in other areas. I've still got an Agilent where I am now, it's just tuned to our specific band instead of having that ultra-wide range that I'm used to. No more listening to Radio or getting TV broadcasts
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:3, Informative)
Host-based utility programs can go a long way toward covering the "firmware gap" between older and newer instruments, though.
Re:Lots of questions unanswered...baited with pric (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2006/02/12/review_w
Comparison table on page 2:
http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2006/02/12/review_w
Over reacting.. (Score:2)
I know that a $50,000 Cessna isn't going to be the same as a 100 million dollar 747, and I'm not fooled into thinking this when someone talks about
Nah. You missed my principle point (Score:2)
Yes, it's nice to see things in the 2.4Ghz band. It's very simple and that simplicity can be useful for those looking for simple amplitude nearby. Beyond that, there are lots of things that it doesn't do.... including letting someone using this as a tool identify lots of signal types-- not just that there might be something inside the boundaries.
So, the dialog goes: Ug. Look:
Re:Nah. You missed my principle point (Score:2)
The article thinks it's a glowing thing because it costs >$100.... without any comparisons to others-- even the higher priced ones.
Maybe because the people the device is aimed at have no interest in something that costs $5000 and up. Why compare this thing to something that you'll never use? When I'm looking for an economy car I don't want comparisons to a $50,000 bus. The comparisons should be toward the tool that people who might buy this thing currently use. That's either nothing (guessing the pro
Wires, baby Wires (Score:5, Insightful)
You can analyze spectrums all day long, meanwhile me and my Cat 6 are enjoying gigabit speeds! Thats some fast, fast porn baby!
Your connection to the web... (Score:1)
It's not likely to be faster than the working speed of either cat 5 or wireless.
Re:Your connection to the web... (Score:2, Funny)
I never whine about getting fragged in an online deathmatch because someone reheated a cup of coffee in the microwave, or the phone rang, or the channel 5 news van ran a remote feed too close to my house.
I whine because the guy was CAMPING AND THATS LIKE TOTALLY GHEY MAN STFU N00B kekekekekeke
Re:Your connection to the web... (Score:3, Insightful)
Rising to their challenge is exactly what makes the game fun, not rackin
Re:Wires, baby Wires (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Wires, baby Wires (Score:1)
what's the difference if the hardware cant handle? (Score:2)
Re:what's the difference if the hardware cant hand (Score:2)
Then either you have very slow hard drives in your boxes, or a very cheap Gigabit Ethernet switch. I regularly transfer 5 GB files around my network, and in doing some testing I discovered that between the exact same two machines, when I forced one of them to connect at 100M
Re:Wires, baby Wires (Score:3, Funny)
Interesting, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Interesting, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
to find the biggest offender, radios do go bad.
I got a SpreadSpectrum 2.4Ghz phone, 2*2.4Ghz access point, and a 5Ghz wireless video link, and 3*2.4Ghz devices accesing the access points, and a Microwave. It all works no problem together (except the microwave kills the video link when in use.)
My brother has a cordless phone, and 1 AP, and 1 Laptop. His phone knocks his laptop off the network everytime. whats the difference? could be his A.P. isn't switching frequencies when he tried to force it. Could be any other device in his house (or unshielded cable TV) is tieing up all but one frequeny in the AP's range, or it could be a really bad phone. It is cheap to replace the phone, since the problem is obviously tied to it's use, but if it is the A.P. he will likely be fighting the same issue in the future. If a neighbors device steps into the now open frequency at next power outage/etc.
with this we could look at what the phone, PC, TV, Sat, Laptop, etc each contribute to that spectrum (and walk around the house to find the strongest area to locate.) not just which device pushed us over the edge, and is easiest to power off for a long period. IE maybe he just needs to replace a $2 coax cable, but what a pain to cut the feed for hours while he tests every other scenariao.
Re:Interesting, but... (Score:1)
Re:Interesting, but... (Score:1)
2.4 will do 25km and 7 mbit aggregate. Perfectly fine for 1.5 mbps home applications.
I love the SuperNet!
Re:Interesting, but... (Score:1)
Just another toy (Score:5, Interesting)
I have conducted many site surveys for businesses wanting wireless networks. The purpose of a spectrum analyzer is to pin-point sources of RF interference that may limit wireless connectivity, so that measures may be put in place to reduce RF emissions. You'd be surprised at amount of RF interference generated by industrial equipment, which poses a problem for RF engineers.
This product merely shows you that you have interference, and lacks the ability to pin-point the source. This product would be better if you could have an external parabolic antenna, but it looks like someone will need to figure out how to jimmy rig a Pringles can antenna to this unit. What can you expect for $100?
Re:Just another toy (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Just another toy (Score:5, Informative)
I've done exactly this to yagi antennas to eliminate transmission line loss. The result is a thin USB wifi wand:
http://www.dattaway.org/antenna2.jpg [dattaway.org]
Re:Just another toy (Score:2)
How about... (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.metageek.net/ [metageek.net]
You know... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:You know... (Score:2)
You can get what you need for free. (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/
Nope! (Score:3, Informative)
-R
Re:You can get what you need for free. (Score:3, Informative)
Netstubmler does something pretty different. This shows you electromagnetic activity in the WiFi spectrum, no matter what protocol. NetStumbler only shows you things talking the WiFi protocol, but gives you WiFi-specific details. I use both for different purposes.
Re:You can get what you need for free. (Score:3, Informative)
so show me how to set netstumbler to detect 4.2ghz transmissions that do not have SSID's or wifi Rf protocols.
netstumbler cant show you the raw RF signal levels at each RF channel for wifi.
No free or even $100 lunch (Score:3, Interesting)
Now Idon't know exactly what they put in that little USB pod, but it's unlikely it has the expensive dual-conversion superheterodyne signal chain, the interdigital varactor tunable filters, the low-noise Gallium-arsenide preamps, and the other expensive features of a real spectrum analyzer.
These cheap ones *may* be *mildly* useful, under *some* conditions, at *some* temperatures, and in *some* environmnts*. But usually the times we really need one of these eexpensive beasties is when all the conditions are unsuitable for the cheapo ones.
For example, just leaving out the tricky filters means the cheapo device will be very sensitive to other, out of band signals, that are of no consequence. False positives, very bad thing to see when you're trying to impress the client. Even worse when they pay big bucks to relocate the interfering devices, and the network still doesnt work.
Re:No free or even $100 lunch (Score:4, Funny)
<neo>whoah</neo>
Re:No free or even $100 lunch (Score:1)
Re:No free or even $100 lunch (Score:2)
Re:No free or even $100 lunch (Score:1)
These cheap ones *may* be *mildly* useful, under *some* conditions, at *some* temperatures, and in *some* environmnts*
As they make clear on their home page, it's a $100 tool for debugging $100 networks. Or just for futzing around, really. I have one, and it's a great help in resolving basic questions like, "Is it my cordless phone or a neighbor's?" or "Is my cheapo wireless router dropping the connection because of interference or because it's retarded?" Plus it's neat to wander around any see what's emitti
It's not a free lunch, but it's still lunch. (Score:2)
People are comparing this to really expensive professional tools. That's a fine comparison to make, but it's purely academic. I'd like to have a spectrum analyzer -- what geek wouldn't? But I also have a budget, and $5k for a tool I'll only use occasionally isn't in it.
So really, instead of comparing this thing to tools that the average pers
Re:It's not a free lunch, but it's still lunch. (Score:2)
The less you know, the MORE you need a tool that doesnt have lots of glitches. p> If you're a PhD EE, then you already know all about image and harmonic and third-level intermod products. So when you see a strange blip on the radar, you go "of course, I'll ignore that, it's obviously the second harmonic of TV channel 41 minus the neighbor's baby monitor."
If you're a noob, you may end up chasing all over the neighborhood looki
Re:It's not a free lunch, but it's still lunch. (Score:2)
Doing
product page with animated pics (Score:3, Informative)
And from the review if you can't load it:
Conclusion
The 2.4 GHz spectrum is unlicensed. This means anyone can throw any type of signal they want into it. Anything from wireless AP's, to home automation products, to everyday appliances will throw out signals in this radio frequency. What all this means to the average person is this... interference. Either interference from other AP's, or a microwave, or a cordless phone. Either way, multiple devices vying for the same spectrum can never be good; it will affect your signal and degrade your throughput. The way to deal with this type of interference is to either ignore it, or try to go around it. Ignoring it might be acceptable for some, but finding ways around it is really a hit or miss proposition. It is hard to work around something you can't see. Sure, changing the channel on the router or physically moving the device might work, but in the end, you are just guessing. Now you no longer have to guess. With the introduction of the Wi-Spy, you can "see" the interference you are trying so hard to avoid. Before, you might have gotten the channel or the position right and enjoyed a cleaner signal, but I doubt that happened quickly. With the Wi-Spy, you should be able to figure out quickly and definitively just what your monkeying around might have eventually revealed. If anything, being able to rule out what won't work, you have won half the battle. With all the time you save, you can finally get out and do more important things like mow the lawn or clean the kitchen. (Ed: Oh goody!)
You just can't beat being able to "see" the spectrum you are using. Not having to take out a personal loan to buy the equipment is another plus. The software may have its quirks here and there, but no matter what, it still provides a good view of the spectrum you will be attempting to navigate. Software can be upgraded and fixed, and I believe that as time goes by, it will only get better. Considering its competition, the Wi-Spy is a steal at $100. If you do any type of wireless network setups, or you get drafted to set up everyone else's, the Wi-Spy should most definitely be in your laptop bag.
If you'd like to purchase the MetaGeek Wi-Spy, you can get it for about $100 directly through MetaGeek.net or you can buy it at ThinkGeek.com.
Pros
A spectrum Analyzer on the cheap
Portable
Easy to use
Did I mention it wasn't $3000+
Cons
Software could use some tweaking
Requires
Only works on 802.11b and g, not 802.11a
Re:product page with animated pics (Score:1)
They're radio amateurs, and in the USA, they're licensed by the FCC, and their rules
are found in Part 97 of the FCC Rules and Regulations (47 CFR 97).
They're allowed to run up to 1500W output power into as big an antenna as they can afford,
although they are only allowed 100W on spread-spectrum.
They do not have to suffer from interference by unlicensed signals operating under the aegis
of FCC Part 15 (47 CFR 15); unlicensed operations must defer to licens
EM camera (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:EM camera (Score:2)
Re:EM camera (Score:1, Interesting)
Also your perception of visible beams is not very realistic as those frequencies do not scatter to much on plain air.
In the interest of Full Disclosure... (Score:1, Troll)
As noted in TFA (page 4), the product is carried [thinkgeek.com] by Thinkgeek [thinkgeek.com], which like Slashdot [slashdot.org], is owned by OSTG [ostg.com].
It's all in the software (Score:4, Informative)
As many other readers point out, a spectrum analyzer it's not. I really don't think that's the intended purpose. It gives you an indication of band occupancy over time, and that's about it. For many uses that's just fine. If I'm trying to get some ISM-band device to form a link and it won't, the WiSpy gives a good first-order indication of band conditions. If WiSpy comes back clean, I move on to other diagnostic steps, generally involving test gear that costs (easily) 100 times what the WiSpy did. If it saves you some time, great. In my opinion, it's cheap insurance.
Not a spectrum Analyzer ... (Score:4, Informative)
The difference between the two is resolution. A panaramic receiver is just
a band scanner. It will tell you what channels are occupied and the relative
signal strength. A spectrum analyzer will do the same and more, such as
giving you a good idea of the kind of signal you are looking at, and it's
purity. Many years ago Hams used panaramic receivers (scope display) to
see where the dx and band openings were without having to tune from one
end of the band to the other. If you are looking for a clear (or occupied)
channel the panaramic receiver is good enough. If you want to know why the
FCC cited you for a dirty signal, then you want a spectrum analyzer.
Wi-Spy not a spectrum analyser (Score:2)
My wireless card software can already show me the signal-to-noise levels on all the channels so I fail to see what else that thing can do in addition. And if you insist on seeing a quite useless image of the 'spectrum' then there are free software for that out there already such as Kismet [kismetwireless.net].
The comparison on their website is just silly. You can rent a basic spectrum analyser [aeroflex.com] for a couple of hundred dollars for the day, plug in a directional antenna to your test port and pinpoint your problem, as well as use
No, thanks.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:No, thanks.... (Score:2)
I've actually got one (Score:5, Informative)
Wi-Spy does a great job of doing this. I fired it up at a downtown client and saw there was a strip of intense interference down in channel 1. Moved them up to 11- problem solved. I've also done some tests at home... it's very easy to tell the difference between a microwave, spread spectrum phone system, video sender, and other wifi networks... they have rather distinctive appearences in the graphs Wi-Spy produces. Now that I know what they look like, I can take an educated guess, where before, I was grasping at straws.
For those of you getting your panties in a wad about it not matching a $5000 spectrum analyzer: Duh? Of course it doesn't. But that doesn't mean it's useless... there are a lot of folks (like me) for whom the cost of a "real" spectrum analyzer is completely unjustifiable. But I can spend $100 easily, and *for what I do*, which is occasionally troubleshoot SOHO wireless networks, it provides most of the functionality I need.
The really interesting fact is that this thing defines an entirely new product category: inexpensive spectrum analyzers. I would really like to see what could be done for $500... that's still an order of magnitude cheaper than the existing solutions, but I bet you could add a bunch of features.
-R
Another review (Score:3, Interesting)
mono? (Score:2)
Re:mono? (Score:3, Informative)
How about spying on video emanations?! (Score:2)
Circuit Cellar (Score:1, Informative)
http://www.circuitcellar.com/library/print/0406/A
You should see the smile on my face... (Score:3, Informative)
You can keep your 100 Dollar wifi-thingy
My baby can do so much stuff the owners of a 100 Dollar wifi-spy can dream about
It can scan everything realtime (I do mean REAL-TIME) oh...and did I mention it can scan
the WHOLE darn spectrum...not just the Wi-Fi spectrum? And yes...it's still realtime
and it's from the 80's and didn't cost an arm and a leg.
I'd say it's better with a 1000 Dollars worth of real results rather than 100 dollars of promises!
Re:You should see the smile on my face... (Score:2)
I've used some nice spectrum analyzers at work, but they are way out of my price range. Cheap and microwave are two words rarely seen together.
Re:You should see the smile on my face... (Score:1)
the WHOLE darn spectrum...not just the Wi-Fi spectrum?
So you can easily detect the bursts of high energy Gamma rays I am firing at you as punishment for using inaccurate language?
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Over priced ? (Score:1)
For what the device is I do think it is a bit over priced. From what I was able to put together a JUNO-USB only costs about $6 USD. So as much as I want one I'll wait for the price to come down a bit or for more players to come to the market.
dirty pdf version
http://www.unigen.com/news05/pdf/05022005_juno.pdf [unigen.com]
google html version
http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:B2zMiMToiloJ: www.unigen.com/news05/pdf/05022005_juno.pdf+JUNO+U SB+usd&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1 [64.233.183.104]