RE: IrDA

Monday, 20 August 2001

        Check out: 
http://www.alphalink.com.au/~derekw/upntcvr.htm
http://www.opticalpaths.com/

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Hakman [mailto:hakmana＠hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2001 10:52 PM
To: dev(a)seattlewireless.net
Subject: Re: IrDA

After just last month working on an optics project at the International 
Summer Science Institute that dealt heavily with optics, I would have to

agree that radio waves are much easier to work with, and more forgiving
if 
something isn't exactly precisely right. I, personally, would stick to
radio 
for that reason (and a lack of time to get something to the precision
level 
required for optics).

Andrew

...
 > 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

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