Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Networking, connecting to the internet, wi-fi and home entertainment
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Rudi
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Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Rudi »

Hi,

In a wireless internet service can a rotating weather vane (similar to images) negatively influence reception if it is between the line of sight of the reception aerial and the broadcasting tower?
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Claude
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Claude »

Rudi wrote:Hi,

In a wireless internet service can a rotating weather vane (similar to images) negatively influence reception if it is between the line of sight of the reception aerial and the broadcasting tower?
Is this for a phone, via ISP, or a home WIFI system Rudi ?
Cheers, Claude.

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Rudi
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Rudi »

Home WIFI.
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Claude
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Claude »

I see. IF you have reception problems, I'd suggest you get a WIFI repeater out of line of sign. I think it would depend on the shape of the Vane. I've installed a repeater for a customer and the results where surprisingly brilliant !
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

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Claude wrote:I see. IF you have reception problems, I'd suggest you get a WIFI repeater out of line of sign. I think it would depend on the shape of the Vane. I've installed a repeater for a customer and the results where surprisingly brilliant !
My reception is great for general surfing etc, but I have noticed that when I watch a streaming video (for example), the streaming is interrupted/broken, sometimes a few times during the duration of the stream. I know very little of this stuff, but my only logical thought might be that something is moving within the direct line of sight like a tree or a rotating weather vane or something??? Is this not what can cause an erratic/intermittent loss of signal?
I do plan to contact my ISP to come and do a line of sight inspection, but I thought I'd just bounce this question here in the forum to get others input before I do this. I can then appear to be more informed LOL!!!

BTW: Having Google'd repeater...it looks like a device I plug into the wall at home? What exactly does it do? Boost the signal? How does it compensate for interference in line of sight? Please explain. Cheers!
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BenCasey
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by BenCasey »

Hi, you may want to consider whether it is your graphics card. On one of my PCs it browses just fine but when streaming it just bombs after a while and resets but on another it works just fine.
HTH
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Rudi
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Rudi »

Thanks for that heads-up. I would never have thought of that.
Cheers
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by HansV »

Rudi wrote:BTW: Having Google'd repeater...it looks like a device I plug into the wall at home? What exactly does it do? Boost the signal? How does it compensate for interference in line of sight? Please explain. Cheers!
Yes, a repeater is plugged into a power outlet. It acts as both a receiver and a transmitter: it receives the signal from the main transmitter, amplifies it and re-transmits it. If there is a weather vane between the main transmitter and your PC, blocking the signal, you could place the repeater in such a position in your house that there are no major objects between it and the main transmitter and between it and your PC. This would allow the signal to reach your PC.
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However, the cause of the problem might as well be on the sending side, or as Ben suggests, a limitation of your computer. You'll have to experiment.
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Rudi
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Rudi »

Love your graphics...
I will experiment.

Thanks for the input guys. Much appreciated.
:cheers:
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Claude
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Claude »

Assuming you have a smart phone, look for an app called "wifi analyzer" which allows you to walk around and measure thew wifi signal in different locations. (At least on android phones, not sure about IOS ones)
Cheers, Claude.

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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Rudi »

Claude wrote:Assuming you have a smart phone, look for an app called "wifi analyzer" which allows you to walk around and measure thew wifi signal in different locations. (At least on android phones, not sure about IOS ones)
TX Claude. That is a good idea.

I have iDevices and found a similar app in Apple's App Store.
I'll give it a test run and see if I can pick up fluctuations in signal.

Cheers
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by BobH »

My reception is great for general surfing etc, but I have noticed that when I watch a streaming video (for example), the streaming is interrupted/broken, sometimes a few times during the duration of the stream. . . .
Howdy, Rudi!

I experience the same thing when streaming video from Amazon Instant Video services. I have become convinced that the interruptions are caused by momentary disruptions of the cable delivered service from my ISP. In fact, I have been searching to see if there is any device that can be used to monitor the signal to record disruptions.
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Rudi
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Rudi »

BobH wrote:I experience the same thing when streaming video from Amazon Instant Video services. I have become convinced that the interruptions are caused by momentary disruptions of the cable delivered service from my ISP. In fact, I have been searching to see if there is any device that can be used to monitor the signal to record disruptions.
Bob, howdy to you too...

This is interesting what you say, esp. if you experience the same thing but are on cable! With this in mind it could even be a traffic issue (or contention ratio) that causes these subtle fluctuations or loss in the streaming. Last night I watched two streaming videos of about 40 minutes each and both streamed without a single break, whereas the night before I had 3 breaks in the stream in a shorter 30 minute video. I did play this 30 minute video at an earlier time where there could have been more traffic on the web in my area. Anyways...its a minor irritation and I still have other theories from previous replies that I can test.

Cheers
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Claude »

There are some European news sites where I know in advance that there's no point in clicking on any video link, consistently appalling performance, so I no longer bother.

I blame THEIR ISP...
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Rudi »

This has been a very informative thread.
TX to all the replies. much obliged.
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Claude »

Rudi wrote:This has been a very informative thread.
TX to all the replies. much obliged.
Don't thank us, thank the guy who asked the question mate ! :smile:
Cheers, Claude.

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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by BobH »

Rudi wrote:
Claude wrote:Assuming you have a smart phone, look for an app called "wifi analyzer" which allows you to walk around and measure thew wifi signal in different locations. (At least on android phones, not sure about IOS ones)
TX Claude. That is a good idea.

I have iDevices and found a similar app in Apple's App Store.
I'll give it a test run and see if I can pick up fluctuations in signal.

Cheers
Rudi, please let us know what your iOS app is and how it performs.
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Re: Weather Vane and Line of Sight

Post by Rudi »

Hi Bob,

I downloaded WiPry and Fing
WiPry is a spectrum oscillator which can measure wifi strength and more. (Problem is that it runs is demo mode unless you purchase additional software to activate features!)
Fing is a wifi analyser that provides a breakdown of all the devices connected to the router and their MAC addresses and other details.
Regards,
Rudi

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