Basis of Presentation (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Basis of Presentation (Policies)	Sep. 30, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Nature of Operations	Nature of Operations PCTEL is a global leader in propagation and optimization solutions for the wireless industry. The Company develops and distributes innovative antenna and engineered site solutions and designs and develops software-based radios (scanning receivers) and provides related RF engineering services for wireless network optimization. PCTEL was incorporated in California in 1994 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1998. The principal executive offices are located at 471 Brighton Drive, Bloomingdale, Illinois 60108. The telephone number at that address is (630) 372-6800 and the Company’s website is www.pctel.com. The information within, or that can be accessed through the Company’s website, is not part of this report.
Segment Reporting	Segment Reporting PCTEL operates in two segments for reporting purposes. The Company’s Connected Solutions segment includes its antenna and engineered site solutions. The Company’s RF Solutions segment includes its scanning receivers and related RF engineering services. Each of the segments has its own segment manager as well as its own engineering, sales and marketing, and operational general and administrative functions. All of the Company’s accounting and finance, human resources, IT and legal functions are provided on a centralized basis through the corporate function. The Company manages its balance sheet and cash flows centrally at the corporate level, with the exception of trade accounts receivable and inventory which is managed at the segment level. Each of the segment managers reports to and maintains regular contact with the chief operating decision maker to discuss operating activities, financial results, forecasts, or plans for the segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker uses the profit and loss results through operating profit and identified assets for the Connected Solutions and RF Solutions segments to make operating decisions. Connected Solutions Segment PCTEL is a leading supplier of antennas for private network, public safety and government applications, and site solutions for both private and public network, data, and communications applications. PCTEL’s MAXRAD^®, Bluewave™ and Wi-Sys™ antenna solutions include high-value YAGI, land mobile radio (“LMR”), Wi-Fi, GPS, in tunnel, subway, and broadband antennas (parabolic and flat panel). PCTEL’s Connected Solutions products include specialized towers, enclosures, fiber optic panels, and fiber jumper cables that are engineered into site solutions. The vertical markets into which the antenna and site solutions are sold include supervisory control and data acquisition (“SCADA”), health care, energy, smart grid, precision agriculture, indoor wireless, telemetry, offloading, and wireless backhaul. Growth for antenna and engineered site solutions is primarily driven by the increased use of wireless communications in these vertical markets. PCTEL’s antenna and site solution products are primarily sold through distributors, value added reseller, and original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) providers. The Company established its current antenna and site solutions product portfolio with a series of acquisitions. In 2004, the Company acquired MAXRAD, Inc. (“MAXRAD”), as well as certain product lines from Andrew Corporation (“Andrew”), which established its core product offerings in Wi-Fi, LMR and GPS. Over the next several years the Company added additional capabilities within those product lines and additional served markets with the acquisition of certain assets from Bluewave Antenna Systems, Ltd (“Bluewave”) in 2008, and the acquisitions of Wi-Sys Communications, Inc (“Wi-Sys”) in 2009, Sparco Technologies, Inc. (“Sparco”) in 2010, and certain assets of TelWorx Communications LLC, TelWorx U.K. Limited, TowerWorx LLC, and TowerWorx International, Inc. (collectively “TelWorx”), in July 2012. There are many competitors for antenna products, as the market is highly fragmented. Competitors include Laird (Cushcraft, Centurion, and Antennex brands), Mobile Mark, Radiall/Larsen, Comtelco, Wilson, Commscope (Andrew products), Kathrein, among others. PCTEL seeks out product applications that command a premium for product performance and customer service, and avoid commodity markets. PCTEL maintains expertise in several technology areas in order to be competitive in the antenna engineered site solutions market. These include radio frequency engineering, mobile antenna design and manufacturing, mechanical engineering, product quality and testing, and wireless network engineering. RF Solutions Segment PCTEL is a leading supplier of high-speed, multi-standard, demodulating receivers and test and measurement solutions to the wireless industry worldwide. The Company’s SeeGull^® scanning receivers, receiver-based products and CLARIFY^® interference management solutions are used to measure, monitor and optimize cellular networks. The Company’s network engineering services group (“NES”) provides wireless network testing, optimization, design, integration, and consulting services, with an emphasis on in-building distributed antenna systems (DAS). Revenue growth for the segment’s products and services is driven by the deployment of products based on new wireless technology and the need for wireless networks to be tuned and reconfigured on a regular basis. PCTEL develops and supports scanning receivers for LTE, EVDO, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, TD-SCDMA, and WiMAX networks. The Company’s scanning receiver products are sold primarily through test and measurement value added resellers and to a lesser extent directly to network operators. Competitors for these products are OEMs such as JDS Uniphase, Rohde and Schwarz, Anritsu, Digital Receiver Technology, and Berkley Varitronics. The Company established its scanning receiver product portfolio in 2003 with the acquisition of certain assets of Dynamic Telecommunications, Inc. (“DTI”). In 2009, the Company acquired the scanning receiver business from Ascom Network Testing, Inc. (“Ascom”) as well as the exclusive distribution rights and patented technology for Wider Network LLC (“Wider”) network interference products. The Company established its network engineering services business in 2011 with the acquisition of certain assets from Envision Wireless Inc. (“Envision”), an engineering services business based in Melbourne, Florida. PCTEL maintains expertise in several technology areas in order to be competitive in the scanning receiver and related engineering services market. These include radio frequency engineering, DSP engineering, manufacturing, mechanical engineering, product quality and testing, and wireless network engineering.
Basis of Consolidation	Basis of Consolidation The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2014 and the condensed consolidated statements of operations, statements of comprehensive income (loss), and cash flows for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, are unaudited and reflect all adjustments of a normal recurring nature that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the interim period financial statements. The interim condensed consolidated financial statements are derived from the audited financial statements as of December 31, 2013. On April 30, 2013, the Company divested all material assets associated with its PCTEL Secure, LLC subsidiary’s ProsettaCore™ technology to Redwall Technologies, LLC (“Redwall”), a development organization that specializes in mobile security, military and defense projects and systems, and critical national infrastructure. Under the terms of the agreement, Redwall acquired the server and device software (the “Software”), the underlying intellectual property, and complete development responsibility for the security products. At the closing of the divestiture, the Company received no upfront cash payment, but has the right to receive a royalty of 7% of the net sale price of each future sale or license of the Software and each provision of services related to the Software, if any. Under the agreement, royalties will not exceed $10.0 million in the aggregate. In accordance with accounting for discontinued operations, the consolidated financial statements separately reflect the results of PCTEL Secure as discontinued operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2013. The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. have been condensed or omitted. The significant accounting policies followed by the Company are set forth within the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 (“the 2013 Form 10-K”). There were no changes in the Company’s significant accounting policies during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014. In addition, the Company reaffirms the use of estimates in the preparation of the financial statements as set forth in the 2013 Form 10-K. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the 2013 Form 10-K. The results for the operations for the period ended September 30, 2014 may not be indicative of the results for the period ending December 31, 2014.
Foreign Currency Translation	Foreign Currency Translation The Company is exposed to foreign currency fluctuations due to its foreign operations and because products are sold internationally. The functional currency for the Company’s foreign operations is predominantly the applicable local currency. Accounts of foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate in effect at the applicable balance sheet date for assets and liabilities and average monthly rates prevailing during the period for revenue and expense accounts. Adjustments resulting from translation are included in accumulated other comprehensive income, a separate component of shareholders’ equity. Gains and losses resulting from other transactions originally in foreign currencies and then translated into U.S. dollars are included in the condensed consolidated statement of operations. Net foreign exchange gains/(losses) resulting from foreign currency transactions included in other income, net were $10 and ($10) for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and were ($37) and ($26) for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Recent Accounting Guidance	Recent Accounting Guidance In August 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, that requires management to assess if there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for each annual and interim period. If conditions or events give rise to substantial doubt, disclosures are required. The new accounting standard is effective as of December 31, 2016 and the Company does not expect it to have an impact on the financial statement disclosures. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09 that introduces a new five-step revenue recognition model in which an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This ASU also requires disclosures sufficient to enable users to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers, including qualitative and quantitative disclosures about contracts with customers, significant judgments and changes in judgments, and assets recognized from the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract. This standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Company is currently evaluating the new guidance to determine the impact it will have on its consolidated financial statements. In April 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-08, which includes amendments that change the requirements for reporting discontinued operations and require additional disclosures about discontinued operations. Under the new guidance, only disposals representing a strategic shift in operations - that is, a major effect on the organization’s operations and financial results should be presented as discontinued operations. Examples include a disposal of a major geographic area, a major line of business, or a major equity method investment. Additionally, the ASU requires expanded disclosures about discontinued operations that will provide financial statement users with more information about the assets, liabilities, income, and expenses of discontinued operations. This update is effective in the first quarter of 2015. The Company does not expect the new guidance to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Disclosure of accounting policy regarding (1) the principles it follows in consolidating or combining the separate financial statements, including the principles followed in determining the inclusion or exclusion of subsidiaries or other entities in the consolidated or combined financial statements and (2) its treatment of interests (for example, common stock, a partnership interest or other means of exerting influence) in other entities, for example consolidation or use of the equity or cost methods of accounting. The accounting policy may also address the accounting treatment for intercompany accounts and transactions, noncontrolling interest, and the income statement treatment in consolidation for issuances of stock by a subsidiary.

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