User's Guide

BreadCrumb
®
LX4 User Guide Rajant Corporation
Version: 2.02 03-100117-001
Table 8: Default Channel Assignments
Radio Card Frequency Default Channel
900 MHz 5
2.4 GHz 11
4.9 GHz 20
5 GHz 152
In some cases, it may be necessary to manually set the radios to specific channels to provide critical
links within a mesh. This can be especially important when using single-radio BreadCrumb devices.
Refer to the BC|Commander User Guide for the details of BreadCrumb channel configuration.
4.3 Physical Placement and other Considerations
Commonly occurring environmental factors have a significant impact on performance and behavior
of the BreadCrumb Wireless Network. LOS (Line of Sight) obstructions, distance, weather, and
device placement should all be considered when deploying a wireless network.
IEEE 802.11 wireless operation degrades gradually as distance increases between nodes or as
interference becomes prominent. This manifests as a data rate reduction between nodes.
The goal in planning and deploying a BreadCrumb Wireless Network is to maximize both coverage
and the data transfer rate between devices. These can be maximized by taking into consideration all
of the contributing factors described in this section.
4.3.1 Line-of-Sight
Unobstructed LOS (Line-of-Sight) is critical for optimal performance of the BCWN. Partial LOS
obstruction results in noticeable network performance degradation. Total LOS obstruction can result
in complete loss of network connectivity.
Elevating the device and external antenna will assist in providing better LOS. This can allow the
radio waves to propagate over some possible obstructions.
Unobstructed LOS is not necessary from every BreadCrumb device and wireless client to every
other BreadCrumb device and wireless client. However, each device must have unobstructed LOS
to the previous and subsequent device.
Client connectivity will degrade and drop if LOS to a BreadCrumb device can not be maintained.
4.3.2 Distance
Many factors determine acceptable distances between BreadCrumb devices when deploying a
BCWN:
● If many devices are placed too closely together, it is possible that interference will degrade
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