NetStumbler

External Antennas

• Decibel (dB) A decibel is the unit of measure for power ratios describing loss or gain, normally expressed in watts. A decibel is not an absolute value - it is the measurement of power gained or lost between two communicating devices. These units are usually given in terms of the logarithm to Base 10 of a ration
• dBi value This is the ratio of the gain of an antenna as compared to an isotropic antenna. The greater the dBi value, the higher the gain. If the gain is high, the angle of coverage will be more acute

Disable the TCP/IP Stack in Windows to prevent the wireless card from connecting to any network.

• Untick the checkbox of the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the properties box of the wireless network card

NetStumbler (www.netstumbler.com) display

• MAC - Machine Address Code; a unique address for each Ethernet device. Preceding each MAC is a small circular icon showing signal strength
• SSID - Service Set Identifier; also known as the "Network Name"
• Name - Access point name. Often blank, as it is not used by all brands of wireless equipment
• Chan - Channel number the network is operating on. In 802.11b communications, 1 to 14
• Speed - The reported maximum speed of the network, in megabits per second (Mbps)
• Vendor - Equipment manufacturer's name or other brand identifier
• Type - Network type; either AP for access point, or peer for peer-to-peer
• Encryption - If the wireless traffic is encrypted on the network by the wireless devices, it is marked as WEP, which stands for "Wired Equivalency Privacy"
• SNR - The RF signal-to-noise ratio; measured in microvolt deciBels (dBm). Only active when in range of a network
• Signal+ - The maximum RF signal seen from the network device in dBm
• Noise- - The minimum RF noise reported at the device in dBm
• SNR+ - The maximum RF signal-to-noise ratio reported at the device in dBm
• IP Addr - The reported Internet Protocol address, if any
• Subnet - Any reported network IP subnet, if any
• Latitude - Latitude as reported by the GPS receiver when NetStumbler saw the network
• Longitude - Longitude as reported by the GPS receiver when NetStumbler saw the network
• First Seen - The time when NetStumbler first saw the network
• Last Seen - The time when NetStumbler last saw the network
• Signal - The current RF signal level in dBm. Only active when in range of a network
• Noise - The current RF noise level in dBm. Only active when in range of a network
• Flags - 802.11 flags from the network in hexadecimal (Base 16) code
• Beacon Interval - The interval of the beacon broadcast from the AP
• Distance - The distance to where you were when the best SNR was seen