Wireless Communications

and Satellite Systems

Lab Manual
Ya Bao
 Table of Contents
The marking scheme of WC&SS lab report .............................................................................. 3
Lab Report Guidelines............................................................................................................... 4
WE-1 Investigation on WLAN Multipath Channel ................................................................. 5
WE-2 Radio Signal Monitoring and White Space Allocation ................................................. 8
WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner .................................................................. 13
WE-4 Characteristics of Antennas ........................................................................................ 21
WE-5 Characteristics of WiFi antennas ................................................................................ 29
WE-6 Optimise and secure a WiFi network.......................................................................... 34

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 The marking scheme of WC&SS lab report

WC&SS lab report submission deadline: upload to Moodle site and

submit a paper copy to school office at T313 before the deadline publish
on the Moodle.
Length limit of the report: 10-14 A4 sides, about 3000 words
Main body font and size: (except title and sub-titles)
Font: Times new roman: size: 11.
Save your report as WCSS_yourID_15 (use your student ID to replace
yourID)

Introduction & General introduction, aims, objectives, underlying theory 20%

Background

Procedures,
Measurements & Experimental details. Procedures and observations 20%
Explanations

Explanation of the measured results and observations.

Discussion, Analysis, & Numerical evaluations and verifications. Conclusions based
40%
Conclusions on the work carried out. Learning outcomes. Further study
suggestions.

Report structure. Clearly written and understandable.

References & Overall Quality of English References and the citation within the 20%
presentation main text.

Lab PC login

Username: lab

Password: lab

Please save your works on your own

USB driver.
 Lab Report Guidelines

Formal lab reports should be typed on A4 paper and contain the following sections and don’t
exceed the limit of the length.

 Title Page:
Title of the experiment, Author’s name and student number. Your instructor's name.
The date the report was submitted.

 Aims and objectives

What was the purpose of the experiment? What was it supposed to reveal?

 Introduction/Theory
The introduction should give some background on the problem your experiment
investigated.
Theory section presents theoretical models, equations, physical principles, etc., that are
relevant to the investigation described in the report. It should be within one page.

 Materials
List everything needed to complete your experiment.

 Methods/Procedure
Describe the steps you completed during your investigation. Don’t simply copy the
instructions given in the lab manual. You need to describe what YOU did. Make good
use of diagrams, sketches, or photographs to show important layout, wiring and
connections

 Experimental Results and explanations

Present your results and summarise the data using figures and tables. Each figure and
each table must have a number and a caption. Do not simply dump a bunch of graphs
and tables into this section with no explanation. It is best to locate figures and tables
within the text (and preferably on the same page where they are referred to) rather than
grouping them together at the end of the report.

 Discussion
Discuss the meaning and importance of the experimental results, compare the results to
theoretical predictions, describe the accuracy of the results, address discrepancies, and
ultimately draw conclusions in regards to the objectives of the experiment.

 Conclusions and Recommendations

This section summarizes the conclusions that have been made and gives specific
recommendations for the next steps that could be taken in subsequent experiments or
further research.

 References
If your research was based on someone else's work or if you cited facts that require
documentation, then you should list these references.
http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/library/html/documents/HS28-numeric2012.pdf is a very helpful
sheet on how referencing should be done in any technical report (Lab or final project)

References:

1. Dr. Sandra Dudley, Typical Lab report contents

2. BJ Furman, Laboratory Report Guidelines

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 WE-1 Investigation on WLAN Multipath Channel

WE-1 Investigation on WLAN Multipath Channel

Objective: to investigate the multipath channel in 802.11a PHY.

Tools: MATLAB, Simulink, Communications Blockset.

Procedure:

1. Start MATLAB by double-clicking the MATLAB icon

2. Type commwlan80211a at the MATLAB prompt to open the IEEE 802.11a

WLAN PHY model. Then save the model as xx_wlan in the directory where
you keep your work files. (xx could be your first name)

Question 1. What is IEEE 802.11a WLAN PHY? Briefly explain the functions of each blue
block in the model diagram.

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 WE-1 Investigation on WLAN Multipath Channel

3. Double click the Multipath Channel block; choose No Fading from Fading
Mode window. Set SNR at 30 dB. Click Apply, then OK.

4. Run the model by click button on the tool bar. Record the reading of
PER(%) and Bit Rate (Mb/s).
5. While the model is running, double click on the Signal Visualization block to
open a real time scopes. It is really helpful for your understand of fading
effects. After the simulation, you can click the Tools→Data Statistics →data
5 (SNR) or data 4 (Bit rate) or data 3 (BER). Record the mean value. (You can
take the measurement after running for 1 minute then stop the running. Wait
for the ending of the simulation takes time).

6. Change the setting of SNR (-5 to 35 dB) to obtain the trend of BER-SNR
7. Change the setting of SNR (-5 to 35 dB) to obtain the trend of Bit Rate-SNR.
8. Plot BER-SNR and Bit Rate-SNR graphs, respectively.

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 WE-1 Investigation on WLAN Multipath Channel

SNR (dB) BER Bit rate

(MBps)
-5
-2
0
2
5
10
15
20
25
30
35

1. Change to Flat fading and Dispersive fading, respectively. Record and plot
BER-SNR BER-Bit Rate graphs. (Because of fading, real time value is
variable. You can use the mean from the Data Statistics.)

Question 2: explain the terms of

 Fading
 Flat fading
 Dispersive fading

References:

MATLAB R2007b Help file

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 WE-2 Radio Signal Monitoring and White Space Allocation

WE-2 Radio Signal Monitoring and White Space Allocation

The electromagnetic spectrum is a continuum of all electromagnetic waves arranged

according to frequency and wavelength.

The signal strength (dBm) of frequencies in the range the user has specified can be
monitored by the spectrum analyser.

Objectives:

 Monitor the signal strength in the specified frequency band.

 Define and locate White Space
 Monitor Specific Frequencies
 Plot 3-Dimensional Heatmap

Equipments:

 Invisible Waves RF Analyzer kit

 PC with software installed

Initial Experiment Setup (Step 1 to 4 maybe already set.)

1) Ensure the analyser kit has been correctly connected.
2) Switch on PC, choose Windows XP, login with user name: lab and password: lab.
3) Connect the analyzer with PC via the USB cable.
4) Switch on the analyzer’s power.
Step 1 to 4 maybe already set.

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 WE-2 Radio Signal Monitoring and White Space Allocation

5) Double Click on the desktop.

6) Close the Control Panel::Default

7) Click the main window, View-- Options – Hardware, choose 1700-3500 MHz

Experiment 1. Signal strength of the 3G mobile phone frequency band

1.1 Click File – Open Profiles… to choose a pre defined profile 2100-2190BaseStation.iwp in
RFAnalyzer folder and open it.
1.2 Click View – Control Panel, record your settings. Start Scan
You should see following results.

1.3 After scanned for about 10 minutes, click Stop Scan in the control Panel.
1.4 Check and record the heatmap
1.5 Explain what RF signal carrier allocated in this spectrum? How wide of each channel?

Note: Export the data and graph

Move your cursor in the graph you wish to save, right click to choose Export Data..., choose Jpeg
to save a file on your own USB disk to choose Text to save date which can be open in Excel.

Experiment 2. Investigate the ISM band (2400-2500MHz)

Use the Control Panel to change the Scan Setting to the frequency band of 2400-2500MHz.
Investigate the signal strength, and heatmap.
Record your observation and explain which frequency bands are in higher signal levels and
what applications are using these bands. Please refer to the Frequency Allocation Table at
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/ra/topics/spectrum-strat/uk-fat/uk-fat2002.htm

What is ISM band? Why we choose ISM band to study?

Experiment 3. Define and allocate White spaces

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 WE-2 Radio Signal Monitoring and White Space Allocation

White space is the band between used radio frequency bands. RF analyzer can find and allocate the
white space in a specific range.

3.1 In the control panel, close the Sensitivity Setting and Scaling sections.
3.2 choose a White Space Threshold(dBm) at -100

3.3 Change the bandwidth setting from 2 MHz to 5 MHz, compare the observations.
3.4 Change the threshold to -110, compare the observations.

Experiment 4. Investigate a wide band (1710 – 3500 MHz)

Record your observation and explain which frequency bands are in higher signal levels and
what wireless applications are using these bands. Please refer to the Frequency Allocation
Table at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/ra/topics/spectrum-strat/uk-fat/uk-
fat2002.htm

Experiment 5. Monitoring 3G mobile phone signal (optional)

5.1. Click File – Open Profiles… to choose a pre defined profile 1900-2000mobile.iwp in
RFAnalyzer folder and open it.

5.2. Click View – Control Panel, record your settings. Start Scan
You should see following results.

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 WE-2 Radio Signal Monitoring and White Space Allocation

5.3. Explain what RF signal allocated in this spectrum?

5.4. Switch on your 3G mobile around the analyser’s antenna and start to surf the Internet while
the analyser is scanning. What’s happening on your monitor? Try switch on another
company’s mobile phone (if available) and common on your finding.

5.5. What company network did this mobile run on? Is it match with your SIM card? What’s
about if your SIM card not belonged within above 4/5 companies?

Note:

Third-Generation (3G) Frequency Range:

Frequency Bandwidth licence holder

(MHz) (MHz)
1900 - 1900.3 Guard band
Uplink 1900.3 - 1905.2 4.9 licence D T-Mobile
(mobile phone 1905.2 - 1910.1 4.9 licence E Orange
to base station) 1910.1 - 1915.0 4.9 licence C O2
1915.0 - 1919.9 4.9 licence A 3
1919.9 - 1920.3 Guard band
1920.3 - 1934.9 14.6 licence A 3
1934.9 - 1944.9 10 licence C O2
1944.9 - 1959.7 14.8 licence B Vodafone
1959.7 - 1969.7 10 licence D T-Mobile
1969.7 - 1979.7 10 licence E Orange

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 WE-2 Radio Signal Monitoring and White Space Allocation

2110 - 2110.3 Guard band

Downlink 2110.3 - 2124.9 14.6 licence A 3
(Base station to 2124.9 - 2134.9 10 licence C O2
mobile phone) 2134.9 - 2149.7 14.8 licence B Vodafone
2149.7 - 2159.7 10 licence D T-Mobile
2159.7 - 2169 10 licence E Orange
2169.7 - 2170 Guard band

References

1. Invisible Waves User Guide

2. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/

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 WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

Objectives: Design a WLAN; Evaluate the signal strength and throughput by allocating
access points.
Equipment: Motorola LanPlanner

Exercise 1. Start to use the LANPlanner® Solo

LANPlanner Solo is a revolutionary software package that enables you to efficiently design,
model, and measure 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g networks. Building facilities and campus
environments can be quickly modelled using menus that guide you step-by-step. You can
quickly place access points and predict signal coverage during the WLAN design phase. Post-
WLAN deployment, you can use LANPlanner Solo’s powerful features for measuring
network performance and validating network designs.

Switch on a PC, choose Windows XP, and login with

Username: link

Password: link

1. Launch LANPlanner Solo by double-clicking the LANPlanner Solo icon from

your Windows desktop:

When the LANPlanner Solo GUI opens, note the major features

Toolbar Icons

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 WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

2. Opening an Existing Workspace

File >Open Drawing choose to open a drawing file Default_final_with_key located at

Default Folder. Then Click NO on the promoted window.

A 4 floor building drawing is shown in the window as below.

Note: Never save any your own works in the Default

folder. Save everything on your OWN disk.

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 WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

3. Access Point Placement

Single left click on it. Then double click on the 802.11g in the next prompted window.

You can directly place Access Points at desired locations in the drawing by clicking in the
drawing at the locations you want to locate the hard wares.

Right click and select Done to finish the placement.

4. Quick Prediction

Click on Quick Prediction button on the toolbar.

The following window will prompted. You can start from the Grid Predictions.

Click on Next>>>,

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 WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

Multi-select all APs, click OK.

The predicted results will be shown as below.

You can click on the Cancel Prediction to cancel the prediction.

5. Try other selections on the prediction window to familiarise yourself.

6. Try all selections on the prediction window on floors 03, 02 and 01.

7. Try to move the position of the APs, predict the results.

8. Save your work on your OWN USB stick.

Exercise 2. Quick Start AP Planning by LanPlanner® Solo

LANPlanner Solo includes the ability to automatically place and configure Access Points
(APs) in the building model to satisfy your unique coverage and capacity requirements.

1. Selecting Network Design > Quick Start AP Placement opens the Select Access Point
Model dialog. Choose 802.11g then Next>>>.

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 WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

2. Specify Client Location and Requirement Regions

You can create multiple regions with each region specifying unique coverage, capacity (data
rate), and the number of users. The Quick Start algorithm satisfies two different metrics:

 Coverage - Guaranteed data rate (peak data rate) across the requirement region, such
that each user in that region can connect at that data rate. Data rate is mapped directly
from the RSSI (signal strength).
 Capacity - Number of users multiplied by average usage per user (called avg. data
rate) such that enough access points are placed to satisfy the usage requirements.
If you are working with a drawing that has multiple floors, select the floor from the drop-
down box. The Quick Start placement wizard can optimise access point placements for
requirement regions defined on multiple floors at once. The requirement region list shows all
regions in the drawing, not just for the current floor.

3. Create the new region in the building drawing by selecting Create New Region. Left-
click once to begin the region and again to specify the end point.

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 WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

4. Specifying Exclusion Regions

Sometimes the designer may need to identify areas in a building that equipment cannot be
placed in. These areas, know as exclusion regions, can be specified so that LANPlanner Solo
will not place any access points within them. The equipment exclusion region window is
shown below. Click Done to execute Quick Start AP Placement with your settings.

LANPlanner Solo’s placement engine then:

 Chooses optimal locations for the access points to satisfy coverage and capacity
requirements
 Determines optimal channel assignments to maximize SIR (Signal-to-Interference
Ratio), and sets the channel on each access point appropriately
 Optimises and configures power levels, effectively reducing the power of access
points from the initial power setting

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 WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

 Takes floor-to-floor signal into consideration and also takes into account access
points which already exist in the current drawing.
After executing Quick Start AP Placement, LANPlanner Solo updates the drawing window
with the placed access points and signal coverage contour as above figure.

Once you are satisfied with access point placement, you are ready to evaluate the design in
detail and reconfigure hardware as needed.

5. Edit/Remove Access Point

The Network Design > Edit/Remove Access Point command allows you to edit, remove,
move, or copy any access point in the drawing. From the Move Access Point dialog, select
the access point that you wish to move and click Move.

Your pointer will take on the appearance of the access point that you selected from the list.
Move the Access Point to the desired location and click to place it. Click Finished after
moving access points.

6. Managing Sensors

Placing Sensors

Sensors are RF detectors used in a wireless network designs to monitor RF activity in your
network environment. This feature is a key enabler for wireless asset tracking. LANPlanner
Solo allows you to place sensors within your building drawing. To do this, select Network
Design > Sensor > Place Sensor.

you can edit and remove sensors from your building drawing by selecting
Network Design > Sensor > Edit/Remove Sensor.

7. Running Quick Prediction

Predict performances of this wireless network.

8. Save your work on your OWN USB stick.

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 WE-3 Wireless LAN designing by LANPlanner

Worshop Exercise:
Open the original existing drawing: Default_final_with_key,

1. Use 5 Access Points (802.11g) to cover floor 2 to provide a wireless coverage

as a high rate as possible. Give out the performance predictions.
2. Show the performance predictions, explain their meaning and make
conclusions regarding these predictions.

Reference:

LanPlanner, User’s Manual.

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 WE-4 Characteristics of a Dipole Antenna

WE-4 Characteristics of Antennas

Objectives:

Investigate characteristics of a dipole antenna and a dish antenna.

Required Equipment

Feedback AntennaLab hardware platform

Feedback Discovery Software install in a PC
A diploe antenna
A dish antenna

Preparation:
login the PC Windows XP, with username: lab and password: lab
Switch on the “Feedback AntennaLab 57-200 Generator” box.

WARNING: If the antenna rotates continuously, switched OFF the Generator immediately.

Check following antenna setup:

 Distance between the Receiver and Generator Towers to be about half metre.
 Receiving antenna (the four log periodic) point directly at the Generator Tower.
 The boom of the Generator antenna is pointing directly at the Receiver.

Double-clicking the “57-200 AntennaL......” icon:

Assessment 1: Familiarisation
Click on the “Familiarisation” block

Click on Practical 1 on the right panel.

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 WE-4 Characteristics of a Dipole Antenna

Practical 1: The Real-Time Signal Display

Procedure

1. Open the Rotor/Generator controller. . Check setting as below.

2. Click Antenna to zero button.

3. Open the real-time signal display on the equipment panel.

4. The bar represents the received signal strength and should be in the range 40dB to
70dB.
5. Enlarge the real-time signal display window. Try moving the Generator antenna and
see how the signal level changes. Try putting your hand between the two antennas
and see how the level drops due the attenuation. Record your reading. (Note that the
power level used by this equipment is very small and is therefore safe. In a real
situation being very close to a transmitting antenna or touching it could be
dangerous.)

Close Practical 1 and click on Practical 2 on the right panel.

Practical 2: The Radiation Pattern Plotter

Procedures

1. Open the Rotor/Generator controller. .

2. Open the Radiation Pattern plotter. .

3. Click the Plot button on the plotter.

4. The pattern should be displayed on the plotter. Tick the normalise box , you
may get a clear graph. All the features available on the plotter are described in the Equipment

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 WE-4 Characteristics of a Dipole Antenna

Manuals section. You can Save the data into a csv file which can be opened in Excel or Load
by software. Right-click on the graph, you can Export Display to File.

Practical 3: The Frequency Plotter

Procedures
1. Open the Rotor/Generator controller and zero the antenna. Make sure that the receiving
antenna is facing the generator antenna. The minimum frequency and the maximum
frequency should be set at the default values of 1200MHz and 1800MHz.
2. Open the frequency plotter
3. Click Plot. The plot will take a number of seconds to complete and the display will only be
shown at the end.
4. Enlarge the display; use your mouse to move the Cursor under the graph. Find the maximum
Gain and the centre frequency. Find the 3-dB bandwidth of this antenna.

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 WE-4 Characteristics of a Dipole Antenna

Close the Familiarisation window, return to the main window. Click to open The
Dipole in Free Space.

Assessment 2: The Dipole in Free Space

In this practical you will use the radiation pattern plotter to create both horizontal and vertical
patterns for a dipole and appreciate that they are not the same. You will use the features of
the plotter to display them together in three dimensions.

Practical Radiation Pattern of a Dipole

1. Open the Rotor/Generator controller

2. After using the Antenna to zero function align the dipole so that the side of the dipole
faces exactly the receiving antenna. The frequency should be set at the default value
of 1500MHz.
3. Open the real-time signal display and check that there is a signal present. The level
should be between 45dB and 55dB
4. Open the radiation pattern plotter and click plot.

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 WE-4 Characteristics of a Dipole Antenna

5. The plot shows the horizontal radiation pattern of the dipole. Note that the shape is
similar to the theoretical pattern but there are some distortions. This is due to
reflections from the environment close to the antenna.
6. Ask the lab tutor to move the yagi boom plus the dipole to the side of the antenna
mount so that the dipole is vertically polarised. Twist the receiving antenna through
90 degrees so that the rods are vertical.
7. Click Show 90 Plane on the plotter and then click Select 90 Plane. Now click plot
and the new (vertical) plot will be displayed. By using the three D controls you can
rotate the display so that you can see both plots in their respective axis.

Assignment 3. Effect of Surroundings

Practical 1 Attenuation in the Path

1. Set AntennaLab in the normal configuration. The two towers should be about 0.5
metre apart and the receiving antenna set for horizontal polarisation.

2. Open the Rotor/Generator controller.

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 WE-4 Characteristics of a Dipole Antenna

3. Using the Antenna to zero function align the dipole. Ensure the side of the dipole
faces to the receiving antenna. The frequency should be set at the default value of
1500MHz.

4. Open the real-time signal display and check that there is a signal present. The level
should be between 45dB and 55dB

5. By placing your hand in different positions you can have a significant effect on the
apparent path loss between the two antennas. Remember that the scale is in decibels
and so is logarithmic. This means that a change of 3dB is in reality the power
changing by a factor of two.

Practical 2 Reflections from an Object

1. Set up the system for radiation pattern plotting using the dipole that you used in
Practical 1.
2. Open the Rotor/Generator controller and use the default frequency of 1500MHz.
3. Open the Radiation Pattern Plotter and make a plot of the dipole so you can see what
the plot is like under normal conditions.
4. Now take the metal sheet (get from the lab tutor) and hold it to the side of the dipole
at about 45 degrees, pointing towards the receiving antenna. Make sure the metal
sheet need to be far away from the boom to avoid crashing while it rotating. The exact
position is not critical.
5. Make sure that the Overlay option is ticked on the plotter and click plot again.
6. A new plot is superimposed over the previous plot showing how the radiation pattern
has been changed. You can try a number of different positions for the plate and
superimpose the plots. The maximum number of plots you can see at the same time is
five.

7. Open the real-time signal display on the equipment panel.

8. Place the metal sheet in between the dipole and receiver antennas with the different
distances to the dipole antenna. Measure the received signal strengths.

9. What are positions of the metal sheet will reduce the signal strength? What are
positions of the metal sheet will increase the signal strength? Why?

Assignment 4. Dish Antennas

Close all openned windows.

Ask the lab tutor to mount the dish antenna onto the mounting
post as shown.

Double-clicking the “57-200 AntennaL......” icon:

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 WE-4 Characteristics of a Dipole Antenna

Click Dish Antenna from following screen.

1. First Open the Rotor/Generator controller, set the motor speed to 18, and zero the
rotation angle. The frequency should the default of 1500 MHz.

2. Open the radiation pattern plotter and plot the radiation pattern. (Note the very narrow
beam that is produced).
3. What is the beamwidth of this antenna (beamwidth the angle between the half-
power (-3 dB) points of the main lobe)?
4. Open the frequency plotter and plot the forward gain over the default frequency range
of 1200 MHz to 1800 MHz.
5. What is the 3-dB bandwidth of this antenna?

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 WE-4 Characteristics of a Dipole Antenna

6. Now open the real time signal level. Set the frequency to 1500 MHz. Read the real
time antenna gain.
7. Try to adjust the Set Frequency from the range of 1200MHz to 1800 Mhz, record
your reading and compare with the results obtained in step 4.

Note: do not switch off any equipment and

PC when you finish the workshop.

References:

Feedback software help files.

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 WE-5 Characteristics of WiFi antennas

WE-5 Characteristics of WiFi antennas

Objectives:

Investigate Omni-directory and panel Wi-Fi antenna characteristics.

Required Equipment

 Two PCs with PCI WiFi cards;

 Two standard omnidirectional antennas;
 One large omnidirectional antenna with basement;
 One panel antenna;
 5 metre extension cable.

Panel
Large Omni
antenna
antenna

PC1 PC2
Standard
Omni
antennas

Preparation: (these 5 steps may already done by the lab tutor)

1. PC2 is acting as a WiFi signal broadcaster (like an access point which SSID is
“lab”). PC1 is acting as a WiFi enabled device (receiver).
2. Screw Standard Omnidirectional antennas on PC1 and PC2 respectively.
3. Switch on PC1 and PC2, choose Windows XP to start.
4. Leave PC2 at the login window. You don’t need to login to PC2.
5. Login to PC1 with username: link and password: link

Assessment1. Relationships between RF signal strengths and distances

For the RF signal propagated in the free space, the free space lose given by

Pt 4d  4fd 
2 2
 
Pr 2
c2
 Pt = signal power at transmitting antenna
 Pr = signal power at receiving antenna

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 WE-5 Characteristics of WiFi antennas

  = carrier wavelength
 d = propagation distance between antennas
 c = speed of light ( 3  108 m/s)
where d and  are in the same units (e.g., meters), Pt and Pr are in the same units
(e.g., W or mW)

Hence we have

It shows the relationships between received RF signal strength and the distances between
transmitter and receiver antennas.

1. Ensure standard Omni antennas are used on PC1 and PC2.

2. On the PC1 desktop, double click on InSSIDer .

3. Only select the SSID which is “lab”.

4. Record the RSSI between the transmitter and the receiver antennas in
following Table 1.
5. Use the large Omni antenna with the basement instead of the standard antenna
on PC1. Keep the same distance of antennas as before. Record the RSSI and
compare it with that got from step 4.
6. Connect the extension cable between PC1 and the basement cable connector.
Keep the same distance of antennas as before. Record the RSSI and compare it
with that got from step 5. Compare it with that got from step 5. Explain the
reason if they are different.

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 WE-5 Characteristics of WiFi antennas

steps PC1 PC2 RSSI(dBm) comments

4 Standard Omni Standard
antenna Omni antenna
5 Large Omni Standard
antenna Omni antenna
6 Large Omni + Standard
extension Omni antenna
cable
Table 1
7. Move the receiver’s antenna on the different distance to the transmitter and
record RSSI in following Table 2.
8. Use Standard Omni antenna instead the large aerial on the basement and
repeat the measurements in step7 and record your measures in following table.
9. Use the panel antenna instead the standard aerial on PC2 and repeat the
measurements in step7 and record your measures in following table. Ensure
the receiver antenna should be in the centre of the panel antenna coverage.
steps 7 8 9
PC1 Large Omni antenna Standard Omni Large Omni
+ extension cable antenna + extension antenna +
cable extension cable
PC2 Standard Omni Standard Omni Panel antenna
antenna antenna
30cm
60cm
100cm
200cm
300cm
500cm
comments
Table 2
10. Plot a graph to present your measurements.

Assessment2. Characteristics of a panel antenna

A panel antenna is a directional antenna which radiates

greater power in one or more directions.

Typical panel antenna radiation pattern

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 WE-5 Characteristics of WiFi antennas

 Radiation Patterns:
 Graphical representation of radiation properties of an antenna
 Depicted as two-dimensional cross section
 Beam width (or half-power beam width)
 Measure of directivity of antenna

1. Ensure the panel antenna is connected on PC2. Connect a standard Omni

antenna on the basement and connect to PC1 via a 5m extension cable.
2. Move the basement with the aerial to the different distances and angels from
the panel antenna and record RSSI in Table 3.

60 cm 100 cm 300 cm 500 cm

0
0
300
600
900
1500
1800
2400
2700
3000
3300
Table 3

3. Plot the radiation pattern of this panel antenna.

4. Use the large Omni aerial (point to upside) instead the panel antenna
connected on the PC2 and re-do step 2. Record RSSI in table 4.
30 cm 100 cm 300 cm 500 cm
0
0
300
600
900
1200
1500
1800
2100
2400
2700
3000
3300
Table 4

5. Plot the radiation pattern of this large omnidirectional antenna.

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 WE-5 Characteristics of WiFi antennas

Assessment3. (Optional) you need to use your own Android mobile phone or
tablet to do the following experiments.

1. Install following free apps from “Play Store” into your mobile device.

,
Wifi Analyzer inSSIDer network signal info
2. Use these 3 free apps to measure the signal strength of the “lab” with the
different distances and angles from the transmitter antenna. Compare your
measurements with what you got from Assignment1 and Assignment2.
3. Use apps to measure the signal strength of the LSBU wireless network
(EDUroam).
4. Use the app to find the nearest Access Point.
5. What is the highest signal RSSI you received from EDUroam when your
mobile device closes to the AP?
6. Investigate the relationship between signal strength vs. distances.
7. Verify your measurement with theoretical formula.
8. Measure the RSSI with a fixed distance but turn your mobile device at
different angels (e.g., face to, back to, side to, pointed to...) to the AP.
9. Did you find any open Access Point around Tower block 7th floor? Can you
connect to it and access to the Internet?
10. Use “Wifi Analyzer” and set to view the channels. Did you notice most APs
are located on 3 WiFi channels (ch1, ch6 and ch11)? Why?
11. Use these apps to investigate signal strength and channel environment in your
home. They can help you to choose the best channel which has the minimum
interferences with your neighbours’ WLANs.

Measured in Ya Bao’s home network

References
nd
William Stallings, “Wireless Communications & Networks”, 2 Edition, Peason Prentice Hall,
2005

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 WE-6 Optimise and secure a WiFi network

WE-6 Optimise and secure a WiFi network

Objectives: Construct a WiFi network; Optimise and evaluate the performances of the WLAN
Equipment: Linksys E3000 router, 4 PCs, three Ethernet cables, two USB WiFi dongles, LAN
speed test software, an USB flash driver with MP3 and video files stored.

Experiment 1. Setup a WLAN

Linksys E3000 is a high Performance Wireless-N Router. The Router lets you access the Internet
via a wireless connection or through one of its four switched Gigabit Ethernet ports. With the
built-in Storage Link, you can easily add gigabytes of storage space onto your network using USB
2.0 hard drives, or plug in a USB flash disk to access your portable data files. The E3000’s built-in
media server streams music, video and photos from an attached storage device to any UPnP-
compatible media adapter or player. A variety of security features help to protect your data and
your privacy while you are online.

PC3 PC2
PC2 PC2

PC1

PC4

Steps:

1. Connect PC1 and the linksys router with ethernet cable. (use one of 4 blue LAN
ports, not the yellow “Internet” port)
2. Power on the router. Wait 2 minutes.
3. launch the web browser on PC1, and enter the Router’s default IP address,
192.168.1.99 in the Address field. Then press Enter. Login the router as an
administrator.
Username: leave as blank
Password: admin

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 WE-6 Optimise and secure a WiFi network

You will access the administrator’s interface of the router.

4. Go to “Wireless”—“Basic Wireless Setups” choose “Manual”

What are differents between 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless networks?

5. Set two network names (SSID) to any name by yourself. Record on your logbook.
SSID broadcast: enabled. (Why?)
Note: any changes only can be actived after you click on “Save Changes”
6. “Wireless Security”, choose both Security Mode: “Disable security”
7. Ensure PC2 and PC3 are both WiFi enabled and disconnected from wired Ethernet.
8. From PC2 and PC3, scan WLAN, find the SSID you set, connect to 2.4 GHz network
SSID. Are you asked a password?
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 WE-6 Optimise and secure a WiFi network

9. If they are successfully connect to the E3000 router, get their IP4 address and their
MAC addresses.

(You can use the getmac or ipconfig /all Command in the Command Prompt )

IP4 Address MAC Address (Physical Address)

PC1
PC2
PC3
PC4
10. Use ping Command in the Command Prompt to check connectivity amount these 3
PCs.
11. Use LAN speed test to measure transmission speed between 2 PCs. You need set one
PC as the server (listen) and the other PC as a client.
12. You can measure the transmission speed via sharing a folder (contains a big file) on
one PC and download it from another PC.

Connection (WiFi/Cable) Transmission speed

PC2— PC3 WiFi+WiFi
PC1 —PC3 WiFi+cable
PC1— PC4 Cable+Cable
13. “Wireless”-- “Wireless Security”, choose both “WPA2 Personal” (Strongest) with
password of “lab”. “Save Settings”

14. Reconnect PC2 and PC3 to the 2.4 GHz WLAN. Are you asked a password?

Experiment 2. Allow/prevent a device to access the WLAN

 Check router status

“Status”—“DHCP Client Tables”. It will show all devices connected to the WLAN. Confirm these
MAC addresses with those addresses you found before.

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 WE-6 Optimise and secure a WiFi network

 Allowing or restrict a specific device by its MAC address.

Wireless access can be filtered (restricted) by specifying the MAC addresses of the devices in your
wireless network. Try preventing PC3 access your WLAN.

“Wireless” – “Wireless MAC Filter”

 Check and confirm PC3 has been restricted from your WLAN.
 Change the setting back to let PC3 can reconnect to the WLAN again.

Experiment 3. Share USB Storage

Your Linksys E3000 has a USB port on the back of the Router. This allows you to connect an external
USB drive and access the contents over the network.

1. Connect an USB flash disk to the USB port of the Router.

2. Create a Shared Folder on the USB disk connected on the router.

“Storage”—“Disk”, click on “Edit” beside the “/public”, in the following window, tick on Share
entire Partition, add guest(r) into right side column. Then “Save Settings”.

3. “Storage”—“Media Server”, “specify folder to scan”, “Enter into Folder”, wait

few seconds, tick on “Share entire Partition”, then “Save Settings”
Record server name on your logbook,
4. Similar settings for FTP server, give the display name: “FTP-test”, FTP port: 21.
Record them on your logbook. Don’t forget “Save Setting”
5. Access files in the Public folder.
Click “Network” on the desktop.
NOTE: If the Public folder is not displayed, right-click Network. Click Properties. Click Change
advanced sharing settings. Select Turn on network discovery. Select Turn on file and printer
sharing. Click Save changes.

On the login screen, enter your account user name: admin and password: admin. Click OK.

6. Streaming Music/Video via the media server on the USB driver from PC1, PC2 AND
PC3 respectively.

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 WE-6 Optimise and secure a WiFi network

7. Access FTP server on the USB driver from PC1 PC2 and PC3. It allows PCs
download and upload files from/to the USB driver.
 Click FileZilla Client on the desktop of PCs.. Connect to the FTP server on the USB
driver by: Host: 192.168.1.99, User name: admin; Password: admin; Port: 21.
Then Quikconnect
 Click on the “FTP-test” folder, which the name you give before. You can
download/upload files from/to this folder.
 Connect to the FTP server on the USB driver by: Host: 192.168.1.99, User name:
guest; Password: leave as blank; Port: 21. Then Quikconnect
You only can download (read) files on the server.
 Launch a web browser (IE or Chrome) , try to access BBC.co.uk, google.co.uk,
lsbu.ac.uk.

Can you access the Internet? Why?

So far you successfully constructed a standalone Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). It can
provide connections and services (streaming music/ video, file sharing) within them members
(locally). However, it has no internet access.

Experiment 4. Set the E3000 router as an access point to extend a wired network.

1. launch the web browser on PC1, and enter the Router’s default IP address,
192.168.1.99 in the Address field. Then press Enter. Login the router as an
administrator.
Username: leave as blank
Password: admin
2. “Setup” – “Basic Setup”, tick “Disable” on the DHCP Server setting section.
3. Power off the router. Connect the router to a network socket on the lab bench. (use
one of 4 blue LAN ports, not the yellow “Internet” port)
4. Connect PC2 and PC3 to the 2.4 GHz WLAN.
5. Try to access BBC, Google and other website on the internet from PC1, PC2, PC3 and
PC4
Can you access the Internet? Why?

***Final step!
Login the router, tick “Enable” on the DHCP Server setting section. Save.
Ensure the router’s IP is 192.168.1.99.

Then logout the router, power off. Finish.

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