AP1252 - questions on setting this up

Question

Sorry, i havent touched an AP for 5 years already so i forgot some of the ideas. If you have any comments or suggestions, that is greatly appreciated. Below is my setup.
1. Will need 3 access points at a 3000+ sq ft home. How can all 3 access points be setup so that the user can connect to any of them without issue? I was thinking of having the same ssid but differnt channels, 1,6,11. Is there any special setup i need to do on the AP besides changing the channel?
2. There are 6 antenna ports on the 1252 access point. Do i need all 6 antennas plugged in even though im using only 2.4ghz G network for now?
3. Reception is not consistent when running netstumbler. When im sitting next to it, im getting -20 to -30 constantly then all of a sudden it drops down to -75 and right back up to -30 for another 30-45 seconds and repeats. Does anyone know why this happens? Im using 3 - 2.4ghz dipole antennas and yes they are screwed into the 2.4ghz holes.
4. I will be connecting these 3 APs to a 48 port switch that will be connected to a VPN router (linksys RV042). Just want to confirm that i can use this router as a source of supplying ip address to the AP to give out rather than having the AP giving it out.
Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Wow - nice home!
1. You can have the same SSID AND all on the same channel....providing the APs can't see each other. The only reason for using non-overlapping channels is for when the AP signals actually overlap. To be certain, using 1,6,and 11 for your three APs would work. You could also get by with using 1 on two APs and 6 on the third - again depending on where you set these up, and whether they can see each other.
You didn't mention the density of the neighborhood. Have you scanned the spectrum for neighboring APs? That would also affect your channel selection. SSIDs must match exactly on all three APs (to include the case of the letters in the SSID). Security settings must also match. Set your AP IP addresses statically, along with your channel assignments. Make the 6MB speed Mandatory to prevent 802.11b clients from connecting to your AP and slowing it down.
2. You only need three 2.4Ghz antennas connected to the 2.4Ghz radio. If you don't have antennas on the 5Ghz side, shut the radio down.
3. My guess is your laptop can see the other APs and is attempting to connect to them. Or, is it possible you have an LWAPP version of the 1252? That AP would just keeping rebooting itself looking for a controller. Is your AP rebooting during the loss of signal? ALSO - is it possible you also have 2.4Ghz interference near this AP (microwave, cordless phone, bluetooth, HD TV towers, etc.)
4. That should not be a problem at all.
Some additional thoughts:
A. Your 1252 is N capable - are you using it in N mode? Have you bonded any channels? I'd recommend using the 5Ghz radio (less interference, 23 non-overlapping channels, better suited for N). Depends on your clients though - can they be made 802.11a/n capable?
B. How are you powering these APs?
C. How did you configure the AP from out of the box?
D. Consider reducing the power of your radio to give you the coverage you need INSIDE the house. You'll better avoid interference from neighboring APs.
Hope this helps.