SSID format?

From IEEE 802.11-1999 7.3.2.1

The SSID element indicates the identity of an ESS or IBSS. See Figure 35.

The length of the SSID information field is between 0 and 32 octets. A 0 length information field indicates the broadcast SSID.

That's a bit misleading as the SSID is sometimes null terminated leaving only 31 characters available. Some firmware versions screw up if you use the full 32 characters.

Spaces are just fine. Some utilities will blow up if you do that, but most access points handle it just fine.

Maximum humor, keep it clean, forget about bell characters, and no nulls.

how about this Welcome then 7 back spaces and Welcome again?

I tried something like that. The Linksys "fill in the blank" SSID setting on the web page will only accept real printable characters. I had to use SNMP to install the goofy SSID. Then, I found that the XP WZC client would not accept the backspace character (or a bunch of other cursor position characters). I suspect it's that way for most menu driven setup utilities and web pages. So, I gave up. Currently it's something like "Virus Testing Lab #123".

Thanks for the fine reply Jeff.

Regards Brian