At 12:30 AM 11/23/2003 -0600, you wrote:
>> [Ben & Steve snipped...]
>There was a point in the past when I understood they
>were claiming to actively steer/focus the beam, rather
>than simply being a highly integrated, flexible platform.
>
>-- 
>andyw at pobox.com
>
>Andy Warner		Voice: (612) 801-8549	Fax: (208) 575-5634

Their site still says this, but would it require moveable parts to perform
the antenna steering, or can this be handled similar to the way a CRT's
electron gun magnetically steers an electron beam?

>From http://www.vivato.net/prod_tech_technology.html :

Vivato's Wi-Fi switches deliver the power of network switching with Vivato
genius radio antennas. Vivato's switches use phased-array radio antennas to
create highly directed, narrow beams of Wi-Fi transmissions. The Wi-Fi
beams are created on a packet-by-packet basis. Vivato calls this technology
PacketSteering™. 

Unlike current wireless LAN broadcasting, Vivato's switched beam is focused
in a controlled pattern and pointed precisely at the desired client device.
These narrow beams of Wi-Fi enable simultaneous Wi-Fi transmissions to many
devices in different directions, thus enabling parallel operations to many
users - the essence of Wi-Fi switching. These narrow beams also reduce
co-channel interference, since they are powered only when needed. 

Vivato's Wi-Fi switches significantly increase the range of Wi-Fi. Rather
than transmit the radio energy in all directions, Vivato's PacketSteering
concentrates the same amount of energy into a narrow, long beam. This beam
is effectively a high-gain antenna that is formed for the duration of a
packet transmission. The result is extreme range - extending the reach of
Wi-Fi from tens of meters to kilometers. 

http://www.vivato.net/press/press02162003.html
The list price for the Vivato 2.4 GHz Indoor Wi-Fi Switch is $8,995 and it
will be available through Vivato Value Added Resellers in May 2003. 

A reseller:
http://www.micro-wifi.com/vivato.html
The outdoor switch is "List Price $13,995".  Ouch.


"If you're reading this, read it again."

_______________________________________________
Twin Cities Wireless Users Group Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
http://www.tcwug.org
tcwug-list at tcwug.org
https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/tcwug-list