Long Distance 802.11b Worksheet

Given a distance (in miles) and the antenna gain of each end (in dBi), this will predict theoretical success rates. These numbers are based on publically available specs for power output and receiver sensitivity. You can view the source here.

We'll assume you're using one meter of LMR-400 and a lightning arrestor on each side, allowing 0.25dB loss for each connector, and 1dB for each pigtail.

A more detailed worksheet can be found at: http://www.gbonline.com/~multiplx/wireless/wireless.main.cgi

Distance mi.
Antenna Gains dBi
dBi
Base Stations D-Link
Addtron
Intel
Breezecom
Orinoco / Lucent / Avaya
Cisco 340
Proxim Harmony
Teletronics WL11000
Cisco 350
11Mbps Unsuccessful (within -5.71 dB)
5.5Mbps Unsuccessful (within -0.71 dB)
2Mbps Successful (within 3.29 dB)
1Mbps Successful (within 6.29 dB)
Christopher Heschong