RF Chambers
25 RF-shielded chambers, programmable attenuation, and conductive-hybrid testbeds: the controlled environment behind every Novus wireless validation program.
Schedule a TestInfrastructure for Any Wireless Connectivity Challenge
Our RF lab pairs a fleet of 25 RF-shielded chambers with programmable attenuators, noise generators, and a deep instrumentation library. Together they create a fully controlled, fully repeatable RF environment for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread, Zigbee, and emerging wireless standards across the 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz bands.
Chambers are wired into automation infrastructure that drives traffic, sweeps attenuation, and captures throughput in real time. Engineers can move a single program from chamber to test home and back without re-instrumenting: the same scripts and the same metrics in both worlds.
- 25 RF-shielded chambers
- Programmable RF attenuators
- RF noise generators
- Wireless sniffers
- Spectrum analyzers
- Interop Device Library: thousands of 3rd-party clients & APs
Repeatable Performance Testing With the DUT Intact
Our hybrid testbeds couple a large RF-shielded chamber with inline programmable attenuation and automation infrastructure. The result is performance testing in an ideal environment with repeatable results, while keeping the device under test intact, with no need to bypass its antenna sub-system.
An RF enclosure houses the AP or gateway. Signal is piped into the chamber through an 8×8 Butler matrix into four 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz antennas placed around a non-metal table at the center of the chamber. The DUT sits on the table; traffic flows from a server to the client via iPerf or IxChariot.
- RF-shielded chamber
- Programmable attenuator
- Butler matrix (8×8)
- 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz RF antennas (×4)
- RF cables & connectors (varies by device)
- RF enclosure (Azimuth / Ramsey box)
- AP with RF connectors
- Traffic server
What We Run in the Chambers
Our Wi-Fi Client Acceptance Test Plan defines 13 standardized scenarios that exercise wireless devices end-to-end. Each scenario runs in the chamber, in a real test home, or both, with controlled iterations to surface deltas between configurations.
- Throughput vs. attenuation curve
- Identify maximum effective range
- Compare DUT vs. competitors
- Average throughput per channel
- 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz coverage
- Bidirectional AP RX / TX
- a / b / g / n / ac / ax
- 20 / 40 / 80 / 160 MHz widths
- Mixed-mode comparison
- Stability at near / mid / far RSSI
- Chamber and OTA validation
- Spot drops and fluctuations
- Smooth roam between APs
- Failover roam scenarios
- Dual-AP attenuation control
- 20+ concurrent station load
- Mixed traffic profiles
- Day-long endurance runs
- Whole-home signal mapping
- Per-room RSSI capture
- Floorplan-overlaid output
- Sleep / hibernate transitions
- Auto-reconnect verification
- 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz coverage
- 0 / 90 / 180 / 270° sweeps
- Per-band performance deltas
- Antenna pattern insights
- Platform-level coexistence
- Environmental interference
- Co-channel impact analysis
- Simultaneous multi-client traffic
- 11ac & 11ax capable DUTs
- Per-client throughput capture
- Popular APs, rotated regularly
- Multi-channel & multi-mode
- Pass / fail across security types
- 3rd-party AP interferer injection
- Configurable UDP congestion
- Combine with RvR or OTA tests
Chamber and Test Home, Same Workflow
The same iPerf-driven traffic profiles, attenuation sweeps, and result-capture scripts run inside the chambers and inside our residential test homes. That means the deltas you see between a controlled chamber run and a real home are signal, not noise from the test harness.
For programs that demand both, we co-schedule a chamber session and a test-home pass and stitch the data together. Engineers get the repeatability of the chamber and the realism of an occupied house without paying for the test plan twice.
Plan a Wireless Program
Ready to Run Your Wireless Program?
Talk to a Novus engineer about chamber availability, test-plan scoping, or a turnkey Wi-Fi acceptance program for your next product.