[OPLINTECH] Magnetic Paint & WiFi

[Chad Neeper]

I'm no expert in radio transmissions nor "magnetic" paint (wouldn't it 
be more accurate to call it _metal_ paint or _iron_ paint?) However, 
considering that you are essentially starting to build yourself a 
Faraday Cage (paint the floor, ceiling, doors and windows to complete 
the effect), I'd expect that, yes, your WiFi (and cell phones, etc.) 
would quite possibly be affected in a negative way. Whether or not it is 
a problem in your particular situation would depend upon the location of 
your access point and it's signal strength, I'd guess, as well as to how 
much surface area and in what locations you put the paint. You're 
essentially putting up metal shielding.

Very cool question. Unfortunately, in order to fully answer it for your 
particular goals/situation, you'd probably have to paint your walls. But 
then it's too late. I suppose you could paint sheets of panel board or 
something and place them in your desired locations to test...but then 
you'll have ended up using twice the amount of paint and x number of 
panel boards by the time you complete your project.

...or go ahead and paint, but ensure that you can place an access point 
inside the room(s) you paint in the event the signal is too degraded to 
be usable.

If you've received any off-list responses from anyone with direct 
experience, it would be great if you summarized and posted the results!

______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

/Full LAN/WAN consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and schools/

On 11/22/2011 8:40 AM, Patricia Henricks wrote:
> Good morning!!!!!
>
> Does anyone have any experience using magnetic paint in the library with respect to WiFi?  I read a blog that said it will reek havoc on WiFi.
>
> Also, if you have any experience with magnetic paint....does it actually work?
>
> On a regular basis we display artwork for the school and currently use mounting putty which requires some daily re-mounting....so we are exploring the possibility of using magnetic paint.
>
> Thanks in advance for any feedback.
>
>
>
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