I just finished speaking at the the 2007 Antenna Systems and Short Range Wireless Conference on "Optimal Wi-Fi Channel Selection." As I wandered the exhibit hall this morning I was a little worried that all the exhibitors were so specialized: antenna measurement, antenna manufacturers, RF simulation, etc.

Everything seemed so high-end that I didn’t think anyone would be interested in Wi-Spy. Plus I was speaking the afternoon of the last day of the show, when many attendees are already leaving for early flights or to play downtown before they head home.

I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout for my presentation.Although the audience started out fairly quiet, by the end there were 5-6 people with multiple questions, and we were able to have a great discussion about RF interference. Some of the attendees even shared their own stories about weird interference issues.

Everyone agreed that interference is a problem, and that visualizing your wireless landscape is essential to troubleshoot and optimize your wireless networks. It appears that even in the high-end RF industry there is a great deal of interest in low-cost, easy-to-use spectrum analyzers!