Linksys Gaming adapter

[Phoenix Spud]

We were wondering if anyone knows what the best oriantation of the Linksys Dual-band Gaming Adapter is? We know from the way you conntect it to the robot that it is probubly at a 90 degree angle.

Thanks!

[EricVanWyk]

Make sure you can see the LEDs!

[Phoenix Spud]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

Make sure you can see the LEDs!

We know this, but what is the best oriantation for the internal antenna? We have looked at several sites (here, the FIRST Forums, Cisco, and gaming blogs...) however we still cannot find the BEST oriantation for the adapter!

Any help?

[EricVanWyk]

The internal antennae are reasonably omni-directional, so it shouldn't really make much of a difference. Make sure everything is visible, try not to bury it in metal, etc.

I'm sure that there is an optimal orientation, but the margin in the link budget means that it won't make enough of a difference to be worth the effort/analysis.

[Phoenix Spud]

We were also wondering if there is a diagram of the internal workings of the gaming adapter?

[Russ Beavis]

Sorry - that's a Linksys/Cisco product and I'm guessing that they're not terribly interested in publishing a lot of those details.

It's obvious got a dual-band radio (2.4 and 5GHz), a processor for handling the 802.11x protocol and an Ethernet MAC/PHY device(s). Beyond that, what are you looking for?

Russ

[pitzoid]

The Access Point for the FRC arenas are self power adjusting per connection depending on the signal strength they get back from the Bridge. They are very powerful. Extensive testing has shown the links to be very reliable within the confines of the field. With that said though, do not encase your bridge inside a faraday cage, i.e. metal all around it somehow grounded....

Flat or set on an end will not matter as long as it is reasonably clear of metal obstructions and try to keep it as far from motors and relays as possible to minimize emp and magnetic interferrences. If you're having some sort of reception issue, there's lots of documentation on the web about placing capacitors across motor leads to reduce radio noise.