The Basics of Wireless

New Zealand Radio Spectrum Management

All of the radio products sold by Go Wireless NZ Ltd are covered by the Radiocommunications Regulations as specified by Radio Spectrum Management (RSM). You must ensure that you use all radio equipment in a manner that meets the regulations; otherwise you may cause unnecessary interference to other users. All of the Wi-Fi devices sold by Go Wireless NZ Ltd use Spread Spectrum and most are in the General User licensed RF bands.

Go Wireless NZ Ltd is registered with New Zealand’s Radio Spectrum Management (RSM) and has a Supplier Code Number (SCN) of Z1174. All active radio products sold by Go Wireless NZ Ltd are C-tick approved for sale in New Zealand and Australia.

See here for the RSM guidelines and Wireless LAN Instructions:
http://www.rsm.govt.nz/cms/licensees/types-of-licence/general-user-licences/short-range-devices

The bare minimum you need to know about your responsibilities under the GURL are below: 900MHz Wireless GURL in New Zealand 924MHz.........................4 watt (36dBm) total EIRP with 5MHz channel width. 2.4GHz Wireless GURL in New Zealand 2400 to 2483.5MHz.......................4 watt (36dBm) total EIRP 5GHz Wireless GURL in New Zealand 5180 to 5250MHz.........................200mW (23dBm) total EIRP (Indoor Use Only) 5250 to 5350MHz.........................200mW (23dBm) total EIRP for Indoor Use or 1 watt (30dBm) total EIRP for Outdoor Use (DFS radar detect must be enabled) 5470 to 5725MHz.........................1 watt (30dBm) total EIRP (DFS radar detect must be enabled) 5725 to 5825MHz.........................200 watts (53dBm) total EIRP for Fixed point to point only 5725 to 5875MHz.........................4 watts (36dBm) total EIRP for Point to Multipoint  Note:  Do not use 5605MHz as this is being used by the MetService Rain Radar equipment. 24GHz Wireless GURL in New Zealand 24 to 24.250GHz.........................1 watt (30dBm) total EIRP (Any Modulation)

Why is a Static IP address needed to configure some Access Points?

This is normally done by a DHCP server (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) on the device and is not always enabled by default, this will mean that you will need to assign a Static IP address to your computer so you can communicate with it. A basic understanding of TCP/IP is needed to work with any network equipment. A good place to start is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address

 
See our example of setting a static IP address and accessing a Ubiquiti device:
http://blog.gowifi.co.nz/2013/07/logging-in-to-ubiquiti-wireless-access.html

Basic Wireless Networking Tips

Having problems with your wireless signal? there are some things to check for first.

Look for other 2.4 GHz equipment nearby like cordless phones, bluetooth devices, microwave ovens etc. Your neighbours may also have a wireless access point on the same channel as yours, a good program to check this is Netstumbler which is a free 802.11b/g scanning program you can download.

MetaGeek the inventor of the popular Wi-Spy spectrum analyzer have also released an excellent tool called inSSIDer which works with most laptops. You can get your hands on a selection of MetaGeek Wi-Spy analyzers from $109+gst RRP here: http://www.gowifi.co.nz/wi-spy-analyzer.html

Outdoor Point-to-Point and Point-to-MultiPoint Alignment

For tips on getting the best performance from your outdoor wireless link please see our alignment blog here:

http://blog.gowifi.co.nz/2013/07/ubiquiti-antenna-alignment-and-link.html

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