Patent ID: 8559379

Claim:
A first repeater operating within a wireless network, the wireless network including a second repeater capable of communicating with the first repeater, and first and second wireless station devices capable of communicating with at least one of the first repeater and the second repeater, the first repeater comprising: a reception device for receiving a wireless signal at a reception frequency; a detector for detecting if a predetermined portion of the received wireless signal includes a modified portion to thereby determine that the received signal is from the second repeater; and a transmission device for transmitting the wireless signal to one of the first and second wireless station devices at a transmission frequency to thereby repeat the wireless signal, wherein the repeater further comprises: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory for storing a power adjustment routine for configuring the processor; wherein the processor is configured to: generate probe packets to be transmitted to the second repeater at the transmission frequency; measure a received signal strength indication (RSSI) of a packet received in response to the probe packets; determine if a path loss defined by a difference between a power level at which the probe packets were transmitted and the measured RSSI is less than a predetermined value; and mark the transmission frequency as unavailable for use if the path loss is less than the predetermined value.