Wi-Fi Spectrum Analyzer

The VeEX Wi-Fi SA USB dongle is discontinued and no longer supported.

 

Wi-Fi SA was a portable spectrum analyzer on a USB dongle that displayed all RF activity in the Wi-Fi bands (e.g., wireless networks, cordless phones, microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, etc.).

For users who still have the dongle, the feature offers the following capabilities:

  • Helps determine the best available WLAN channels quickly for optimal performance

  • Helps to visualize and locate RF signals in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrums

  • Discover and remedy competing access points

  • Optimize WLAN networks by locating and eliminating interference sources

 

Wi-Fi SA Specifications

  • Supports 802.11a/b/g/n networks

  • Supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands

  • Equipped with RP-SMA antenna jack

    • Allows user to replace standard external Omnidirectional antenna with a higher gain or directional antenna as needed

  • The Wi-Fi Analyzer is a compact and portable USB dongle that plugs into the USB 2.0 port of the V300 series

  • The Wi-Fi SA test application menu is located in the Tools/Advanced Tools menu

 

Wi-Fi SA Display Summary

 

Wi-Fi Analyzer USB dongle

Display Summary

  • Planar view: Reports current, average, and maximum signal amplitude for each wireless frequency

  • Topographic view: Emphasizes which frequencies are the busiest across the entire spectrum

  • Spectral view: Historical view of wireless spectrum use at a point in time

 

Wi-Fi SA - Planar View

Planar View

  • Traditional Spectrum Analyzer view with Max, Average, and Current results

  • Displays RF activity in real time and tracks average and max values over a given period

 

Wi-Fi SA - Topographic View

Topographic View

  • Similar to a density map - plots frequency versus amplitude

  • Uses a special color scheme to assign colors to frequency amplitude points and to identify how often a particular coordinate is recorded

  • Great resource for identifying devices with very low duty cycles

  • Leaving it running will give a good indication of the typical local network conditions

 

Wi-Fi SA - Spectral View

Spectral View

  • Waterfall type view across the whole band - graphs amplitude levels over time

  • Uses color to pick out the relative signal strength at each point in time

  • Great tool for troubleshooting intermittent problems, since it highlights devices that are perhaps emitting only short bursts of noise

    • For example - discover microwave oven in the kitchen interfering with WLAN

 

Wi-Fi SA - Signatures

Signatures

  • The Signatures button presets are available to identify unknown sources of RF activity (e.g., microwave oven)

  • Select a device in the sidebar and click the pattern in the Topographic view to identify a device

 

Wi-Fi SA - Inspector

Inspector

  • The Inspector button setup allows the user to measure the frequency of the RF activity or interference of interest

  • When selected, a prompt and result box appears

Wi-Fi SA - Inspector - Result

Inspector Button - Result

  • Identifies frequency and amplitude

  • Current, Average, and Maximum amplitude values provide an indication of level fluctuation over measurement period

 

Wi-Fi SA - Frequency

Frequency

  • This button allows the user to select frequency band for testing