Wi-Spy: Spectrum Analysis For Everyone.
Select the Wi-Spy and Chanalyzer combination for you.

USB Spectrum Analyzer
for 2.4 GHz band only
with Chanalyzer Basic

  • - see all interference
  • - save your recordings
  • - signal classifications

USB Spectrum Analyzer
for 2.4 and 5 GHz bands
plus Chanalyzer Basic

  • - see all interference
  • - save your recordings
  • - signal classifications
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  •  
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USB Spectrum Analyzer
for 2.4 and 5 GHz bands
plus Chanalyzer Pro

  • - see all interference
  • - save your recordings
  • - signal classifications
  • - find unknown devices
  • - replay with waterfall
  • - create powerful reports

Manage & Troubleshoot
Wi-Fi networks? Get the
spectrum and packet
analysis tools you need.

bundle discount
MetaGeek’s Wi-Spy DBx Pro was the only option that gave us everything we needed for designing and troubleshooting critical enterprise-level Wi-Fi environments at an affordable price for our whole team.
– Devin Akin, Aerohive

 

What is a Wi-Spy?

Wi-Spy is an affordable tool for troubleshooting and identifying
Wi-Fi problems and interference.

Since 2005, Wi-Spy has given network managers access to compact and affordable spectrum analysis. Wireless networks present a unique set of management issues and Wi-Spy is your fast-track to quick troubleshooting with confidence.

How does it work?

Connect a Wi-Spy to your computer, start the software,
and see what your wireless landscape looks like.

Our accompanying visualization software turns data collected from a Wi-Spy into highly interactive and informative charts and graphs, allowing users to visualize wireless landscapes, detecting all the invisible RF interference that might be causing network issues.

When combined with a wireless network card, our software can also display active access points as they appear in the spectrum, giving quick insight into whether interference is Wi-Fi or non-Wi-Fi related.

Why do I need Spectrum Analysis tools?

Wi-Fi uses the same frequencies as wireless consumer electronics.

In its most basic form, Wi-Fi is radio waves that travel in the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands. When two devices transmit simultaneously, their waves cancel each other out. These collisions are undetected by Wi-Fi cards, but the resulting network slowness or complete loss of connectivity is painfully obvious to humans.

Wi-Fi networks are half duplex, and exist in contention domains. In other words, every device must listen before it can talk, and only one device at a time is allowed to speak. Think of a courtroom: a judge decides who gets to talk, and everyone else has to listen. Judges and Wi-Fi access points alike must manage conversations.

However, there’s always a chance that order may be lost. Channel congestion can happen when there are too many APs or clients on the same channel. Legacy hardware may talk up to 65 times slower than modern wireless equipment. Worse still, devices active on channels that overlap the one you’ve selected for your channel can make your AP want to bang its gavel – but Layer 1 interference could very well be coming from a non-Wi-Fi device. This is where spectrum analysis comes in.

RF interference causes Wi-Fi distortion.

By using specialized hardware and software tools such as Wi-Spy and Chanalyzer, you are able to visually identify how loud RF interference is, and where it’s located. Through detection and display of the RF energy that surrounds you, Chanalyzer makes it a breeze to spot the true congestion of both Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi devices on every 802.11 channel instantaneously – thus restoring order to your wireless courtroom.

What can you do with a Wi-Spy?

  • Identify the best available channel for a network
  • Optimize a wireless network by isolating persistent interference
  • Track and analyze active radio interference
  • Detect and eliminate adjacent channel interference

Who benefits from Wi-Spy?

  • Campus, K-12, and Managed Services IT
  • SMB Network Administrators
  • Network VAR / Wireless Engineers
  • CE / Custom Tech Installers

 

Product Specifications


Choose your Wi-Spy model by which band you need to scan, and by which Chanalyzer version you wish to run.

Wi-Spy 900x
Wi-Spy 2.4x
Wi-Spy DBx
Frequency Range 862 to 928 MHz 2.400 to 2.495 GHz 2.400 to 2.495 GHz
5.150 to 5.850 GHz
Amplitude Range -105 to -6.5 dBm -100 dBm to -6.5 dBm -100 dBm to -6.5 dBm
Amplitude Resolution 0.5 dBm 0.5 dBm 0.5 dBm
Antenna RP-SMA RP-SMA RP-SMA
Compatible Software
 Chanalyzer Lab *
Chanalyzer Pro   
 Chanalyzer Basic *
Chanalyzer Pro
Chanalyzer Lab
 Chanalyzer Basic *
Chanalyzer Pro
Chanalyzer Lab
More Information Download Data Sheet Download Data Sheet Download Data Sheet
Additional Accessories   Device Finder
Directional Antenna
(requires Chanalyzer Pro)		 Device Finder
Directional Antenna
(requires Chanalyzer Pro)
 
BUY NOW – $299
BUY NOW – $199
BUY NOW – $599
* = included in purchase

 

Reviews

It’s a very cool and useful product that any network engineer must have.
-ZDNet

We used the Wi-Spy DBx extensively across various venues as it was used to identify unauthorized access points and to map out our internal Wi-Fi coverage. It’s a great tool that helps us trouble shoot more accurately and quickly! The Wi-Spy units work extremely well. I would use them at other large events, and all members of my staff really enjoyed having them in our “tool kit.”
– Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games

In 16 years of building and analyzing wireless networks, Wi-Spy is the best ‘bang-for-the-buck’ I’ve seen.
– Matt Wheeler, Indigo Networks

MetaGeek’s $599 Wi-Spy DBx spectrum analyzer is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that lets you see the encumbering effects of other wireless networks and devices in your airspace.
– Joseph Moran, Wi-Fi Planet

The DBx is very easy to use – install the Chanalyzer software from the Web, insert the dongle, and you’re off.
– Craig Matthias, Network World

The right answer for small companies looking for an additional tool in the belt or large companies looking to develop a specific platform that requires spectrum analytics.
– Andrew Garcia, eWeek

 

Chanalyzer — Power Your Wi-Spy

Chanalyzer turns data collected from a Wi-Spy into highly interactive charts and graphs, allowing users to “visualize” their wireless landscape. Together, Wi-Spy and Chanalyzer enable both enterprise and small business users to visualize, troubleshoot, and optimize their wireless networks.

Chanalyzer is nicely laid out and very easy to use and understand, even for non-engineers.
– Craig Mathias, Network World
Take a Video Tour of Chanalyzer Pro
Chanalyzer for MacChanalyzer
for Mac 		Chanalyzer LabChanalyzer
Lab 		Chanalyzer BasicChanalyzer
Basic 		Chanalyzer ProChanalyzer
Pro
Works with these Wi-Spy models: Wi-Spy 2.4x,
Wi-Spy DBx,
Wi-Spy 900x		 Wi-Spy 2.4x,
Wi-Spy DBx,
Wi-Spy 900x		 Wi-Spy 2.4x,
Wi-Spy DBx,
Wi-Spy 900x		 Wi-Spy 2.4x,
Wi-Spy DBx,
Wi-Spy 900x
See Wi-Fi Networks Graph  
Collect Wi-Fi Network Data  
Create Device Classifications    
Use Classifier Silhouettes    
Record & Save Your Session  
Drag & Zoom for Close View  
Specify with Full Hardware Configuration Control      
Mark Frequency & Amplitude      
Navigate Recording with
Waterfall View 		     
See Utilization Visualized      
Automatically Classify Devices      
Locate Signals with Device Finder      
Create Custom Reports of Findings      
  Learn More Learn More Learn More Learn More

 

Requirements

  • Windows XP SP3, Vista or Windows 7
  • Windows Zero Configuration (WZC)
  • Net 3.5 framework
  • USB 1.1, 2.0, 3.0

 

 

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