User's Manual

Rajant Corporation BreadCrumb® ME4 v11 User Guide
03-100126-011 Version 11.0.0
range. Elevating a device above the ground dramatically increased the maximum effective range.
Rajant recommends elevating the components a minimum of 6 ft. above the surrounding surface.
4.4 Deployment Guidelines and Methodology
This section addresses the actual on-site deployment of the mesh. While by no means an exhaustive
treatise, it is intended as a good source of guidelines and methodology for the successful deployment of
a mesh in the field.
4.4.1 Deployment Guidelines
Follow these guidelines when deploying the mesh:
1. Placement of BreadCrumbs
(a) Elevate the BreadCrumbs whenever possible.
i. Directly on the ground, the maximum distance between any two BreadCrumbs is
approximately 300 ft. Also, the maximum distance between a wireless client and the
nearest BreadCrumb is approximately 300 ft.
ii. Rajant recommends elevating each BreadCrumb a minimum of 6 ft. above the
surrounding terrain for maximum range. Elevating the BreadCrumbs, as little as 14
inches, has proven to increase the range out to approximately 600 ft.
2. Distance
(a) If you cannot elevate the BreadCrumbs, they can only be approximately 300 ft. apart. Also,
any wireless clients can be no farther than approximately 300 ft. from a BreadCrumb.
3. Line of sight
(a) Obstructions to line-of-sight block/absorb/deflect the wireless network’s radio waves,
resulting in poor network performance or total loss of network connectivity.
(b) When placing the BreadCrumbs, scan the area for LOS obstructions. Envision the
BreadCrumb’s radio waves as a light beam. Look for obstructions that would result in
shadows in the light beam, they will most likely weaken or block the BreadCrumb’s radio
waves.
4. Weather
(a) Light precipitation will reduce the range and performance of the BreadCrumb and wireless
clients.
(b) Heavy precipitation or fog will most likely result in extremely reduced range and frequent or
total loss of network connectivity.
4.4.2 Deployment Methodology
The steps detailed in this section should assist you in successfully deploying the mesh.
1. Scan the terrain on which the mesh will be deployed.
(a) Determine the initial distances between BreadCrumb devices.
20