ARRL 802.11b Information and Links page
Introduction
We'd like to use IEEE 802.11b - a spread spectrum communication protocol around 2.4GHz - to act as the telemetry link to LV2 and future rockets. Currently IEEE 802.11b is meant to run on the FCC Part 15 ISM band, which has pretty sever power limits. On the ISM band, it's commercial equivalent is sometimes called "WiFi". However, since there's an amateur band from 2.400GHz to 2.450GHz, part of the 802.11b standard may be operated under FCC Part 97 which is the amateur radio band. Under Part 97, as long as we have members who are licensed amaeur radio operators, we may push power levels far above the Part 15 level. Thus, we should be able to takes COTS 802.11b equipment level, restrict the channels to under 2.45GHz, and run it at high power levels to use as telemetry link for LV2.
- For more information on ARRL 802.11b, see: http://www.arrl.org/hsmm/
- For proof that you can 802.11b to work over 100's of kilometers, see: http://www.alvarion.com/RunTime/CorpInf_30130.asp?fuf=281&type=item
Other Links
- WiFiAmplifiers: Information on which 2.4 GHz bidrectional amplifiers we're using.
Lucent "Orininoco Silver" 802.11b PC Card (11Mb/s) Technical Information:
Power Consumption = 5V at:
- 9mA (standby) = 43mW
- 185mA (receive) = 925mW
- 285mA (transmit) = 1.43W
Bit Error Rate (BER) = < 10^-5
- Nomimal output power = 15dBm
- Reciever Sensitivity:
- -83dBm = 11Mb/s
- -87dBm = 5.5Mb/s
- -91dBm = 2 Mb/s
- -94dBm = 1 Mb/s
Channel ID = 3 -> 2.422GHz
Custom cable assembly (Orinoco to pigtail or male SMA):http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/cable_adapter.html
Good 802.11b Links:
LONG DISTANCE articles:
Technical articles:
- http://www.networkcomputing.com/1115/1115ws2.html
- http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2001/03/02/802.11b_facts.html
- http://80211b.weblogger.com/
- http://macintouch.com/airportantenna.html
RFMD 802.11b Physical Layer Chip Set: