elfoozo

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I am looking for a wireless access point or router that will allow me to turn down the signal strength so the unit only serves a small room in a house. Is this possible and what unit do you recommend?

bzg

I don't think anyone makes such a critter. If it is a small room, why not just hard wire it?

elfoozo

The room is hardwired but the devices attaching are wireless.

Let me ask this: if I do find an ap or router that supports turning down the reception field, is a laptop (or other device) that's boosted likely going to be able to pick up the ap anyway?

CWB

it is always a possibility that any broadcast signal can be intercepted .

several wireless devices have the ability to lower the output level (usually rated in DbM) .
a lower signal level does not ensure total security . by use of a high gain antenna and/or LNA it is possible to intercept the signal and bring it up to a usable level (been there , done that) .

encryption offers a level of security but this means that all the devices on the system must have those capabilities and someone wanting to gain access can do it ... just takes time to do it . if you are broadcasting a signal time is on the hackers side . using just two secure devices to go between sides of the room and hard wire fanning from those devices to the equipment is going to be an investment ... one run of cat5 between two "normal" routers is much cheaper and more secure .

it sort of depends on your level of need for security and how thick your wallet is . the most cost effective and secure route to take is twisted pairs .

elfoozo

I originally started on this hobbyist project using a wireless card and an old laptop with dslinux. It was taking longer than I wanted to spend to tweak the card and configure bridging or to even be sure the card supported Master (or AP) mode so I figured I'd just look at buying an access point instead.

It didn't take long to realize the wireless industry is thick with products that promote having as strong a signal as possible. I didn't want to be sending signal over a broad area especially since I'm not going to do any kind of encryption. This won't be a security driven application, I'm not going to use WEP, WPA/2, RADIUS, etc. The ap or router will only be powered on while the devices are actively being used. Dialing down the radio will be ideal for this installation.

Would putting some resistance to the antenna mute the signal? Not sure what I would use to do that but there's got to be some way to reduce the signal strength if I don't find a suitable ap?

Wabash9000

just limit the router to the mac address of the card and you should be good for the most part.

CWB

hmmm ...

resistance (as such) won't do much to limit the rf signal strength . what you really need to do is "pad" the signal ... but pads designed for use at the frequencies the wireless stuff runs at are pricey . you could use what is called a "leaky line" to radiate the signal but it requires some effort to make , plus the design of most of the wireless stuff out there does not lend itself to being modified easily .

a simple way to do what you need to do is to take the access point box and put it in an rf tight metal box ... you can have holes for ventilation ... as long as they are less than 1/4 wavelength in diameter of the operating frequency it will act like a solid piece of metal (the same deal as why you can look into a microwave oven and not fry your eyeballs) . holes of 1/16 inch will be ok .
no long open seams ... screws every inch will do , or you can seal over the seams with that 600 MPH sticky backed aluminum tape that is more commonly used to seal ductwork .
but this stuff comes into play a little later on .

now that you know how to make the box rf tight you can start allowing some signal to radiate . it's easier than you would think ... most of those wireless devices have an antenna built in ... telescoping or single section . drill a hole in the box so that the antenna can pass thru it ... wrap a little black tape around it so that it will not contact the box . try to get everything to when the antenna is collapsed it is flush with the box .
by fine tuning the length of the antenna protruding you can adjust the field strength (aka : range) .
the beauty of this is that you can adjust the FS on the fly and if the wireless box has an addressable rf output (some are switch select only) , so much the better . remember , the "bigger" the negative number in DbM , the lower the rf output (-56 DbM < -45 DbM) .

use individual holes for the cat5 cables and power cord ... on each line where they exit the box place a rf toroid choke (two "loops" is enough) sucked up to the box ... you want to stop any rf from escaping unless you want it to . you can seal around the holes/cables/toroids with some of that aluminum tape .


if you have any questions , PM me .

Devone16

ya'll are some computer nerds. That is why i like this site sooo much