802.11n: A Burst of Static

When I reviewed my first-generation Apple MacBook back in early January, I noted that it didn’t contain Draft 802.11n support; I later explained how I planned to rectify this omission (the Dell Wireless 1500 Module, by the way, is another reportedly valid upgrade path). As it turns out, the MacBook will be (along with my beefed-up Dell desktop PC) the systems foundation of my networking (CAT5e, powerline and wireless) hands-on cover story whose raw data I finished collecting yesterday, and which you’ll be able to peruse in about 1.5 months’ time (on August 2, to be exact).

The MacBook is ideal for this task, because its upgraded wireless subystem supports all four 801.11 standards (a, b, g and Draft n) and it also houses a GbE tranceiver. I confess that I got cold feet (what kind of engineer am I? I digress….) when faced with the prospect of self-swapping the system’s 802.11 modules, a task that’s not as straightforward as upgrading the HDD and DRAM. So I shipped the MacBook off to QuickerTek, who speedily handled the surgery (they also upgrade first-gen MacBook Pros, iMacs and Mac minis) and got it back in my hands. They even provided a CD with Dell-labeled Windows drivers for the new wireless module, although right now I’m just using the drivers that came with Boot Camp.

I’ll have more to say about my project and its results in the coming weeks (and much more to discuss on August 2 and thereafter) but for now I wanted to pass along one interesting observation. I’m listening to my 5.8 GHz wireless headphones as I type this, and each time I bring the <2-feet-away MacBook out of standby (thereby presumably powering up its wireless networking subsystem) I hear a brief burst of static in my ears, even though there’s no 802.11a or 802.11n Wi-Fi network running in the home office right now.

Wireless interference is a topic that’s not remotely new to me, but this is the first time I’ve experienced this particular manifestation of it. Then again, I make it a point to avoid using other 2.4 GHz-broadcasting gear in conjunction with my Wi-Fi network….aside from the unavoidable microwave oven, of course, for meals and late-night popcorn snacks. Perhaps it’s just a matter of perspective; usually what I hear about (and personally experience) are other signal sources interfering with Wi-Fi, not the other way around. Readers, what Wi-Fi-induced interference, in either the 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz ISM bands, have you encountered?