For those of you that are new to the site, I am a Network Engineer. That is what pays my bills and keeps me swimming in toys. So when Dean called me up and told me the guys at Thermaltake were sending us a set of their new Bluetake Bluetooth USB adapters I was more than happy to play with them. (Bluetake is an off-shoot company of Thermaltake but one with very close ties.)  With all the toys I have played with at work I have yet to experiment with wireless networking technology. So this was definitely worth some bragging rights.  Here are a few pics of what the unit looks like.  

What it is

For those of you that have no clue what Bluetooth is, here is a quote from Bluetake’s website.

“The Bluetooth concept is a cable replacement technology that simplifies person-to-person and machine-to-machine interaction. It utilizes short-distance radio link technology to enable the wireless connection of mobile terminals such as desktops, laptops, printers, PDAs and mobile phones can exchange data or voice with one another. Furthermore, Bluetooth operates at a frequency lying between 2,402GHz and 2,480GHz, the ISM (Industry, Scientific, Medical) band that is meanwhile free and unlicensed throughout the world.”

The Bluetake USB Dongle enables you to:

• Transfer files between PCs
• Dial-up networking (using the host machines modem, or a cell phone)
• Share a network connection
• Fax sharing (using the host machines modem, or a cell phone)
• Information exchange (similar to beaming with Palm OS)
• Point to multipoint connection (1 Server up to 7 clients)

You get all of that with a 100 meter (328.08 feet) limit at 1Mbps (that’s 1, not 10, not 11, but 1). Let me clarify; 1mbps is peak.  The signal strength degrades based on interference between points A and B.  Whether that is a football field or a thick concrete wall between the two units. So you could, in theory, transfer a file to your neighbor’s Bluetake enabled PC. Again, other things that get in the way, have a tendency to shorten this distance. We all know how shotty quality cordless phones work in a computer room right?

Here are the specs of the USB Dongle as listed on the Bluetake website.

Features

• Bluetooth v1.1 available 

• Supporting 2.4GHz ~ 2.483GHz FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) 

• Providing Data Access Via USB Interface 

• 100 meter coverage area (at free space) 

• Optimum solution for Desktop and Notebook 

• Supporting File Transfer, Dial-Up and LAN Access profile 

• OS supporting in WIN98/ME/2000 

• Sensitivity < -85 dBM 

• Data rate 1M bps 

External Interface 

• Full speed USB Interface supporting OHCI and UHCI 

• USB Dongle status indicator for LED while Dongle is plugged into the USB connector 

Dimensions 

• 71x41x13 mm 

• 54 g weight 

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