Good PDA Wi-Fi Signal Strength Locator?

Tark asks: "I have been tasked with creating a reliable, portable 802.11b signal strength indicator. I have looked over various PDA's, and have narrowed it down to two: the Sharp's Zaurus 5500 Linux PDA, and the HP iPAQ 2215 Pocket PC. I have chosen these due to the fact they both support cf and sd slots. Which of these 2 PDA's will provide a reliable solution for detecting an 802.11b signal, and which wi-fi card should I use with the PDA? Also, is there a CompactFlash wi-fi card that supports a external antenna connection?"

Comments

software?

[Anonymous Coward]

you have software?

I have similar app based on a hacked-up version of kismet running on the Zaurus, it works okay. What sort of stuff is available for the ipaq? I love the Zaurus because I can code in Java, C++, Perl, Ruby, Python, Shell scripts, etc., and I can use CVS to sync up code to my development workstation.

I have a Linksys WFC12 card and it worked great for a while then crapped out (acts really flakey). So I'd recommend against Linksys especially since I have a WET11 bridge that stopped working one day also!

Card Suggesstion

[MonMotha]

While not the best card in the world, it does work (And is supported in linux if you want to run that on your PDA) and has an external antenna connection available with little modding. The D-Link DCF-660W has an antenna connector right under the plastic cover.

It's a CF card, so it will work in your mentioned PDAs. Just pop the plastic off, figure out what the heck that connector is, and hook up your pringles can.

Here's a link or two

[orthogonal]

All from the Zaurus Software Index

Google is your friend.

Wireless LAN Monitor

Wellenreiter II

Kismet

Kismet w/GUI

Discoverer

ZNetMeter

WirelessApplet

If you's like more research done, let's discuss hourly rates. ;)

Your comment has too few characters per line (currently 8.9).

Zaurus wireless applet...

[narrowhouse]

http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus/showdetail.php?app=3 45

Re:Why make your own?

[hrbrmstr]

because the Kensington is a piece of garbage.

If you're going "headless" then the WFS-1 by Smart ID is the better way. Check out this SecurityFocus article to see why.

Give me a Linux PDA with kismet, wavemon and a Lucent gold PCMCIA card anyday (for 802.11b anyway).

Why not Palm?

[stickyc]

Out of curiosity, why did the Palm Tungsten C not make the list? It's got built in WiFi and the OS has a build in strength meter. There is a GPS solution for it as well, although I doubt there's hotspot mapping software yet (if that was your need).

Re:Kensington wifi detector?

[cheros]

There's a much better one: Smart ID makes one that is really accurate and (unlike the Kensington) rejects other sources like mobile phones. And they ship globally from Singapore AFAIK (well, it's always worth visiting Singapore - it's got Sim Lin Square, a sort of expensive version of Pan Tip Plaza in Bangkok ;-).

With a GPS

[mnmn]

Would be more interesting if a gps locator can be hooked to one of these PDAs, using a microdrive and hopefully running Linux, so you could throw the thing in a mailman's vehicle and get a geographical map of hotspots. I wonder if it would be small enough to strap on a stray cat, get a really detailed map, or that slutty girl down the street, get a REALLY detailed map of the whole city. Dont get too involved strapping it on her though.