I was wondering if anyone knew of a Wi-Fi module that operates at 5 GHZ. I saw another post on this topic, but it was 5 years old and figured the tech may have changed a bit since then.
I am currently using a RN171XVS-I/RM module in a Wi-Fi application. I communicate with the RN171XVS-I/RM module via UART. The module transmits at 2.4GHz and I would like to try a similar module that operates at 5.0GHz. Is there a comparable Wi-Fi module that operates at 5.0GHz and receives data via UART? SPI and I2C will not work for my application.
The reason for the 5 GHz Frequency is to avoid noise and interference.
NOTE: I am experiencing loss of connectivity around certain medical devices. I believe that moving to 5 GHz would help with this, however if there is something else I can consider in the 2.4 GHz realm, I'm open to suggestions. The RN171XVS is an old module uses the 802.11b/g protocol. If finding a unit with operates at 2.4 GHz but uses the 802.15 protocol or Zigbee, for example, would be better, I'll give that a shot. I just don't know enough about Wi-Fi and would love some advice.
Do you have anything to do frequency analysis with? Oscilloscope or other device? I'd find out how bad the interference is first and its primary frequency before buying and developing random solutions.
So I've not yet been able to make it on-site, however a technician was there and used Apps called "Sniff Wi-Fi" and "Air Magnet Survey". Neither of which found any interference. What's weird is that the device can be seen to be broadcasting; but connection cannot be established. What's weirder still is that the device was working fine for years. It only just started acting up about a month ago...
The router can't connect to it? Are there any logs from the devices trying to connect to it? The local intranet policies could have been updated and causing issues too.
That is precisely what I thought, however there is a direct connection between the Device (Wi-Fi Module) and its controlling tablet; which is why I'm thinking it's interference. Once the devices and tablets are taken out of the problem-site, they work just fine again.
I will add that the devices seem to experience this issue, whether the adjacent medical equipment is on or off. I'm not sure what inference would be given off by said medical devices while off. Additionally, there are other smart equipment in the area (ie, smart lights, smart doors, etc...) that seems to work just fine. So this is definitely a bit of a mystery
Just to be clear, the direct connection is a WiFi connection from a tablet to your board with the WiFi module? Does that SSID only have the two devices on it?
You mention other devices. What types and how long have they been in this environment? A new MRI machine?
Correct, the connection is direct with the tablet and the tablet actually has a SIM card for receiving updates to OAD to the device with. The tablet does not connect with any other device.
I'm leaning towards this being an environmental issue. That is, an x-ray machine, for example, may have been moved to an adjacent wall or something of that nature, however I'm being told that no new equipment has been added to the area.
The device has been working for years in this section without issue. And when the device is moved to a different area, it begins working again; and whichever device we move into the problem-site, begins experiencing the same issues. What's interesting is that this wasn't an issue for several years, and then several devices (at different sites) began experiencing the same issue.
Another thing to note that was just reported to me is that if the device (in the problem-area) is power-cycled, connection can be established for up to 10 minutes before the connection is lost again. We tried swapping the Wi-Fi module without any luck.
Perhaps there is some shielding we can use to prevent interference from the other equipment?