Belkin Pre-802.11n Access Point and client cards

Hmmm... those claims are somewhat interesting. Supposedly they are able to do it with multiple antennas. Actually the 800% more coverage is based on square area, not linear distance. So if your original radius was 100 ft, PI*100^2 = 31,415 sq ft. So if a radius was 282.8 ft, PI*282.8^2 = 251,327 sq ft. 8X (800%) coverage achieved with a radius of 2.8X the original.

- Allen -

That's one way to look at it, where coverage area doubles for every sqrt(2) increase. An easier way is that coverage area doubles for every 3dB increase in system gain. Therefore, an 8x increase in coverage area corresponds to a 9dB increase in system gain. This assumes everything else is constant such as modulation type, data rate, error rate, tx power, rx sensitivity, antennas, etc.

Bob didn't mention if the 800% increase in coverage was mutually exclusive with the 600% (6x) increase in speed. Usually, range and preformance are interdependent and mutually exclusive. For example, using the stock antennas, 802.11g will deliver about 30Mbits/sec thruput, but only up to about 15ft away. Any furthur range implies either a drop in thruput, or an increase in system gain through improved antennas.

Notice that the "600% faster transmission" does not specify in reference to what benchmark. Faster than what? If it's faster than

802.11g at 54Mbits/sec, then 6x would be 324Mbits/sec, which is faster than the 100baseTX ethernet interface can handle running at wirespeed. If true, 6x will require the use of a gigabit ethernet interface.

Although enchanced mutations of 802.11g advertise 108Mbits/sec "performance", I have yet to see anything close to 108Mbits/sec delivered on the bench or reported in the field. I expect MIMO to be much of the same hype (or worse).

Also, since there are multiple implimentations of MIMO applying for

802.11n standardization, the IEEE and WI-FI committee are not particularly thrilled with premature announcements: Ignoring the hype, the advantage of MIMO is the ability to use multiple independent paths to deliver data. That means hogging the entire 2.4GHz band, and utilizing reflections to a much greater degree than OFDM. My guess(tm) is that it will be no better than some of the proprietary 802.11g enhancements at short range (due to bandwidth limitations) and significantly better bandwidth in a high reflection (office) environment due to a reduction in bit error rate in a multipath environment.

I just got a set, it's great! I use to have issues getting connecte from my router downstairs to my bedroom upstairs and now I'm connecte without any disconnects.

I tested my old router which was a D-Link 11g and the furthest distanc I could go was about 50ft outside my home with the router in my livin room. I just tried the Belkin Pre-N and I went a good 150ft befor loosing my connection.

I highly recommend it

Cool. The range increased 3 times or 9 times the coverage area. Impressive. By no disconnects, I assume it was a reliable connection. What connection speed did you get before the signal went away? MIMO is suppose to NOT reduce connection speed as much at extreme range. What are you using as a client radio?

(Note: I only know what I've read about MIMO and am typically sceptical of claims).

Incidentally, I found some better and more sane claims at:

4 times greater coverage than standard 802.11g

- 4 times greater speed than standard 802.11g

- Improved resistance to interference from neighboring Wi-Fi systems and other 2.4GHz devices

- Improved performance with 802.11b and 802.11g devices whether employed at the client, AP, or both.

- Does not drop to the lowest common networking speed in mixed-mode environments

- Seamless compatibility with 802.11b and 802.11g

It will take 3 external antennas to make this work outdoors. I can just visualize the weird triple antennas. Oh-oh.

What if I get a new laptop that has a built in 802.11G and then buy one of these Belkin pre-n routers. Is there any difference to be had? I would think not since the pre-n would have to fall back to 802.11g but perhaps there is some gain. Would like to know.

Thanks, Patty

It is kinda weird looking in a futuristic way. I been using a MIMO cardbus with one of the two laptops I have and yes no disconnects within that 150ft in fact I use to get disconnects every few hours with my old g Dlink router and I have yet to have a disconnect since using the Belkin preN router. I also have another laptop with a builtin wireless by Atheroes(?) and I noticed an improve distance with this aswell.

What's most impressed me so far is that when I use my laptop with the built in wireless I see two networks other than my own in my area with the site survey. When I use the Belkin card I see seven networks in my area! I walked around to see whos networks these could be and one was two homes away from mine. Unbelievably awesome!

PMFJI

How well does it work in viewing video clips? Can you watch MPEG-2 with it from a remote PC while the server is one or two floors away?

Thanks.

Jay Chan