RICOCHET!!! My company is actually a reseller of Ricochet. Anyone wanting to purchase one of these can contact me for immediate delivery. I will even give a great discount for those from this group. Kimi Adams Unity Wave, L.L.C. 623-580-1307 or 602-795-8579 www.unitywave.com/?wirelessinfo.htm THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. If you want the special, call for details. At 2/4/01 07:56 PM, you wrote: >Hey Hans, Jean, everyone :) > >I'm using Ricochet for backup connectivity to my cable modem (I long for >DSL and non-restrictive access - @home has a ludicrous model for their >TOS). > >Ricochet is pretty cool. External modem comes with both serial and USB >cables. Standard AT command set, so setup is a snap (identical to a >serial modem) for serial connection. I build a kernel with USB support, >and that works pretty slick too. USB is noticably faster. I haven't >spent the $300 or so for a pcmcia card. That would be nice as it would >draw from my notebook's two batteries rather than the rechargeable >external modem's battery. I can get about six hours of life on the >external battery, but I get about ten hours on the notebook itself. It's >minor though, because I'm usually getting AC power within a six hour >window. > >Anyhow, latency kinda sucks. It's tolerable, but ssh and the like, where >you're sending one keystroke per packet, aren't what you're used to with >wired connections. It's really geared toward web browsing type activity, >although you can use any TCP/IP app. Another thing is, I pay $75/mo. for >unlimited usage. That only buys me a dynamic IP though. It REALLY SUCKS >to have a dozen ssh connections all active and lose your connection, >reconnect and get another IP :( They told me (they being wwc) that I can >get a static for another $10/mo. I haven't jumped on that yet, I'm >spending way too much on 2-way pagers, mobile, and home connections as it >is. I probably will though, as it will make it much more usable. The >coverage from one of their light pole transmitters is only about a half >mile. That means they need LOTS of them to saturate an area. Therefore, >there are lots of blind spots that you'll encounter if you use it while >moving. Also, you'll sometimes lose connectivity in buildings (although >I've mostly seen this with steel and glass high-rises and not wood and >brick homes). Another thing with them is that due to their multiple light >post installation requirements, one city not playing ball, can cause a >large pocket of no connectivity. > >The latency and reconnecting with a dynamic IP are the major drawbacks I >see. I've thought about trying to keep a link up for a few days at home, >but I've only used it for mobile situations with my notebook thus >far. Have to admit though, even with poor latency, the ability to do >sysadmin tasks from a bar is pretty appealing, huh? ;) > >Anyhow, I can't really attest to its suitability for full-time >connections, but would be interested to hear if someone there does it :) > >Good luck with it all, > >Wes :) > >On Sun, 4 Feb 2001, der.hans wrote: > > > Am 03. Feb, 2001 schwäzte Jean Fracois so: > > > > > If anyone can recommend another, more stable DSL > > > service, please let me know. > > > > Jean try Jon Gauthier . He's one of the local guys reselling > > the Ricochet stuff. 256k wireless, mobile connection. You could load all > > of magusnet into your bronco and take the anon proxy on the road ;-). > > > > Upload is only 64 - 128 k, so that sucks, but it's still better than > > dialup. Also better than my current connection :). > > > > Startup cost is something like $300 - 500 depending on whether or not you > > get USB or PCMCIA interface. Linux has drivers for the latter as it's a > > known chipset and a ppp connection (so I've read). Recurring is $70/mo. > > > > They now have coverage in Gilbert (where you are) and Mesa as well as > > partial coverage in Tempe to go with the Phoenix coverage they've had for > > a while. > > > > Don't know what their latency is. > > > > They could have you up Mon afternoon. I'm looking at doing this for my > > home setup because speed choice offers pretty well zero support at this > > point, so if something breaks it seems it'll stay broken :(. > > > > ciao, > > > > der.hans > > > > >________________________________________________ >See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't >post to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > >Plug-discuss mailing list - Plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us >http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss