Asus RT-N66U Tx Power Adjustment

[alabrand]

My primary computer utilizes the 5GHz band and I'm wondering what the optimal setting is for me. The computer is circa 3 meters away from the router and I've currently got the Tx Power Adjustment setting on 5 and honest to god, I can't tell much of a difference between 5 and 200. Is there any substantial reason for me to put it any higher, I.E to it's default setting or can I just keep it at 5?

 

[jim769]

What difference the tx power setting really does I don't know. I just leave both bands at 100 and leave it at that.

 

[alabrand]

What difference the tx power setting really does I don't know. I just leave both bands at 100 and leave it at that.

Perhaps someone really knowledgeable about this certain settings drops in sooner or later. : ) I might try 100 later on as I've read several people choose that specific number for some reason.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
If RX is very close to TX with too much out put, it is more harmful than benefitial.
RX front end gets desentisized and all kinda noise will cause RX signal quality drop.
Once signal level reaches at RX abvve certain level, more power doesn't make any difference. This is just plain layman's explanation. More power above needed, more energy wasted, nothing gained. At distance it is same, once RX signal level reaches
(by increasing TX power, or using gain antenna) to quieting point, jacking up more power from TX does not accomplish any thing. If you have specific question, let me know.

 

[jim769]

I dont think it really matters were you set the tx power it dont really do anything anyway. I have gone from the bottom to the top and seen no difference what so ever. The router will give you what ever output it wants.

 

[sm00thpapa]

I stay at 80 and it runs fine in my application. I've tried higher and saw no difference.

 

[alabrand]

Hi,
If RX is very close to TX with too much out put, it is more harmful than benefitial.
RX front end gets desentisized and all kinda noise will cause RX signal quality drop.
Once signal level reaches at RX abvve certain level, more power doesn't make any difference. This is just plain layman's explanation. More power above needed, more energy wasted, nothing gained. At distance it is same, once RX signal level reaches
(by increasing TX power, or using gain antenna) to quieting point, jacking up more power from TX does not accomplish any thing. If you have specific question, let me know.

This RX level you speak of, is it the one visible in the Wireless Log? If so, here is what it says:

RSSI
-53dBm

Rx/Tx Rate
270/216

I have no idea if that is good or bad. If it is either one, would you suggest I either set Tx Power to default (80) or to something else?

 

[jerry6]

Mine is set at 75 , works well .

 

[alabrand]

This RX level you speak of, is it the one visible in the Wireless Log? If so, here is what it says:

RSSI
-53dBm

Rx/Tx Rate
270/216

I have no idea if that is good or bad. If it is either one, would you suggest I either set Tx Power to default (80) or to something else?

Anybody else wanna chime in? I can provide further information if required.

 

[DrTeeth]

If one changes the locale, one can get higher power and more channels.

I live in the UK and changed my locale from the default 'EU' to 'GB' and got both, legally.

Increasing the power does not do too much unless one drastically increases it; much more than the hardware would allow.

 

[jerry6]

If one changes the locale, one can get higher power and more channels.

I live in the UK and changed my locale from the default 'EU' to 'GB' and got both, legally.

Increasing the power does not do too much unless one drastically increases it; much more than the hardware would allow.

how do ou change locale ?

 

[alabrand]

If one changes the locale, one can get higher power and more channels.

I live in the UK and changed my locale from the default 'EU' to 'GB' and got both, legally.

Increasing the power does not do too much unless one drastically increases it; much more than the hardware would allow.

I'm not really interested in increasing my power as I am finding out why there isn't much of a difference between 5 Tx and 200 Tx in my case (I am though sitting circa 3 meters away from the router as we speak) and if having it at 5 Tx will cause any issues to the equipment.

 

[wouterv]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it
Why changing settings if things work well, why trying to make satisfactory things better?
With free configurable device like routers, the very best advise is: keep it as standard as possible, untill your needs require setting changes.
Leave the TX power default, don't touch all the odd features...all until there is a real need.
Feel free to experiment, but always remember what you changed and be able to revert to the previous state.

 

[DrTeeth]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it
Why changing settings if things work well, why trying to make satisfactory things better?
With free configurable device like routers, the very best advise is: keep it as standard as possible, untill your needs require setting changes.
Leave the TX power default, don't touch all the odd features...all until there is a real need.
Feel free to experiment, but always remember what you changed and be able to revert to the previous state.

The router firmware allows me to change my locale to take advantage of the regulatory framework in my country - many more channels at 5GHz and higher power should I wish to use it. I am not trying to do anything strange or change any esoteric settings. The fact that it breaks things shows that the driver is buggy. Whilst I can revert to the EU locale, I will check the SDK5 firmwares to see if they are also affected by the same problem.

 

[CaptainSTX]

I'm not really interested in increasing my power as I am finding out why there isn't much of a difference between 5 Tx and 200 Tx in my case (I am though sitting circa 3 meters away from the router as we speak) and if having it at 5 Tx will cause any issues to the equipment.

Reducing your power by 40X will result in reducing your signal strength by 15db.

As you have seen from a distance of 3 M hardly noticeable.

 

[alabrand]

Reducing your power by 40X will result in reducing your signal strength by 15db.

As you have seen from a distance of 3 M hardly noticeable.

So all it essentially does is lower the signal strength/range? Is there a calculator or a simple formula I can use to figure out how much less db there is in the end?

 

[episyron]

I have old Buffalo WHR-G54S with DD-WRT in 2,4GHz band running as a client bridge to RT-N66U for quite short distance. I have be wondering why it gives only 24 Mbps bandwith. I tried to change some settings on both side, like preamble size, TX bursting, but no avail. Until I lowered the TX power of WHR-G54S side from 70 to 28mW. That increased bandwith to 54 Mbps. The power in RT-N66U side is 80mW for keeping neighbours out from my channel, hopefully. So if the range is not an issue, lowering TX power might actually help.

 

[sitecom]

If one changes the locale, one can get higher power and more channels.

I live in the UK and changed my locale from the default 'EU' to 'GB' and got both, legally.

Increasing the power does not do too much unless one drastically increases it; much more than the hardware would allow.

IM also from the UK and I've been trying to change the TX power to 200 but 100 seems to be max. Im on latest Merlin FW.

Someonw said they noticed great improvements http://www.amazon.com/RT-N66U-Dual-...s/B006QB1RPY/ref=dpx_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1

Router Configuration
*Update Firmware. Obviously for this router, regularly updating the firmware is important, and Asus makes this super easy right from the top of the main device screen (i.e., the Dashboard). I think it's really cool how Asus is working the firmware constantly with a community of users, and also supports open source firmware as well. Asus is easily the most responsive and proactive firmware developer I've ever seen in 20 years of working with wireless networks and routers. To me, this is a competitive advantage vs. the "few updates then done" approach of other vendors who leave us stuck with firmware issues as they move on to the next device.
*Crank the power. Once I made my way to the >Advanced Settings/Wireless/Professional/Tx Power Adjustment< setting and maxed it out (200mW), link speeds and connection stability went WAY up in my home. 5GHz connections benefited the most, going right up to link speeds of 450 Mbps a 3 rooms away, and 2.4GHz link speeds increased 50%.
*Allow 40MHz band width on 5GHz. The total bandwidth of 5GHz wifi is much greater than 2.4GHz, AND it's less crowded so far, so setting the router to use the higher capacity of a 40MHz connection maximizes speed on this band. >Advanced Settings/Wireless/General/Channel Bandwidth/20/40< I find that my router + adapter combination regularly bumps the 5GHz connection up to 40MHz channel bandwidth with the resultant link speed of 450Mbps.