Re: IrDA
Everybody keeps talking about custom optical bridges and such, but
what about powerboosted IrDA links? Some guys at a MacHack a few years
back did something clever with lenses, diodes and a PowerBook (or was
it iMac?) to extend an IrDA link over a fair distance (50 yards or
something). Could we not find some good optics and do the same thing
Yes, IrDA
*can* be made to work over longer distances. In fact, several
of the Ir network links that have been hacked together are using
IrDA. The protocol has a fair amount of overhead that really detracts
from the raw speed.
over a much greater range? Not only would we be able to boost the
power as much as we want (no FCC, right?), it would also be difficult
to eavesdrop in two ways: #1 you have to find the beam, and #2 you
have to grab a piece of it without burning yourself.
Well..*someone* is going to
complain if you hook up a 2MW laser:)
Most newish
(1999 on or so) laptops and desktops have full speed (4Mbps) IrDA
built in, making amps and optics shouldn't be terribly difficult.
Bother of
these things are probably more difficult then building a decent
yagi antenna. I also suspect that the PowerBook's weren't communicating
at 4mbps either.
Patching a laser in instead of the regular diode shouldn't be
terribly
difficult either.
I also suspect that that's be harder then you think. The
trick is to get
it fast. The commercial products don't use powerful lasers, they use damn
good optics and signal processing.
--Justin