WiPry 2500x User Manual
2.4 & 5 GHz Wireless Troubleshooting
Dual Band Spectrum Analyzer

1Table of Contents
Section 1 Getting Started
1.10 Quickstart Guide
1.20 Compatibility
Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.10 Basics
2.11 Screen Layout
2.12 Color Legend
2.20 How To Solve Wireless Speed Issues
2.21 Avoid Interference
2.22 Educate Customer
2.23 Identify Interference Source
2.24 Optimize Channel
2.25 Undo/Relocate Hardware(Features used: Decay, Heat Map)
(Features used: AP Utilization)(Features used: Heat Map)
(Features used: Channel Guide)(Features used: Signal to Noise Ratio)

2.30 Advanced Features
2.31 Waterfall Mode
2.32 Screenshots / Email2.33 Data logging
2.34 PC/Mac Installer
2.35 Birth Certificate / Reporting
2.36 Other (play / record, average, directional antenna, raw, ZigBee)
2.40 Reference
The ‘Best Practice’ Icon
The ‘Field Application’ Icon

2

Section 1 Getting Started
1.10 Quickstart GuideInsert hardware into smartphone, tablet, PC or Mac. Then download WiPry
software from either Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Or, go tooscium.com/quickstart to locate the installers for PC and Mac.

1.20 Compatibility
WiPry is a dual band spectrum analyzer (2.4 GHz & 5 GHz) that works on your preferred
device. Hardware compatibility includes Apple lightning devices with iOS version 7.0 orhigher. Android support includes version 4.0.3 & higher. Android hardware compatibility
includes devices that have USB OTG. Just add the appropriate Android connector for thehost device. For either PC or Mac support, use the installer (see page 13 for more info).
WiPry 2500x is built for universal platform support.

Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.11 Screen Layout
Across the bottom of the screen, menu options exist. Tapping on any of these
options, reveals features within that menu:
Hide Menu Bar

Isolate spectral data

Change the way wirelessactivity is displayed.

Channel guideoptions.

Play/Record

Email, screenshots,save custom setup.

Live / Record

Feature notavailable with tool3Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.11 Screen Layout
The screen is split into two views. The topview is Real Wave. This represents realtime spectral data.

The bottom view is Waterfall. Waterfall
enables spectral data to be viewed overtime with the most recent data at the topof the view. Older data ‘falls’ down thescreen.
Play record feature

Although all RF transmissions are captured by WiPry 2500x, not all RF activity isconstant. Some activity appears and then disappears. Waterfall can be helpful incatching intermittent activity.
A spectrum analyzer displays signal strength amplitude (x axis) as it varies by signal
frequency (y axis). In the real wave view, these labels are always displayed. It possible
to select your preferred screen layout to be either Real Wave, Waterfall, or Both.

To enable the Wi-Fi channel guide, tap
located in the top left corner. Then, tap anyof the boxes listed (1-13) to highlight channel activity. To hide the Wi-Fi guide, just tap. . Channel-specific activity is important to the speed and reliability of your wirelesssignal. Interference can cause slow speeds and at times no connection at all.
Switching between 2.4 & 5 GHz modes can be done quickly by selecting thespectrum menu option and then selecting the desired frequency:
4Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.11 Color Legend
The colors listed below (Real Wave) illustrate a ‘heat map’ of the wireless activity as
pictured below. The hot colors (like red) represent continuous transmissions.

Light purple - single packet
Blue - less than green
Green - less than yellow
Yellow - less than red
Red - noise floor (more than 20transmissions per point on screen)

Red activity can cause significant interference, which affects wireless speed andreliability. Here’s what activity looks like and how it affects speed:

Baseline

Video Streaming on iPad

iPhone 5 = 37.4 megs (Ookla)

iPhone 5 = 27.2 megs (Ookla)

Video Streaming + Microwave Oven

iPhone 5 = 8.9 megs (Ookla)

5Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.21 Avoid Interference
Interference across the entire 2.4 GHz spectrum is visualized below. Here’s how toduplicate the setup shown below:
Step #1 The default view includes the heat map, which is the setting that displays thecolors below.
Step #2 In this illustration, decay is also enabled. Decay is the white squiggly line thatprovides an average of the signal, which fades (or decays) over time. Enabling decay
can be done by tapping the ‘spectrum’ menu in the bottom left corner. Then, tap‘none’ below. Then tap.
Step #3 Tapping thesign in the top left corner will expand the channel guide.
Then, tapping on any of the boxes will highlight the channel activity. Channel 13 ishighlighted.

In this example, there is no clear channel in 2.4 GHz. This interference was limited
to the inside of the home (interference was not visible when leaving theresidence). In this example although 2.4 GHz was very congested, 5 GHz was not.
It was recommended that the customer add dual band adapters on wirelessdevices to utilize 5 GHz for best speeds…or accept slower speeds on 2.4 GHz.
6

Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.22 Educate
Apartment complexes are notorious for having wireless issues. That’s partly because
wireless bandwidth is being shared not just within a particular home but with nearby
neighbors that share the same channel. ‘Access Point Utilization’ grades each
AWG/Router within a given wireless environment. Showing a customer a poor gradeof D (like shown below) helps put wireless congestion in context. Unfortunately, this isthe best that could be done for this customer. Although speeds were not improved,
educated customers are much more understanding. Here’s how to duplicate the setup
shown below:
Step #1 Tap ‘spectrum’ menu option in the bottom left corner. Then, tap
just above.
Step #2 Each AWG/Router is graded in the far right column.

Disabling Wi-Fi inside your host device will reduce noise and improve theaccuracy of your assessment.

7Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.23 Identify Interference SourceThis screenshot was captured during speed test on an HP laptop. Not only were wirelessspeeds affected on the laptop but it was also causing problems for every other wirelessdevice. Powering down the laptop fixed the problem for all devices. It wasrecommended that the customer disable HP wireless network card and directly connect
the laptop using an Ethernet cable. No actions are required to duplicate the setup. Thisis the default view with heat map.

HP Laptop – Bandwidth Speed Test (This is a problem!)

Normal bandwidth speed test

It’s easy to reset the software back to the default view. Just tap the ‘settings’
menu option. Then, tap.
. Super-savvy
techs may also want to save their favorite setup(s). Just below the reset
config option is an option to save three different setups. After a setup has
been saved, just tap
and the screen will load.

8Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.24 Optimize Channel
Not every channel yields the same wireless speeds. Manually testing speeds on various
channels gives significantly different results. In this example, speeds vary from 23-31
megs down after optimization and 4.74 megs down before the change. Here’s how toduplicate the setup shown below:
Step #1 Heat map is enabled as part of the default view. Tap the plus sign in the top left
corner to expand the channel guide shown below. This is helpful to quickly identify thechannel of each AWG/Router.
Step #2 Ookla is a separate app (very bottom of screen). It tracks each speed test anddisplays the actual wireless bandwidth.

Before optimizing channel

Best practices include using channels 1, 6 and 11 only for deployment of Wi-Fi
over 2.4 GHz since these channels represent non-overlapping frequencies.
Channels on 5 GHz do not overlap. The example above is for illustration
purposes only, that manually selecting channels does impact wireless speed.

9Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.25 Undo / Relocate Hardware
Convenient setup of the AWG/Router is often in a basement or mechanical room far
away from where wireless internet is used. This can be a problem because the signal
strength will attenuate (or lose strength) as it travels further away from the source. So
when should the AWG/Router be relocated to a more central location? If the Signal toNoise (SNR) ratio is too low. The industry minimum is 25 dBm for VOIP and video
streaming. Here’s how to duplicate the setup shown below:
Step #1 In the spectrum menu option, make sure either Real Wave is selected or Both.
Step #2 Both SNR and SINR are calculated automatically for you in the top right cornerof the screen.

Step #3 Industry best practices to have at least 25 dBm of SNR. However, factoring inthe SINR is also very helpful as it factors in the current interference (the “I” in SINR) atthat moment. SNR calculates just the signal strength compared to the noise floor. It
doesn’t factor in interference. Using the SINR is an even better metric for evaluating theenvironment. For even better results, require 25 dBm SINR for any real time applications(like VOIP or video streaming).
VOIP over a cell phone (especially on 2.4 GHz) is a challenging request. Customer
could improve telecommunications by hard-wiring VOIP box (like an OBi)
directly into the router. Using a cordless phone with this setup yields a
far superior experience for the customer AND the AWG/Router would
not need to be relocated.

10Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.31 Waterfall Mode
One of the challenges with RF is that the environment is constantly changing. The
default setting on our app is for a real wave view. This displays activity in real time. Butinterference can come and go. Waterfall displays RF over time. The newest activity is at
the top of the screen. And it ‘falls’ down the screen as time elapses. The oldest activity
is at the bottom of the screen. Selecting Both allows both Real Wave & Waterfall views.
Step #1 To view waterfall mode, tap the ‘spectrum’ menu.
Step #2 Then, tap.
Upload speed testcompleted

Download speed testcompleted
Started Ookla speed
test

Logging activity on site is a great way to create a reference point at a particularlocation. And although it is possible to log the data in WiPry, it’s not currently
possible to save (and replay) that log exactly as you see it on the screen. Logged
data is currently displayed as numbers / data points.

11Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.32 Screenshots / Email
Capturing and emailing screenshots is helpful for supervisors . Difficult wireless issues
can be forwarded to managers or Wi-Fi experts for immediate feedback. Here’s how tocapture screenshots and use email inside the WiPry app:
Step #1 Tap ‘settings’ menu option.
Step #2 Then, tap
and a picture of the screen will be captured andemailed (see image below). Or, if multiple screenshots are needed, tap
instead and images will be stored in photos.
Screenshots can also be captured by simultaneously pressing the power button(on the Apple device) and the menu button (on the Apple device). The screen will
briefly flash white. This feature is available at any time, not just while using
WiPry software.

12Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.33 Datalogging
Datalogging creates a record of activity while using the WiPry tool. Although it ispossible to log as long as there is battery life on the iOS device, the data is represented
by numbers in a CSV file. This is a bit cryptic without a way to re-create the waveforms.
So, it is not recommended that this feature be used for this application.
2.34 PC/Mac Installer
The PC version of WiPry 2500x can be found by following this link:
https://www.oscium.com/sites/default/files/WiPryInstaller_2_36.exe
Assuming you install on c:, the drivers are located here:
For 32-bit OS: C:\Program Files\Oscium\WiPry\driver
For 64 bit OS: C:\Program Files (x86)\Oscium\WiPry\driver
PC Driver zip file.
The Mac version of WiPry can be found here:
https://www.oscium.com/sites/default/files/WiPry_2.36.dmg
2.35 Other Features
Play / Record - located on the menu bar. Helpful in capturing intermittent issues.
Power meter – located on the menu bar and is represented by a ‘switch to’ menu
option. This feature is only available with a different piece of hardware. It is not afeature available with the WiPry 2500x.
Dual Band Directional Antenna – the supplied antenna is omnidirectional. That is, itexists in every direction. But, it is possible to amplify signals in a particular direction.
This could be used to pinpoint the exact location of an interference source. Directional
antennas are available directly from Oscium. Interference Finder is a dual banddirectional antenna.

Interference Finder13Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.35 Other Features
Average – provides a yellow line that averages the signal. Very similar to decayfunctionality described in more detail on page six.

Raw – represents the raw spectral data and is visualized by the blue squiggly line. Theproblem with raw view is the signals are so fast that it’s impossible to do anything withthe data. Image captures here:

14Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.35 Birth Certificate / Reporting
Step 1 Tap any displayed SSID. In the top right corner, critical details for that SSID are
displayed:

Step 2 Tap Measure menu option. At the bottom, note Site Evaluation option. TapGenerate Report. A preview of the report will show up that can either be saved oremailed:

15Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.36 Other Features
ZigBee – Viewing ZigBee’s specific channel guide is helpful for troubleshooting ZigBeesystems. To access this feature:
Step 1 Tap the measure menu option. Then, scroll down and tap 802.15.4 – ZigBee.
Step 2 The ZigBee channel guide has been loaded. Now tap in in the top left corner.

Since most AWG/Router’s default to channels 1, 6 or 11, the best ZigBee
channels to use are often 15, 20 or 25. These channels do not overlap withthe majority of Wi-Fi traffic, which helps improve performance.

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Reference
Access Point Utilization (2, 7)
Apartment Complex (7)Android (3)Average (2, 14)
Avoid interference (6)AWG / Router (7, 9, 10)
Bandwidth Speed Test (5, 8, 9, 11)Battery (Birth Certificate (15)Best Practices (2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15)
Channel Guide (2, 4, 6, 9)
Color legend (2, 5)Compatibility (3)Countdown, 2-minute (7)Cordless phone (10)Cursors (10)
Data Logging (13)Directional Antenna (2, 13)
Decay (2, 6)
Educate Customer (7)Email (2, 12)
Extension Cable (3)Field Applications (2, 4, 5, 6, 11)
Grading (7)Hardware, WiPry 2500x (1, 3)
Heat Map (2, 5, 6, 8, 9)
Identify Interference Source (8, 13)Load Config (8)Lightning (3)Mac Installer (13)Menu Bar (3, 10)
OBi (10)
Optimize Channel (2, 4, 9)
Ookla (5, 8, 9, 11)
Play/Record (3, 4, 13)
PC Drivers (13)PC Installer (13)Power Meter (2, 13)
Raw (2, 14)
Relocate Hardware (2, 10)
Recording (3, 4, 13)
Reporting (15)Reset Config (8)Save Config (8)Screen Layout (2, 4)
Screenshots (2, 12)
Software, WiPry (3)SINR (10)SNR (10)
Speed test (5, 8, 9, 11)Signal-to-noise or SNR ratio (2, 10)
Table of Contents (2)USB OTG (3)Video Streaming (5)VOIP (10)Wi-Fi (4, 9, 12)
ZigBee (3, 15)
5 GHz (1, 3, 4, 6, 9)17