rdt139z@monu6.cc.monash.oz (Jim Breen) (03/16/90)
In article <756@ncs.dnd.ca>, marwood@ncs.dnd.ca (Gordon Marwood) writes: > > Does anyone have any recommendations for an optical link which > would be suitable for linking two sites a few hundred metres apart > where an optical fibre cannot be strung? I am thinking in terms of > ethernet equivalence. > I suggest looking at a short-haul microwave. There are lots that give you a 10Mbps channel over that distance. Don't ask me who to ask in Canada, or what thay cost. Here they would be ~$20,000. (Seems a lot but it would work up to 10km) -- _______ Jim Breen (rdt139z@monu6.cc.monash.oz) Dept of Robotics & /o\----\\ \O Digital Technology. Chisholm Inst. of Technology /RDT\ /|\ \/| -:O____/ PO Box 197 Caulfield East VIC 3145 Australia O-----O _/_\ /\ /\ (ph) +61 3 573 2552 (fax) +61 3 573 2748
macklin@garnet.berkeley.edu (Macklin Burnham) (03/17/90)
In article <1990Mar16.014323.3586@monu6.cc.monash.oz> rdt139z@monu6.cc.monash.oz (Jim Breen) writes: >> >> Does anyone have any recommendations for an optical link which >> would be suitable for linking two sites a few hundred metres apart >> where an optical fibre cannot be strung? I am thinking in terms of >> ethernet equivalence. There is an infrared ethernet link on the market. Supposed to be good for 1 kilometer, all weather. The hardware costs about $15K (includes both ends). Made by: Laser Communications Inc 1848 Charter Lane, Suite F Lancaster, Pa 17605 (800)-527-3740 I have talked to these folks, but have no actual experience with the product. I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has. Mack Burnham .
eric@ists.ists.ca (Eric M. Carroll) (03/21/90)
>There is an infrared ethernet link on the market. Supposed to be good >for 1 kilometer, all weather. The hardware costs about $15K (includes >both ends). Made by: >Laser Communications Inc >1848 Charter Lane, Suite F >Lancaster, Pa 17605 >(800)-527-3740 >I have talked to these folks, but have no actual experience with the product. >I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has. I have an LCI Lace installed at ISTS in Toronto. We had some trouble with the first unit. It was serial number 11. We found several bugs in the board. However, since then it has run very well, with one failure due to it getting misaligned when contractors cut a hole in the roof. It is set up nearly northwest/southeast and shoots over a busy municipal boundary road to a building about 900 metres away. One disadvantage is that it will go down in heavy fog or heavy snowstorms. My rule of thumb says that if I cannot see the other building due to weather the laser will not be up. This is true excecpt for snow. Snow, because the eye integrates the snowfall image, is more difficult to predict when the laser will be down. However, when compared against the cost of microwave, especially in Canada, it was extemely attractive. In terms of line costs it paid for itself in under 3 years. (US readers should note that Canada's leased line costs are much more than yours. A 56kb/s leased line to cover the same 900 m was around $600/mo). Our contractor was Computer Cable Systems of Mississauga, a company I highly recommend.