New wireless record claimed

A small wireless Internet service provider in Idaho and a wireless equipment start-up claim to have set a new record for transmitting data across a wireless link this week.

Microserv Computer Technologies, based in Idaho Falls, and Trango Broadband Wireless, a fixed-wireless broadband equipment maker, announced on Tuesday that they wirelessly transmitted data over unlicensed spectrum 137.2 miles.

Microserv used gear from Trango to establish the wireless links between two mountaintops in Idaho using the 2.4GHz and 5.8 Ghz wireless spectrum. The link was able to transmit an FTP file transfer at the rate of 2.3 megabits per second. The equipment used was not based on standard 802.11 wireless technology, but instead was based on proprietary radio technology from Trango. The companies also used external PacWireless 2-foot dishes to transmit the radio signals.

The demonstration supposedly beats a previous record set at the end of July as part of the Defcon Wifi Shootout Contest, during which the winners claimed to transmit data 125 miles. On July 30, a group of college students from Cincinnati connected two computers across the Las Vegas desert using standard 802.11b Wi-Fi radios. The group used a collection of homemade antennas, surplus 12-foot satellite dishes, home-welded support structures, scaffolds, ropes and computers to wirelessly transmit data at 11mbps.

Despite Microserv's claims, Defcon officials say their record holds.

"I suppose it's certainly possible for Microserv to have done what they claim to have done," Dave Moore, founder of the Defcon contest, said in an e-mail. "What sets apart the 125-mile record set at the Defcon Wifi Shootout Contest is that it was subject to a strict verification and certification process administered by four independent judges."

[pigonthewing]

Big deal. Nonstandard equipment.

The kids that set the record at the Defcon challenge had an accomplishment. They used stock-level 802.11 networking cards, unmodified power levels, and abided by frequency standards for existing wireless networking.

"The equipment used was not based on standard 802.11 wireless technology, but instead was based on proprietary radio technology from Trango."

So these guys used their own frequencies, their own transmitters -- they didn't accomplish anything. 137.2 miles? Big deal. Have those guys ever heard of AM radio? That stuff can transmit a signal THOUSANDS of miles, completely wirelessly.

The only accomplishment of something like this is in finding a way to do it _without_ breaking the rules of the game.

This is still a great feat

OK, FCC still regulates the amount of power that can be transmitted within the 2.4 and 5.8GHz region. Therefore, even using a proprietary protocol, they can only transmit at the same power level as say the 802.11x protocol can.

Add this to the fact that they only used 2-foot dishes whereas the DefCon people used 12-foot satellite dishes... sure, the DefCon wins the coolness factor of homemade surplus parts, but the MicroServ people should be given credit where it is due.

Not WiFi equipment. Not a record

Non-standard non-WiFi equipment. Not a record.

To see the video of the real WiFi worlds record here: http://pasadena.net/shootout05/

Hello, Physics!

Power / Frequency Factors = Transmission Link Distance

Amazing!!