The TNA-300 series of radios have experimental support for half channels.
The main benefits of half channels are more channels available for high density deployments and an increase in SNR due to increased receiver sensitivity.
In this first release, there are some limitations on the use of half channels:
- In general, performance of half channels is better at lower frequencies. This is due to the design limitations of the chipset and, we are continuing to work on improving the performance at higher frequencies.
- Note that the data rate of a half channel is 1/2 of that of a full channel.
- We have limited the max MCS rate to QPSK (MCS9) for now. As we improve performance and get more operating data, we may allow higher MCS rates (16QAM) at a later date.
It is also important to note that the channel scanning time is quite a bit longer for half channels so it will take longer for stations to connect. Each channel scanned has up to 64 beam forming locations and there are 11 half channels - so the total time to complete a full scan can be up to 1 minute.