Wireless advice

[coldroyd]

Just bought a Dell Axim Pocket PC, i would like to be able to surf the net
from downstairs wire free but obviously money is a bit tight after buying
the pocket pc. I have a bluetooth card for the pocket pc already, would it
be viable to get a bluetooth adaptor for my pc which already has a broadband connection and connect in that way??


Any advice would be much appreciated

Cheers
Chris

[Jorgen]

Yes. Bluetooth is a serial line so you can browse the Internet just like you were doing it through a serial cradle. No extra software needed for a PPC.

Jorgen

[shill79]

A bluetooth LAN connection is possible... BUT Bluetooth's range is rather limited and the throughput is also fairly slow... Wi-Fi would be the preferred option... You would need a CF Wi-Fi card for the Dell and a wireless access point... Probably cost you $175-200...

[mscdex]

A bluetooth LAN connection is possible... BUT Bluetooth's range is rather limited and the throughput is also fairly slow... Wi-Fi would be the preferred option... You would need a CF Wi-Fi card for the Dell and a wireless access point... Probably cost you $175-200...

Don't forget about the USB adapter that you would also need for the Desktop.

[Sven Johannsen]

You wouldn't need a USB adapter for the PC and an access point.

You could just get the USB adapter for the PC, connect AdHoc, fire up ActiveSync on that connection (presumably), or do Internet Connection Sharing, and surf that way.

If you get an AP, be sure to get an AP/router ($100), because you will need that to serve both your PC and PPC as the router/AP will terminate your broadband connection.

[PetiteFlower]

I think he's trying to do this while spending as little money as possible though :)

Those little bluetooth "dongles" for the PC are cheap, they would work right?

I don't remember the range on BT, is it 30 feet or 30 meters? Even if it's 30 feet that might be enough depending on the size of your house. It does work through walls doesn't it?

[delfuhd]

ha, well bluetooth does work through water, saw an article with video proof lol, and im prety sure it works through walls.. just thought I'd add that :lol: :D

[Janak Parekh]

Those little bluetooth "dongles" for the PC are cheap, they would work right?
Correct. In theory. :)

Simply put: if the desktop and the Pocket PC adapters support the "LAN access profile" you can connect to the Internet straight through the desktop without using ActiveSync. It's a little complex to set up at times, depending on how good the adapters' Bluetooth drivers are. I've had no problems doing this with a Belkin USB Bluetooth adapter (the slightly larger one, with antenna) to a 3870 and a 3970; the only trick is that I had to set up Internet Connection Sharing on the desktop.

Range will also vary widely. Bluetooth can get WiFi-capable range, but I don't think any CF or USB BT card is capable of this. coldroyd, if you decide to do this experiment make sure you buy the BT adapter from a place you can return it to if you don't succeed.

WiFi is probably preferable in the long run because of performance, but this setup should certainly work. Again, in theory. Practice, unfortunately, still varies.

--janak