Toolmaker DeWalt Launches JobSite WiFi Access Point

[Julio Urquidi]

DeWalt’s DCT100 Jobsite access point is designed for constructions sites where the local geography is constantly changing. The ruggedized access points can withstand 10’ drops and are encased in IP67 material, protecting the AP from dust and water immersion, while also being able to tolerate temperatures between -4°F to 122°F. The DCT100 can be mounted on an anchor, carabiner, tripod or wall-mount.

Based on a self-healing wireless mesh networking model, the Wireless N DCT100 has a maximum link rate of 270 Mbits at 2.4 GHz and 300 Mbits at 5 GHz and includes two GbE ports on each unit.

Pre-orders for the DeWalt DCT100 Jobsite AP are being taken at the company’s website with pricing set at $1495 MSRP.

 

[MichaelCG]

Interesting idea and probably quite useful...but holy smokes that price for a single AP. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to have a pile of $100 Ubiquiti APs laying around to swap out as they get smashed? I guess it comes down to acceptable down time and overall operational maintenance costs.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Some more indepth details here for those interested https://fccid.io/YJ7DCT100
This is for the Stanley Black & Decker branded version though, but it's pretty clear it's the same hardware.

It's easily one of the weirdest Wi-Fi access points I've ever seen.
It's got a Freescale SoC which I can't really identify, but I'd hazard a guess that it's an i.MX 6 as there's a PLX PCIe bridge that split one PCIe lane into two for the Wi-Fi cards. That said, only the i.MX 6 SoloX has two Gigabit Ethernet ports and PCIe in the range, so it's the only possible option if it's indeed an i.MX 6 SoC.

Both Wi-Fi modules are Atheros based.
The 2.4GHz radio uses the AR9283 chipset and it's this exact module - https://www.compex.com.sg/product/wle200n2-23/
The 5GHz radio uses the AR9280 chipset and it's this exact module - https://www.compex.com.sg/product/wle200n5-23/
In other words, a late 2017 device using chipsets announced in 2009 and 2008 respectively and no 802.11ac support.

The weirdest thing is the power supply, which is an encapsulated power supply from Mean Well https://www.meanwell-web.com/en-gb/ac-dc-single-output-encapsulated-power-supply-irm--20--24
It's really rather expensive for what it is, costing $6.50 in quantities of 1k.

There's no wonder that this device is $1,495 when it appears to be made by someone that doesn't have the first clue about routers or how to make electronics. It should be possible to do something a lot more affordable and most likely reliable, simply using actual router hardware than this mish mash of bits.

On a side note, can someone explain to me how screwing the ground/earth wire into the plastic chassis provides grounding for this AP?

 

[Internet Man]

Some more indepth details here for those interested https://fccid.io/YJ7DCT100
This is for the Stanley Black & Decker branded version though, but it's pretty clear it's the same hardware.

It's easily one of the weirdest Wi-Fi access points I've ever seen.
It's got a Freescale SoC which I can't really identify, but I'd hazard a guess that it's an i.MX 6 as there's a PLX PCIe bridge that split one PCIe lane into two for the Wi-Fi cards. That said, only the i.MX 6 SoloX has two Gigabit Ethernet ports and PCIe in the range, so it's the only possible option if it's indeed an i.MX 6 SoC.

Both Wi-Fi modules are Atheros based.
The 2.4GHz radio uses the AR9283 chipset and it's this exact module - https://www.compex.com.sg/product/wle200n2-23/
The 5GHz radio uses the AR9280 chipset and it's this exact module - https://www.compex.com.sg/product/wle200n5-23/
In other words, a late 2017 device using chipsets announced in 2009 and 2008 respectively and no 802.11ac support.

The weirdest thing is the power supply, which is an encapsulated power supply from Mean Well https://www.meanwell-web.com/en-gb/ac-dc-single-output-encapsulated-power-supply-irm--20--24
It's really rather expensive for what it is, costing $6.50 in quantities of 1k.

There's no wonder that this device is $1,495 when it appears to be made by someone that doesn't have the first clue about routers or how to make electronics. It should be possible to do something a lot more affordable and most likely reliable, simply using actual router hardware than this mish mash of bits.

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/DeWalt_DCT100

The main board is a customized Gateworks Ventana GW5520 single board computer. The CPU is a https://www.nxp.com/part/MCIMX6U7CVM08AC (800MHz, dual-core) ($30 each in bulk). Two GbE controllers drive the ethernet ports but they're unidentified.

On a side note, can someone explain to me how screwing the ground/earth wire into the plastic chassis provides grounding for this AP?

Uneducated guess... It probably doesn't need to be grounded because its case is plastic and there's not much for power to short to. Maybe they wanted to make the device appear to be tougher by including the ground plug. Lightning would probably still make its way to the ground wire.

 

[thiggins]

I figured this would give you guys something to rant about...

 

[Razor512]

That is one low end access point. Given the low transmit power, poor specs and what looks like components that never made it much beyond the dev kit, I can't see anyone purchasing that.

Better to just purchase a bunch of cheap outdoor APs, and get a large enough mesh network to cover most work sites.

Outdoor APs are a lot harder to break than one might expect.

 

[sfx2000]

Interesting product niche - IP67 takes the NRE costs up a bit, and keep in mind that the $1495 price is MSRP, street prices in that market are much more flexible.

 

[sfx2000]

Uneducated guess... It probably doesn't need to be grounded because its case is plastic and there's not much for power to short to. Maybe they wanted to make the device appear to be tougher by including the ground plug. Lightning would probably still make its way to the ground wire.

Just a place to keep that wire from the mains lead - the internal PS is still a AC to DC switching power supply, so the ground doesn't come into play anyways.

More of a marketing call with the three wire lead - in any event, it still has to successfully pass UL due to OSHA, which is important for this market...

so all good there.