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Kensington WiFi detector
Kensington WiFi detector

New MessageKensington WiFi detector (modified 0 times) thinclient
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Well,

according to Jeff Duntemann http://www.duntemann.com/Diary.htm,
a new and rather interesting device just dropped into our collective laps:

"Esther Schindler sent me a pointer to a new gadget: The Kensington Wi-Fi Detector. Push the button, and if you're within about 200 feet of a Wi-Fi hotspot, the lights will light up in proportion to field strength. It detects both 802.11b and 802.11g fields (both on the 2.4 GHz band) and will filter out RF fields from cordless phones, microwave ovens, and other Part 15 gadgetry working on 2.4 GHz. This is not a bad idea, since it can save time if you want to find out if there's a hotspot nearby but don't want to have to boot your laptop. However, it has a fatal flaw: It can't tell you whether a hotspot is open or closed (i.e., whether WEP is engaged.) In some knucklehead neighborhoods this won't matter much because there are so many unprotected networks around (in Chicago, I went five miles down Harlem Avenue last year without spotting a single encrypted network!) but for those who want to stay on the right side of the law, booting the machine and running NetStumbler is way better. $30. Not available yet. I'm curious to see what the hardware hackers are going to do with this—the device is just itching to be built into something much cooler."

---------------------------------------------------
The Kensington WiFi detector seems just the sort of
summertime hack project we've all been looking for.

Look here:
http://www.kensington.com/html/3720.html


I'm mentally thin, not physically.
07-15-2003 19:34:47

New MessageRE:Kensington WiFi detector (modified 0 times) thinclient
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Whoops! goofed the link. http://www.duntemann.com
This guy is a good programmer and better writer.
His book on assembly language is a beginners feast.
I'm mentally thin, not physically.
07-15-2003 19:42:19

New MessageRE:Kensington WiFi detector (modified 0 times) 02U2
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Thanks for the info.
I've been looking for something like this for awhile now.
Prolly use the 3 led "S" meter to tune up some antennas for optimum output!


Rat shack has a wireless camera detector...

07-15-2003 22:18:17

New MessageRE:Kensington WiFi detector (modified 0 times) 02U2
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Bought this guy yesterday at Best buy $24.95+tax. As expected floor drones did not know what it was. One said there was no such thing.

Finally located it on a wall display and I rubbed the stupid drones nose in it.

Anyway IMHO very poor sensitvity <10', Can't see if the the led's on in daylight. It only stays powered up for about 20 seconds then one has to hit the power button again. I went to my local starbucks coffee house that has 802.11b wireless access and it did not give any indications at all. (As stated in FAQ's it will not give indications of encrypted networks).

Removing 2 screws and cracking the case open reveals a very simple circuit. The antenna is part of the PCB and is a simple dipole trace. Uses two 3v button batteries for power.

Perhaps one could add a RF amp and attach an external gain antenna such as a colinear or yagi to increase range?

May be useable in a car after such a mod.

07-27-2003 06:35:54

New MessageRE:Kensington WiFi detector (modified 0 times) peekitty
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Ah, but Starbucks' wireless isn't encrypted... I'm curious to know if it gives you false alarms in the presence of microwave ovens or 2.4Ghz wireless phones?
07-28-2003 15:14:11

New MessageRE:Kensington WiFi detector (modified 0 times) sirjay
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noticed there's been no activity on this thread in awhile, I just picked one of these up and upon opening it notice there's an unpopulated jtag header for the MSP430 microcontroller, and upon a quick googling see there's free compilers and sdk's for it. Wonder what else this thing might be useful for/as? If anyone wants some pics, lemme know.
-sirjay
01-16-2004 18:28:05

New MessageRE:Kensington WiFi detector (modified 0 times) Spudz76
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http://focus.ti.com/docs/mcu/catalog/resources/appnoteabstract.jhtml?familyId=342&abstractName=slaa177

TI (maker of the MSP430 MCU) says it can play Pong all by itself with no video chip, like a DSP. Hmm.

03-06-2004 18:35:30

New MessageRE:Kensington WiFi detector (modified 0 times) greghol
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Anyone have pix of the board?

Greg

03-31-2004 22:35:36

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