Handheld Wireless Locator Gadgets

Kensington had a gadget that was supposed to find an 802.11b source, saving you the bother of constantly starting up your notebook to check. It didn't work very well. Now, the follow up does both 802.11b and g, plus Bluetooth detection. I tried one at CompUSA and it also didn't appear to work any better than its predecessor. I could be wrong.

Also at CompUSA, I found a new one, the Mobile Edge device seems to work very well. No Bluetooth, but it does B and G wireless detection. So far, this one is the winner and I got it for $9.99 after two rebates. Hey, at that price, I felt it was worth buying. Time will tell!

Next up, it seems that HAWKING has one that appears to be even more substantial, but at a bigger size. It sort of flips open like a cell phone. I'm not sure of the price or how good/bad it is. I've always stayed clear of Hawking, because I considered it low tier hardware. However, they seem to be making a lot of neat equipment these days, at rock bottom prices.

Anyone try any of these?

Reply to
Gary
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some reviews there's one 'Canary' with a display that's interesting; The Digital Hotspotter (HS10) is the only device on the market that not only detects a connection and its strength, but can also tell you whether it is encrypted, what channel it is on and the name of the network.

Reply to
bumtracks

Sounds like fun, is there laptop software that'll do this as well? I've got NetStumbler, which is OK, what else is there?

Also, is there any way to look for interference sources? I've got a couple of clients who have been picking channcels based on how bad the co-interference with their cordless phones is...

Thanks!

Reply to
William P.N. Smith

Great Review. I have the Mobile Edge which is the same one as the PCTEL. I guess they are both made by another company that just OEMs them. I just got the Hawking HWL1 for $27.95, after rebate, at Micro Center. I like the ability to see if encryption exists and the SSID. But I'm going to wait for these to get better before trying another one. So far, I'm happy with the results. I have one keychain size one for general use, and the Hawking is good to do more in depth signal strength testing.

Thanks!

Reply to
Gary

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