Norharyati Harum, Nur Atikah Mohd Yusof and NurulAzma Zakaria
Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, Volume 25, Issue S, April 2017
Keywords: Access Point, IEEE 802.11, portable, Raspberry Pi, wireless range extender, WLAN
Published on: 21 Dec 2017
In IEEE 802.11 standard, Mobile Station (MS) such as laptop and smartphone are connected to Access Point (AP) to have a wireless connection. However, setting up AP to cover the whole area is costly and complicated. Limitation in signal capacity causes out-of-coverage area, where the MS cannot connect to the AP. In this paper, a portable wireless range extender (PWRE) is developed to assist MS that is located out of coverage area, or at the cell edge area connected to the internet. Development of PWRE involves two processes, which are connecting to existing wireless LAN (WLAN) network, and broadcasting a new WLAN network. The paper discusses development process of PWRE and analysis of its performance. PWRE was developed using a low power consumption microprocessor, known as Raspberry Pi. Performance of the developed PWRE is evaluated by comparing signal strength received by an MS located in the cell edge from an AP using two scenarios; with and without the PWRE. Results showed that the MS signal strength improved significantly with the deployment of PWRE. Other advantages offered by PWRE include being portable and energy efficient as it uses only 5V of power to operate.
ISSN 1511-3701
e-ISSN 2231-8542