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TOPIC:

802.11a card for the price of dinner for two

3
CraniacPerson was signed in when posted
06-28-2002
07:30 PM ET (US)
 That's very cool about the DIY wifi hub. I'm going to google for plans.
2
Cory DoctorowPerson was signed in when posted
06-28-2002
06:42 PM ET (US)
 It's not newer. The standard was codified before 802.11b, it just wasn't (cheaply) implemented before b.

An 802.11a "hub" can be made by combining a commodity embedded Linux device with two PCMCIA slots (i.e., Toshiba's $40 unit) putting an 802.11a card in one slot and a 100BT NIC ($10) in the other, then attaching a cheap antenna ($18 if you DIY).

Which is to say that the DIY cost of an 802.11a access-point is about $120-$200 -- that's buying non-discounted, retail components. A manufacturer with wholesale parts and scaled-up production can do this for far less. Any flashable access-point factory that uses PCMCIA cards for its radio can be cheaply retooled for 802.11a -- just use a different card, a slightly different antenna, and different firmware.

Almost all 802.11* access-points are made this way: two PCMCIA interfaces, a 486, embedded Linux or similar on a flashcard and an antenna. That's why we're seeing the cost of 802.11b access-points dropping to <$100 -- they just don't cost that much to build.
1
cypherpunksPerson was signed in when posted
06-28-2002
06:32 PM ET (US)
 Yeah, but how much are 802.11a hubs? and why is the newer version "a" instead of "c"?
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