FCC OET Filings--December

[jdabbs]

For a device to utilize the radio spectrum in the United States, the FCC requires hardware manufacturers to apply for the relevant license. These publically-accessible applications typically include manuals, specifications, and photos of internal hardware; from this information the capabilities/performance of a particular device can be estimated weeks before the product reaches retail.

For December 1st-31st:

"D Link Corporation"
DIR-635 Rev B3 I wasn't familiar with this model. According to reviews, the 635 was D-Link's first entry into the 11n market. Present availability is scarce, but D-Link may have plans to change that with this new revision. Features a 200MHz Ubicom IP5100U CPU, Realtek RTL8306G 10/100 Switch Chip, and an Atheros AR9223 2.4 GHz 2T2R radio chipset. Markings on the memory were unreadable, but I doubt this unit strays from the 4MB Flash/16MB DRAM platform.
DWA-130 Rev C1 USB 11n adapter Uses a Realtek RTL8192U and 8256 radio. 2.4GHz; 2T2R.
DIR-605 Rev B1 The previous revision of this router debuted only a month ago; this time they've migrated to a single Ralink RT3052F integrated CPU/Switch/Radio. 10/100; 2.4GHz; 2T2R. This chip is also used by last month's Belkin F5D8236-4 v2.

"Cisco-Linksys LLC"
DMC-250 11n music player (Director) I don't know enough about multimedia players to have any insight. Dual-band.
DMP-100 11n music extender (Player) Also dual-band.
WRTU54Gv2-TM 11g router w/ 2 phone ports. No internal photos so details are sparse.
WRT160N v3 Newest revision of Linksys's entry-level 11n router. Broadcom combo 2.4 GHz radio/CPU (chip markings too blurry to read), 2 1.5 dBi antennas, BCM5325E 10/100 switch chip. RAM is also blurry, but appears to be 32 MB DDR.
WRT320N Dual-band Wireless-N Gigabit Router Compared to D-Link, Linksys has been neglecting the 5 GHz market, so this router is a step in the right direction. BCM4717 300 MHz combo CPU/dual-band radio, gigabit switch, and 3 5 dBi antennas. Given that Linksys's current flagship router, the WRT610N, has 3.5/4 dBi antennas, one wonders if Linksys is trying to set a new level of range/performance, or merely trying to cover up the shortcomings of a new-generation radio.


"Netgear Incorporated"
No filings.

"TRENDware International Inc."
TEW-P11G Wireless 11g Print Server

"Belkin International, Inc."
No filings (only an iPod FM tuner).

 

[jdabbs]

Updated for the entirety of December.

Added items:
TEW-P11G Wireless 11g Print Server
WRT160N v3
WRT320N Dual-band Wireless-N Gigabit Router

While doing some digging on the WRT320N, I also came across the WRT400N Simultaneous Dual-Band Wireless-N Router, which is probably positioned to compete directly against D-Link's DIR-825. CES is in January so we may get an official announcement regarding these products.

Edit 10Jan09: Nothing from CES. WRT400N FCC docs located here. Analysis will be posted in the January bulletin unless there is demand otherwise.

 

[tipstir]

Updated for the entirety of December.

Added items:
TEW-P11G Wireless 11g Print Server
WRT160N v3
WRT320N Dual-band Wireless-N Gigabit Router

While doing some digging on the WRT320N, I also came across the WRT400N Simultaneous Dual-Band Wireless-N Router, which is probably positioned to compete directly against D-Link's DIR-825. CES is in January so we may get an official announcement regarding these products.

Your good at this FCC stuff I am just trying to get the hang of it...

 

[jdabbs]

The FCC site isn't exactly user-friendly, but there are a few tricks to help find what you're looking for:

If you can't find any products from a particular company, try googling "FCC ID product or company name." The first three characters of the ID is the grantee code, which should be universal for a particular company. This is useful for handling companies whose brand name differs from the FCC applicant name, like Trendnet/Trendware. This method isn't always foolproof; some companies maintain their own line of products while rebadging that of others, for which the license may only correspond to the original company (Hawking/Edimax). Another exception is Cisco, who uses a separate code to segregate Linksys products from their main line. I try to help people who want to perform their own lookups by putting the exact applicant name used in quotation marks.

I haven't found partial FCC ID searches to be terribly effective; wildcard searches usually end up being luck of the draw. Instead, I search a company's line with reasonable date constraints, then Ctrl-F through the results.

 

[tipstir]

The FCC site isn't exactly user-friendly, but there are a few tricks to help find what you're looking for:

If you can't find any products from a particular company, try googling "FCC ID product or company name." The first three characters of the ID is the grantee code, which should be universal for a particular company. This is useful for handling companies whose brand name differs from the FCC applicant name, like Trendnet/Trendware. This method isn't always foolproof; some companies maintain their own line of products while rebadging that of others, for which the license may only correspond to the original company (Hawking/Edimax). Another exception is Cisco, who uses a separate code to segregate Linksys products from their main line. I try to help people who want to perform their own lookups by putting the exact applicant name used in quotation marks.

I haven't found partial FCC ID searches to be terribly effective; wildcard searches usually end up being luck of the draw. Instead, I search a company's line with reasonable date constraints, then Ctrl-F through the results.

I've tried the google method but still come up short. Sometimes I get luckly. I know you and me and Tim like to know what's inside the product before you shell out money. OpenWRT and DD-WRT have lots of info about what's inside the network device and Xbit is a good starting point.