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Calibration
The metric that WifiPROBE uses to compute the best channel requires that ‘% Available TX’
be compared against
a baseline reference measurement for each channel. This baseline represents 100% Available TX
—
that is, no RF
interference (or, as close as possible). To achieve this we’ve included a 50 ohm SMA terminator to be attached
to the antenna connector. Furthermore, if you have a microwave oven available, we recommend placing the
unit in the microwave oven during the duration of the calibration procedure (approximately 1 minute). And, of
course, DO NOT use the microwave oven during this perio
d. The microwave oven serves as a “poor man’s”
Faraday cage. The combination of using the SMA terminator plus microwave oven closely approximates an RF
environment with no RF interference
—
which will define our baseline of 100% Available TX. During the
calibration procedure the unit will traverse all the 2.4x and 5x GHz Wi-Fi channels and record a baseline value for
each channel. When you later use the device for WifiPROBE channel analysis, the value it measures will be
compared to the corresponding baseli
ne value and the ‘% Available TX’ can then be computed and displayed on
the screen.
The calibration feature can be accessed by selecting
‘Configuration’ from the main menu, followed by ‘Re
-
calibrate’ in the CONFIG MENU.
