| Author |
Bluetooth USB dongles - Wavelinker? |
julianmclean
Joined: Mar 11, 2003
Posts: 118
PM |
I am just about to buy a bluetooth USB dongle so that I can connect my phone to my laptop more easily but I just had a few questions:
- Speed: I know bluetooth is a lot faster than IR generally, but what sort of data transfer rate can I expect with my P800? I have read alot about it being problematic, but when it works, is it fast for transferrring large files?
- Range: I know the P800 can only do bluetooth upto 10 metres, but assuming that I want to connect other devices together later with BT, does anyone have any experiences with specific dongles and their ranges.
I have looked at the wavelinker dongle on Dabs and found a pair of bluegear ones at Talboom.org. The wavelinker only states a range of up to 10 metres however. Has anyone used either of these with the P800 or any other devices?
Any comments appreciated... |
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fireshipjohn
Joined: Apr 18, 2003
Posts: 19
PM |
Hi,
I've got a Wavelinker dongle in use with my P800, I've only
used it with Linux but it works fine for me, most of the USB
dongles are the same chipset, in this case CSR, so performance
should be the same. There are some dongles advertised as Class 1
up to 100m ( see http://www.ebuyer.com QuickFind code: 46391)
No idea if that helps, but I like the bendy bit on the wavelinker 
Cheers
John |
julianmclean
Joined: Mar 11, 2003
Posts: 118
PM |
Cheers for the link fireshipjohn,
The ebuyer 100M dongle looks pretty good for the money - I don't wanna be stitched up by claims of 10m range which actually equates to about 2! I realise I will be limited by the phone, but I will probably want to connect my laptop and desktop together like this too, and use broadband anywhere in the house.
Does anyone know if bluetooth range is affected by the proximity of the dongle and the computer? Dabs has a pair of dongles that have wire and thus could be placed further from the base unit - will this give any better range? Could be a bit annoying though, whereas a small dongle can go in my pocket easily.
Thoughts?
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treeonahill
Joined: Apr 15, 2003
Posts: 8
PM |
Has anyone tried bluetooth with an apple mac yet. Does it work well / is it easy to set up. Has there been any news on isync supporting the P800? |
julianmclean
Joined: Mar 11, 2003
Posts: 118
PM |
I just bought the www.eBuyer.com Class 1 100M dongle for just under £30 delivered. I checked it out and it is actually made by Tecom, product code BT3030. Looks pretty good, like a regular dongle, a bit fatter but Class 1 gives 100M range instead of 10M range, so will be better for connecting laptop & desktop. Also picked up a 4-port USB hub for under a fiver! Never really checked out eBuyer much before but it looks damn cheap!
Will post if I have any great successes/failures...
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Da_WiZ
Joined: Mar 04, 2002
Posts: 126
From:
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Hmmm I have a question that maybe you guys can help me answer?
I am soon an owner of a notebook computer and since I want to use it in my apartment without the hassle of cables everywhere I was thinking of setting upp a wlan.
But then it hit me....what if I just get two USB bluetooth dongles (one for my desktop comuter ond one for my notebook)? Is it possible to set up some kind of network access through my desktop computer (with just two BT dongles) or do I have to buy a bluetooth router to make it work? |
lloydcody
Joined: Apr 13, 2003
Posts: 150
From: Wales
PM, WWW
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About the WLAN:
YES it is possible! Make sure u buy two bluetooth dongles that are calss 1 (100m) and that are compatible with (or are supplied with) WIDCOMM software. This software is very useful. It takes ur BT device and creates ports for it to connect through to any device (serial, printer BAPX etc). It also creates a "pretend" network card in your device manager which u can then use to conenct two computers together. U can also use multiple things together in some cases (e.g. be connected to a WLAN and to ur P800 at the same time).
HOWEVER... Please realise that BT is only capable of ~0.7MB/sec - not immensely fast - but ok for the internet! Network will connect at 10Mbps!
ALSO NOTE: 0.7MB/s is the max! Going thru walls, floors etc will drop this conection speed quite dramatically - BT transfer rate is very signal dependent.
This is a very nice cheap n easy option for a WLAN but if ur serious about a wireless network get wireless LAN cards!
Hope u sort things out.
LLOYDY
[ This Message was edited by: lloydcody on 2003-05-14 07:43 ] |
Da_WiZ
Joined: Mar 04, 2002
Posts: 126
From:
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@lloydcody
Thanx...excellent answer. It will be just enough bandwith for me...for just surfing the web or reading mail. If I for some reason want to use my 2,5 Mbps. I'll just have to plug in my TP cable.
Cheers! |
janahan
Joined: Jan 13, 2003
Posts: 232
From: UK
PM |
e-buyer is excellent, I have had no problems with them, and they deliver as advertised, and usually have stock, unlike some other "companies" out there. Their prices are amongst the best I have seen. I bought a bluetooth dongle from them for £20, and before they had a 256 MB flash disk for £45 (WOW!).
Even their "own brand" stuff is excellent, and pretty high quality. (Its not actally their own brand, but some bulk buy deals that they get, and are usually quite well tested befor they sell it)
Abt drivers, I find the Widcomm drivers are really good for things like LAN, using your computer as a "bluetooth headset" (it really DOES work!!!! Scared the bejesus out of my sister with her t68i with that trick!!!!!!) However, i find XTND Connect 2.1 gives the best object push features, and easy DUN/synch access.
The MSI bluetooth USB dongle is great, but dont use the included drivers, download new ones form MSI
Owned (order of purchase): Nok 8110, Nok 6150, Nok 8210, Nok 6210, Eric r320s, Eric T68m, SE T300, SE P800, SE T610, SE S700i, Mot V3i, SE K800i |
hunkone
Joined: Feb 18, 2003
Posts: 38
PM |
for julian
read your post on the 100m range BT dongle from ebuyer.could you give me more details on usage with p800
ease of set up,pairing,using it to transfer,sync with pc,actual distance and range,speed?would apprc a detailed answer |
comet
Joined: Apr 22, 2003
Posts: 7
PM |
Yes I'm waiting to hear about how the ebuyer one works.
(Ultimately I want to use it on a Mac)
[ This Message was edited by: comet on 2003-05-14 22:29 ] |
hunkone
Joined: Feb 18, 2003
Posts: 38
PM |
hmmm...seems like julian doesnt log in very often...anyway...just a subtle "BUMP" |
comet
Joined: Apr 22, 2003
Posts: 7
PM |
Yes I'm dithering between the TDK dongle and this ebuyer one. |
julianmclean
Joined: Mar 11, 2003
Posts: 118
PM |
@hunkone & others
Yes, I'l post when I get the eBuyer dongle and let you all know how it works with the P800. I won't be able to do much range testing though as I'm only getting one dongle and the P800 10M range will limit things. Should be arriving Saturday or Monday hopefully...
Also, what do you mean; "julian doesn't sign in very often"! You only posted you first reply yesterday afternoon! Some of us have jobs to hold down you know..gadgetry doesn't come cheap ;o) |
julianmclean
Joined: Mar 11, 2003
Posts: 118
PM |
I got my BT3030 bluetooth dongle from eBuyer this morning - have been playing around with it using my laptop at work and it seems to work quite smoothly. So far I've got file transfer, phone connection monitor and bemused working quite well, but temprementally(sp?).
The connection seems to keep going down and I have to re-initialise it from the computer if I don't do anything for a few minutes - is this normal for BT? I thought it should just stay connected whilst things were in range. It might just be a case of some new drivers, or settings or something so I'll have a play at home.
Seems fine though, the dongle even looks good! Anyone else got this dongle and know if there are some betters drivers software around that work?
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Posted: 2003-05-13 16:00
