Chanalyzer 4 and Chanalyzer Pro require:

• Wi-Spy 2.4x or Wi-Spy DBx hardware
• Wi-Fi card (for Wi-Fi features)
• Windows XP SP3, Vista or Windows 7
• .Net 3.5 framework
• USB

Both of the spectrum analysis programs are very similar. There are several additional features Chanalyzer Pro offers:

• Report Builder
• Waterfall Navigation
• Utilization (Duty Cycle)
• Device Finder
• Automatic Device Pattern Matching

You can download Chanalyzer 4 or Pro for free. A Wi-Spy is required for viewing and recording spectrum data, and a wireless adapter is required to overlay spectrum data with network information.

Chanalyzer 4 Download
Chanalyzer Pro Download

Chanalyzer Pro will install as a trial edition but can be unlocked by purchasing a license key.

With two Wi-Spy devices, you can simultaneously log the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. You can also alternate between them without creating additional files. Once a Wi-Spy is plugged in Chanalyzer will automatically start logging the data from both Wi-Spys. To toggle between each Wi-Spy use the session manager in Chanalyzer Pro: In Chanalyzer 4 a drop-down selection tool will appear in the bottom left corner of the application.

The device finder tool in Chanalyzer Pro requires a small frequency range. In the Overview Pane, click and drag across the transmitter you would like to find. A new tab will appear in the details pane.

There are two pieces to Device Finder. The first is a software tool which tracks the amplitude levels of a user-specified frequency range. This is included with Chanalyzer pro The directional antenna, also called Device Finder, is an optional accessory which can be purchased in addition to the DBx Pro bundle.

The Density View displays how often a signal is detected at a specific amplitude. The graph shows signal amplitude over frequency. After a short time of gathering data, patterns begin to emerge in the Density View. The flat top pattern in the image represents a 40 MHz wide 802.11n file transfer. A density map view enables the user to quickly identify packet-based and analog patterns that may be interfering with your network. To see more specific information about a point on the graph, use the Inspector tool. The display options currently available in Chanalyzer Pro are: Current – This represents the received values at the most recent reading in the time span. Average – This is the average of the received spectrum activity in the selected time span. Max – This is the maximum points received across the band in the selected time span. Color by Amplitude – Display option to show highly populated frequency amplitude points using opacity with colors representing amplitudes. Color by Density – Display option to show highly populated frequency amplitude points using colors. Color by Utilization – Display option to show how constant transmissions are within a selected time range. Networks – By selecting Networks Chanalyzer will draw overlays of the SSIDs selected in the Networks Table. Transmitters (Pro only) – Chanalyzer Pro will attempt to automatically identify transmitters. This display option will toggle on the drawing of detected transmitters within the threshold settings. Outline – This represents the line Chanalyzer Pro attempts to match patterns too. This is most often used in creating a classifier. Inspector – This creates a hovering box above the cursor that displays specific numbers regarding a particular frequency amplitude point.

The Utilization (Duty Cycle) is a relative score that helps determine how usable a channel is. It measures the percentage of time at or above the Utilization Threshold. This threshold can be adjusted in the top left corner of the Utilization tab. The selected time span in the waterfall navigation is used in the Utilization calculation.

Current – This represents a single sweep from the Wi-Spy. The accumulation of these sweeps are used for the rest of the calculations below. Grade – This calculation uses the entire 20 Mhz width of a a Wi-Fi channel. Higher power levels near the center of the channel will affect the grade more negatively. A high grade of 90 or above can be interpreted as an “A” while 80 or above is a “B.” Anything below 70 is not recommended for Wi-Fi deployment. Average - For each channel range (for example, Wi-Fi Channel 1, 2401-2423MHz), Chanalyzer calculates the average power within that channel frequency range. Max - This value is the highest amplitude point within the Wi-Fi channel frequency range. Utilization – The percentage of all noise above a defined amplitude threshold. The default amplitude is -85dBm. Networks – Once network scanning is initialized Chanalyzer will count list the amount of networks detected