« Or Did China Blink? | Main | $3,500 Cell Bill »

April 22, 2004

Best Wi-Fi Signal Finder Yet

By Glenn Fleishman

Chrysalis previews their WiFi Seeker, a keychain sized device for instant Wi-Fi signal finding: Chrysalis sent me a demo unit of its just-unveiled WiFi Seeker, which they designed to differentiate 80211b/g networks from other devices. Two previous Wi-Fi signal finders fell short in ways the Seeker does not.

The Kensington WiFi Finder is relatively large (credit card sized) and scans before displaying the results instead of a constant active scan—but it can tell Wi-Fi from junk. WFS-1 from Smart ID is much cooler offering a no-industrial-design-intended box with instant scanning—but which "hears" all 2.4 GHz signals the same.

Push the button on the WiFi Seeker and it scans briefly, often under a second, before displaying a signal strength in zero to four LEDs (movie above requires QuickTime). Keep the button held down and it’s a Wi-Fi dowser, allowing you to move around and see immediate response to different signal strengths. It’s more directionally sensitive than the WFS-1.

Chrysalis will sell the device starting in June for $29.95, but you can sign up now to be notified when it’s shipping. Earlier, PC Tel has said they would make the device available to their customers, and Chrysalis will sell custom branded versions of the device.

A reader who is a fan of the Smart ID WFS-1 wrote in to complain about my characterization of the WiFi Seeker as best in class. He’s used the WFS-1 in hundreds of locations around the country, and considers its monitoring of the 2.4 GHz band (instead of just Wi-Fi signals) to be a plus, as he’s learned to differentiate the pattern of flashing lights to distinguish from among Wi-Fi, microwave ovens, cordless phones, and other devices.

The WiFi Seeker displays solid lights to indicate Wi-Fi signal strength; the WFS-1 flashes or holds steady. I can see why this would be an advantage in mixed signal environments. For the purposes of my evaluation, I’m interested in determining only whether a Wi-Fi network is available. Case in point: at a hotel a week ago, I used the WFS-1 to see if there was an active Wi-Fi network. It flashed like crazy. After firing up a stumbling program and spending some fruitless time seeking the network, I realized the WFS-1 was showing my Bluetooth-to-computer connection. Perhaps with practice, I could have differentiated that.

I expect that a future generation of Wi-Fi detector will have the features that other readers have written in about: the ability to identify closed and open networks, and a display to show what network SSIDs (the Wi-Fi network name) were found, not just that a signal is present.

Posted by Glennf at April 22, 2004 2:36 PM

Categories: Gadgets

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://db.isbn.nu/mt3/mt-tb.pl/1833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Best Wi-Fi Signal Finder Yet:

» Left Behind from Rain of Walrus
Wi-Fi Networking News: Best Wi-Fi Signal Finder Yet via BoingBong -- dammit, my SmartID wifi finder is now obsolete!... [Read More]

Tracked on April 22, 2004 5:58 PM

» Here's Hoping... from Technodaddy
Well, you all know the WiFi finder from Kensington sucked, perhaps this new device will work: Push the button on the WiFi Seeker and it scans briefly, often under a second, before displaying a signal strength in zero to four... [Read More]

Tracked on April 22, 2004 7:21 PM

» WiFi Seeker Best So Far from Gizmodo
Glenn Fleishman got a hold of the Chrysalis WiFi Seeker, a keychain-sized sniffer to detect 802.11b/g networks and says it's the best yet:Push the button on the WiFi Seeker and it scans briefly, often under a second, before displaying a signal strength... [Read More]

Tracked on April 23, 2004 8:40 AM

» Best Wi-Fi Signal Finder Yet from Take It Back To Business Class
Via Wi-Fi Networking News This little WiFi Seeker is PIMP! It's made by Chrysalis, and I can't wait to put it next to my REI photon light on my keychain. :)... [Read More]

Tracked on April 23, 2004 11:36 AM

» the best wifi-seeker? from numlock.ch :: a changelog by Daniel Mettler
as you probably know i'm a promoter of free and open public wlan nets.. now there's probably the best wifi-seeker so far (seems to fullfill what the kensington wifi finder just promised): chrysalis wifi seeker... [Read More]

Tracked on April 25, 2004 3:47 PM

» Detectando conexiones Wi-Fi from Aventuras_de_un_webmaster.blog
Las conexiones de red inalámbricas WiFi nos dan una gran libertad para conectarnos en el hogar, oficina o universidad. A eso hay que agregar que algunos comercios están ofreciendo redes WiFi para sus clientes y existen también hotspots públicos. Por... [Read More]

Tracked on April 26, 2004 5:10 PM

» Searching hotspots from we make money not art
Where can one find Wi-Fi access while travelling? Hotspots spring up everywhere, says the press. But not every Wi-Fi-equipped place advertise its service. So if you're looking for hotspots, one of the first thing to do, is to visit the... [Read More]

Tracked on April 27, 2004 4:12 AM

» Searching hotspots from we make money not art
Where can one find Wi-Fi access while travelling? Hotspots spring up everywhere, says the press. But not every Wi-Fi-equipped place advertise its service. So if you're looking for hotspots, one of the first thing to do, is to visit the... [Read More]

Tracked on April 27, 2004 4:13 AM

» Here's Hoping... from Technodaddy
Well, you all know the WiFi finder from Kensington sucked, perhaps this new device will work: Push the button on the WiFi Seeker and it scans briefly, often under a second, before displaying a signal strength in zero to four... [Read More]

Tracked on October 11, 2004 7:11 PM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was really, really close to getting the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiF... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 4:54 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was really, really close to getting the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiF... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 4:56 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was really, really close to getting the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiF... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 4:59 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was really, really close to getting the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiF... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 5:04 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was really, really close to getting the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiF... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 5:05 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was about to order the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiFi Locator. Before... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 5:12 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was about to order the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiFi Locator. Before... [Read More]

Tracked on October 31, 2004 5:15 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was about to order the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiFi Locator. Before... [Read More]

Tracked on January 16, 2005 7:54 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was about to order the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiFi Locator. Before... [Read More]

Tracked on January 16, 2005 7:59 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was about to order the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiFi Locator. Before... [Read More]

Tracked on January 16, 2005 8:02 AM

» Fourth Generation Wi-Fi Locator Device from LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard
You know Wi-Fi has already arrived when a fourth Wi-Fi finder/detector/seeker/locator is set for release in the coming week. Just when I was about to order the Wi-Fi Seeker, along comes news of the Hawking Technology HWL1 802.11b/g WiFi Locator. Before... [Read More]

Tracked on January 16, 2005 8:03 AM

Comments