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Wifi standard channels RSSI scanner

Vittorio Picco
Prodigy 20 points

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: CC2500

Hello,

I have recently read online about the EZ430-RF2500 board and I'm trying to understand if it could fit my need.

What I'm trying to do is basically an embedded replica of a software like inSSIDer. inSSIDer is a very nice program that scans the wifi spectrum, shows you the name of all the networks available, and can track over time the RSSI for each channel, independently. So what I'd like to do is to set up the EZ430-RF2500 so that it scans the standard 13 wifi channels, find a network with a given name (that I specify) and then starts to track the RSSI for that specific network, sending the data to a computer over the USB port.

I have a basilar doubt: is the RSSI associated with a given wifi channel or with a given wifi network? Common sense would tell me the second: if there are 2 networks over the wifi channel number 6, one originating from a very close AP and one originating from a very far away AP, I should read two different RSSI, one for each network, and they should be very different.

Reading through the forum, I find applications where people scans something like 200 channels over the 2.4GHz ISM band. clearly those are not the wifi channels. Is there a device similar to the EZ430-RF2500 but specifically dedicated to the wifi standard?

In conclusion: is it possible to set up the EZ430-RF2500 so that it scans the standard wifi (802.11b/g) channels and then it returns the RSSI for every (or for one specific) 802.11 network that it find?

Sorry if the message is a bit confusing, but I'm trying to understand things better myself.

Thanks a lot!!

  • 0
    Intellectual 590 points

    Hi Victor,

    Your application really looks interesting, but CC2500 is not capable of scanning the Wifi networks as it cannot support the wifi standard. You can do a clear channel assessments (CCA) over the 2.4GHZ ISM band which will give u an indication of the channels and its associated signal strength at 2.4 GHz but will not be able to scan the network and its SSId.

    I think you need to look at TI's wifi module offerings (TIWI) [link : http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/wl1271-tiwi.html] specifically to get started.

    -The Air team @ Anaren.

    Please check out our Air Modules at http://www.anaren.com/content/File/AIR/AIRoverview.cfm

    Anaren is a third party Developer Network Member for Low Power RF and MCUs.

  • 0 in reply to AIR Line Pilot
    Prodigy 20 points

    Hi,

    Thanks for the reply. I think that the wifi transceiver you suggested might do the work, but there are 2 problems:

    1) It's in preview status, and is not available commercially yet

    2) I would have to connect it to a microcontroller and interface it with the USB, features that the EZ430 board has already integrated.

    It looks like TI does not have a big interest in 802.11 devices... I might have to look somewhere else, unless there is some alternative idea.

     

    Vittorio