- Feb 22, 2007
- 16,240
- 7
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I am working on a project for sending wireless in areas where wires are an issue or you can't use traditional wireless for one reason or another. It uses lasers. I know there are IR versions of things like this, but I like lasers ! I got the idea from thinking about wireless and how you can bounce rf signals to get to another point .
The device has a laser sender and receptor. They are about 3" square and 1.5" thick. Off of this comes a wire about the size of a telephone cord which connects to another smaller box containing all the electronics. The device is placed in a corner of the room near the ceiling, or wherever it is most unsightly above head height. The beam leaves the first device and can be bounced about 4-5 times before it loses coherence and can't be used. Might be more times with better quality mirrors, I'm working with a junk box budget. Distance is limited only by laser output power. To keep it safe for the eyes the limit right now is about 200ft. To get to other rooms it uses small mirrors about 1" square placed to bounce around corners or down hallways. Once it is all aligned it works really well.
Problems so far I am having are speed related, speeds are 1mbit due to hardware limitations. I did it just for fun to start with but am starting to look at it more seriously. Of course it wouldn't work for everyone in all situations depending on the layout of the living space. It does work great though for things like sending internet to another room around the corner or in the same room without wires. Or going out the back door to a garage .
Another possibility is using some of the optical fiber tech so multiple streams of data could be passed along the same pathways. So one mirror in a corner could be carrying 5 separate channels. The main thing I wanted to accomplish I already have , sending internet for audio streaming around a corner in an apartment without wires or wifi. I wanted to do it cheap, and by cheap I mean under $40.
If others have a use for something like this I would like to know, I'm thinking about making it a more , for sale, type item . Right now it is in prototype form and not really something someone without electronics skill could use. I'm looking for input , so suggestions welcome.
The device has a laser sender and receptor. They are about 3" square and 1.5" thick. Off of this comes a wire about the size of a telephone cord which connects to another smaller box containing all the electronics. The device is placed in a corner of the room near the ceiling, or wherever it is most unsightly above head height. The beam leaves the first device and can be bounced about 4-5 times before it loses coherence and can't be used. Might be more times with better quality mirrors, I'm working with a junk box budget. Distance is limited only by laser output power. To keep it safe for the eyes the limit right now is about 200ft. To get to other rooms it uses small mirrors about 1" square placed to bounce around corners or down hallways. Once it is all aligned it works really well.
Problems so far I am having are speed related, speeds are 1mbit due to hardware limitations. I did it just for fun to start with but am starting to look at it more seriously. Of course it wouldn't work for everyone in all situations depending on the layout of the living space. It does work great though for things like sending internet to another room around the corner or in the same room without wires. Or going out the back door to a garage .
Another possibility is using some of the optical fiber tech so multiple streams of data could be passed along the same pathways. So one mirror in a corner could be carrying 5 separate channels. The main thing I wanted to accomplish I already have , sending internet for audio streaming around a corner in an apartment without wires or wifi. I wanted to do it cheap, and by cheap I mean under $40.
If others have a use for something like this I would like to know, I'm thinking about making it a more , for sale, type item . Right now it is in prototype form and not really something someone without electronics skill could use. I'm looking for input , so suggestions welcome.
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