In article , Floyd L. Davidson
wrote:

you can't control what neighbors do. sometimes picking something
other than 1, 6 or 11 is the only option.

It really is. Since everyone seems to allow their wifi station to pick
the channel (based possibly on the traffic at that time and then no
longer changing) I'm better off alone at 8 or 9. I get splashed to be
sure, but not near as bad as if I stay on 1, 6 or 11.

You get interference, if you choose Channel 8, from anyone that chooses
any channel from 4 to 12.

depends how far away they are.

No, it depends on the signal strength relative to the
desired signal.

which depends how far away they are.

Any given station can be farther away but also have
a much stronger signal level.

possible, but most routers have similar power and very few people have
directional antennas, so distance is a good metric.

If the signal strength for all other users total is
equal to greater than 6 dB less than the RSL of the
desired signal, you will have interference.

That is, if there is one signal on Channel 8 and it is
-6 dB or greater compared to your signal, you get
interference. If there are two signals they can both be
-9 dB below the desired signal, and you will get
interference. If there are four signals the threshold
is -12 dB, and so on.

If you choose Channel 11 the only other choices
that will affect you are those from 7 on up. All you have done by
choosing
Channel 8 is perhaps double the amount of interference.

based on that, then 1 and 11 can be the only choices.

Channels 1, 6 and 11 will not interfere with each other.

nobody said they would.

however, what *you* said is by picking 8, you get twice as much
interference than 11, so based on that, picking 6 is even worse.

It is true that picking 8 will get twice as much
interference, and that is not true of 11.

then 6 is the worst.

choosing 6 means 2-10 can cause interference, which is almost the
entire band.

That is exactly the reason to assign 1, 6, and 11.

in an ideal world, yes.

No, in very practical world. That is the only way to
get three clear channels operating at one time. If you
choose Channel 8, it there can't be more than two
channels operating without interference.

however, you can't guarantee that everyone will adhere to that. nobody
can.

unfortunately, in the real world it doesn't work that way.

Clearly it does.

no, it definitely does not. you need to get out more.

if they're too weak to be of significance, then it doesn't really
matter what channel you or anyone else picks, does it?

Not until someone close enough to actually have a
greater signals strength cranks up their AP, and then
you are toast if you picked the wrong channel!

no need to crank up anything.

Yes, if it is turned off then it won't interfere with
you. But most people install these devices to actually
use them.

who said anything about turning them off???

in an apartment setting, a neighbor's base station could be as close as
just a few feet away if it's near a shared wall, or a little more in
the apartment directly overhead or below. what channels they pick
*will* be an issue.

Exactly. So choosing the most efficient channel
assignment pattern is significant.

yes it is, but the point is you can't enforce that, and there are other
sources of interference than wifi base stations.

sometimes people pick other channels. it's just how it is.

in detached homes, the distances will obviously be greater so using the
same channels will likely not be an issue, although in some cities
houses are very close together so it could turn out to be a problem
anyway.

That is not necessarily true. These "shared wall"
situations, and equally likely with overhead/below
circumstances, often mean very lossy transmission paths.

sometimes. it depends what's in the wall.

when i stay in a hotel, i can see networks from other guests in other
rooms. hotel wifi tends to suck, so they bring their own.

It isn't generally just a matter of "distance". And
often the distance traveled by the signal is not
actually a direct line of sight anyway. Almost any wall
causes significant loss at 2400MHz, and almost any
metalic surface larger than an inch or so will reflect
the signals too. Hence you may think, for example, that
the signal you are picking up from the appartment above
you is traveling 10 to 15 feet through the ceiling when
in fact the path is in/out the (lossless) windows and
bouncing off the foil backing on the insulation in the
wall (or a metal sign attached to it) of the building
across the street!

that's a bit of a stretch.

WIFI does strange things.

not as strange as the arguments you make.

You can weasel all you like, but technically there is
only one right way: choose one of channel 1, 6 or 11.

no weaseling at all.

Won't be when you stop...

in an ideal world, sure, use 1, 6 and 11.

In a practical world, that is the right choice.

but in the real world, people choose other channels.

you see, in the real world, people pick channels *other* than those
three.

And my point is that it does *not* improve their service.

that's *their* problem.

the issue is what a given user needs to do to get the best service.

it might be 1, 6 or 11, or it might not.

i just did a survey and right *now* i see networks on 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and
11.

based on their strengths, picking 1, 6 or 11 is *not* the best choice
for me.

that's the real world.

Let me say it again: use one of 1, 6 or 11 for best results.

let me say it again, 1, 6 or 11 does *not* always give the best
results. been there, done that.

Use something else if results aren't what you want, but
emotional yada yada is a good substitute.

whatever that is supposed to mean.