G-wireless?

[Patrick Y.]

Hi everyone,
I'm just wondering if it is possible to put 802.11g into Pocket PC. I'm not sure, but some people said that the upcoming might x51v might have g wireless. Though, I remember that some articles I read said it is impossible due to some reasons "yet". :cry: Any ideas?

Patrick

[ADBrown]

Not impossible, just impractical. Due to limited performance in a handheld device, you wouldn't get a speed boost, and there would be no real benefit in range or power consumption. The only upside to embedding the larger and more costly G hardware would be the ability to maintain a pure G environment.

In any event, if you absolutely must have 802.11g, there's a couple of CF cards available, from Linksys and Ambicom, starting at around $50.

http://www.thenerds.net/index.php?page=productpage&affid=8&pn=WL54CF

http://www.compuadds.com/product.asp?prodcode=W-WL54CF

[jhennig]

But 802.11g has a greater range than 802.11b. Isn't that a reason in itself to want it in a PDA or any other device possible such as laptops? I'm willing to pay extra for the ability to pick up my home network from farther away or just get a solid signal everywhere in my house.

[ADBrown]

Actually, from all the testing I've ever seen, there's no real range improvement with G over B. In any event if a manufacturer wanted to increase range, a better antenna would do more in that regard.

[that_kid]

There's greater security in 802.11g but not greater range. When I moved from my wap11's to my wap54g's I actually lost coverage eventhough I had the wap54g's connected to the same antennas I had the wap11's connected to.

[ADBrown]

If you really want added range, you can either get a more powerful antenna (you can find 12 dbi omnidirectionals on eBay for around $70), or get one of the new MIMO access points. The Belkin, which costs around $90, is supposed to offer 30% longer range even when used with standard B/G clients.

[ADBrown]

One more note that I forgot, if you absolutely must have embedded 802.11g, the HP iPaq hw6715 PPC phone is supposed to have it, though who knows when the thing will be available.

[jhennig]

So why would they put it in their device? If what has been said is true, then it won't improve the range or speed. HP must know something that we don't, OR added security is highly sought after.

[that_kid]

If you really want added range, you can either get a more powerful antenna (you can find 12 dbi omnidirectionals on eBay for around $70), or get one of the new MIMO access points. The Belkin, which costs around $90, is supposed to offer 30% longer range even when used with standard B/G clients.

I have 3 access points, each AP is connected to 2 18db narrow beam antennas(the same ones on top of cell towers) so each APP gives me 120 degree coverage for a total of 360 degrees with all 3 ap's active. I had the exact same setup with 802.11b and the range was better. I did notice that the wap11's had higher power output (30dbm) than my wap54g's(22dbm). That coupled with the antenna gain makes a lot of difference.

[ADBrown]

The 6700 is primarily an enterprise unit, so presumably they did it for the enhanced security and the ability to maintain a pure G environment. That's assuming, of course, that the 6700 comes out with 802.11g as reported.


I have 3 access points, each AP is connected to 2 18db narrow beam antennas(the same ones on top of cell towers) so each APP gives me 120 degree coverage for a total of 360 degrees with all 3 ap's active. I had the exact same setup with 802.11b and the range was better. I did notice that the wap11's had higher power output (30dbm) than my wap54g's(22dbm). That coupled with the antenna gain makes a lot of difference.

Ahh, sector antennas. Drool. I've been looking at high-end WiFi systems myself lately, with the idea of deployment over a small town. As a matter of fact, what you just said helped me realize something with regard to roaming between APs as part of a single coverage cell. Thanks.

[that_kid]

No problem, about a year ago I found a linux program that gave roaming abilites over varios connections. I should be able to use that program to provide roaming between access points and the lan. At the university I work at they have 570 AP's going through a hardware solution like that and it provides around 200ms switching when jumping between ap's. They are also rolling out cisco wifi voip phones which I'm going to use here as well. I already have asterisk setup so that'll be my next step.

[Patrick Y.]

Thank you for replying, guys!! I really learned a lot. Thanks. :D

[ADBrown]

No problem, about a year ago I found a linux program that gave roaming abilites over varios connections. I should be able to use that program to provide roaming between access points and the lan. At the university I work at they have 570 AP's going through a hardware solution like that and it provides around 200ms switching when jumping between ap's. They are also rolling out cisco wifi voip phones which I'm going to use here as well. I already have asterisk setup so that'll be my next step.

Interesting. I've actually been running a dual-AP roaming setup at home for quite awhile now (improves coverage for the pitifully worthless antenna in my laptop), but I'd neglected to consider it for my municipal WiFi thought experiment. Three APs using sector antennas certainly would be a lot easier logistically than trying to attach 3 x 120 degree sector antennas to a single AP. Not to mention cheaper. And if you're already using one AP to an area, you could hook up three 120 degree sectors per 120 degree slice, and connect those to one of those wonderful Belkin MIMO routers, the v2s with with detachable antennas. That's 30% additional range on top of using 20 dbi panels. Double drool. Of course, it would cost you many thousands of dollars to implement, but that's a given for a wide-area WiFi system anyway, and think about the range you would get.

Patrick, one more note--if you don't want to spend the roughly $70 for a 12 dbi antenna, you can get a smaller one for a lot cheaper, such as this 7 dbi model for $20-25. It wouldn't be quite as big of a boost, but it could help you get some extra range.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Omni-Antenna-airlink-wileless-2-4-GHz-7-dBi_W0QQitemZ5804023134QQcategoryZ61816QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[stevelam]

I'm not sure, but some people said that the upcoming might x51v might have g wireless.Patrick

x51v arghhh what have I missed while I have been on holiday???