StarTech.com's Wi-Fi Detector Reviewed

**breley** · 09-03-07, 08:30 AM

Reviewed by Bryan Eley (breley), Reviewer for Aximsite/Mobilitysite

Product: Wi-Fi Detector (with built-in display) On site, StarTech refers to the device as:

Wi-Fi Detective: Wi-Fi Finder with LCD
StarTech.com ID: WIFIDETG

Manufacturer: StarTech.com

Price: $74.99 (USD)

Wireless Access Point, Wireless Access Point, wherefore art thou, Wireless Access Point?

Need to sniff out a nearby hotspot? Want to be a nearby hotspot? Mobile workers, students and casual users rejoice! StarTech.com has a device for you, the Wi-Fi Detector with a built-in (LCD) display. Slightly larger than the typical USB memory stick it can easily fit into a pocket for those times when hauling out a laptop or other mobile device and spending time looking for a hotspot isn't convenient.

Right kind of hotspot:

Wrong kind of hotspot:

Contents of Package:

WiFi Detector

USB extension cable

Note: A CD with the WLAN/driver software would normally be included, as would an instruction manual, but were not included in my review version. I was able to obtain these from StarTech.com's website.

Turn on the device via its ON/OFF slider switch, and in about 10 seconds it will show you if there are any networks within range on the display. If none are found, you will see a "No WiFi Detected!" message on the display.

Next to the power slider are two buttons marked Back and Next that enable the user to view additional hotspot information if more than one hotspot is detected.

Opposite these buttons on the other side of the unit is a Seek/Lock button.

By pressing and holding the button for 4 seconds the user changes the mode of the device so that it attempts to locate a dedicated SSID signal. When put in this mode, the device will constantly update the display, thereby allowing the user to move about to find the strongest signal.

The backside...why do I keep thinking of my old Commodore 64?

But wait! There's more!

Remove the cap at the end of the device to reveal a USB connector, and voila! the Detector becomes either a Wi-Fi access point or a Wi-Fi network adaptor when plugged into a PC's USB port. The USB connector is also the means by which the device charges its internal Li-Ion battery.

The software on the CD will install the Detector's device drivers and ZyDAS WLAN software enabling you to configure your PC to access a wireless connection. The device is reported as a ZD1211B, and for those of you that might want to use this on a Linux system, there is a Linux driver from Sourceforge that may work.

Nightlight?

Incidentally, if you're in a low-light situation, simply press the Seek/Lock button briefly or else either the Back or Next buttons. You'll be rewarded with about 4 seconds of a nice cerulean blue backlight (thanks, Crayola). It won't be enough to dispel those scary monsters in the closet or under the bead, but at least they'll know if you've discovered their hotspot.

Interpreting the Display

A. Access Points Detected & Current Channel The 01/01 indicates the first item viewed out of x number of APs detected. In other words, were there 3 APs and I were viewing AP #2, I would see 02/03. The CH text below indicates the channel of the current AP.

B. Seek Lock Status This indicator comes on when the unit has entered the active WIFI seeking mode to search out the strongest signal.

C. Encryption Indicator This shows the type of encryption the current network being viewed has. The types shown will be one of the following: Open for no encryption, WEP for WEP encryption, WPA for WPA encryption and WPA2 for WPA2 encryption.

D. Signal Type The letter icon that appears here describes the 802.11x signal type. B indicates an 802.11b network, G indicates an 802.11g network.

E. Signal Strength Indicator This shows the relative strength of the signal for the current viewed network, from 1 (low strength) to 5 (full strength).

F. SSID Indicator Shows the name of the current SSID. If the SSID is too long, it will auto-scroll to show the complete name.

G. Detector Battery Level This shows the charge on the unit's internal battery.

Left-handed or right-handed?

While minor, note that if the Detector is inserted into a USB port on the right side of a laptop, the display will of course be upside down.

Note that when the device is plugged in, it ceases hotspot scanning and converts to either the battery charge mode and/or wireless adapter function.

Testing

Oh the life of a reviewer can be difficult. Here I am in action testing the Detector while getting a pedicure as a wedding anniversary treat for my wife and me. More organic tea, please?

Just to show I'm not kidding, here's a surreptitious shot of my wife sitting next to me consulting a nail color manual. For her, not me.

While enduring this ordeal, I was able to locate the spa's Wi-Fi settings (it was encrypted, drat!), plus the Starbucks nearby, and yet another store's setup a down the road within about 15 seconds. I was able to connect to Starbucks' via my Axim and do some surfing.

WLAN Configuration Software

If you wish to use the Wi-Fi Detector as a network adapter on your PC, simply install the software and plug in the adapter into an available USB port.

The WLAN Configuration tool will show you relevant network and adapter info. In the upper right is a dropdown that shows the choice of Station or Access Point. Station allows for normal network client operations; Access Point allows you to configure the unit to act as its own hotspot for other network devices.

More Settings takes you to this screen for encryption settings and profile configuration:

WEP configuration screen:

WPA Configuration screen:

If you set the unit to operate as an Access Point, this is the Setting screen for AP:

You will also have the option of being able to filter MAC addresses in AP mode:

Technical specifications:

Wireless standard: IEEE 802.11g/b

Internal antenna

Frequency Band 2.4000~2.4835GHz

Data Rate 54/48/36/24/18/12/11/9/6/5.5/2/1Mbps auto fallback

Security 64/128/256-bit WEP Data Encryption, WPA (TKIP with IEEE 802.1x) and WPA2 (AES with IEEE 802.1x)

Battery 4.2V Rechargeable Lithium-Polymer

Transmit Power 16dBm (Typical)

Unit Dimensions: 3.58 x 1.12 x 0.55 inches (91 x 28.5 x 14 mm)

Weight: ~1.06 oz (30 g)

Final Thoughts

Overall I thought this was a nifty little gadget, and was lot faster at locating network information than was my Axim or my laptop, not to mention considerably more convenient. The fact that it can double as a wireless adapter itself is a nice feature too, but I'm not sure how useful that feature would be given the number of wireless embedded devices in portable applications. Most laptops have wireless functionality built in, so in that sense it might be redundant. Nevertheless it was a breeze to use and set up, and extremely portable. My one concern is the price, which seems a little high at about $75.00. Other than that, I really liked the Wi-Fi Detector, which if nothing else looks smarter than a Pringles cantenna.

Technorati Tags: Startech.com, wifi, Aximsite, Mobilitysite

View Original Blog Post

09-03-07, 09:08 AM

Great review Bryan! :)
Susan

Zaniax · 09-03-07, 10:40 AM

Tanks, breley - At that price I'll stick to the WiFiFoFum with its GPS 'radar' - works fine for me :)

09-03-07, 11:43 AM

It's a nice toy. I would like one. A thorough and informative review, I wouldn't need the manual now that I've read this!

Jogga · 09-03-07, 02:35 PM

Good review breley :approve: Fortunately, all laptops, PCs and PDAs in chez Jogga have wireless cards, otherwise, I might just be tempted.

**breley** · 09-03-07, 02:51 PM

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Helping folks here make informed decisions is a real privilege for me.

griffin2k3 · 09-04-07, 04:03 PM

I wouldn't say it's a knock-off because it's priced about the same as the ZyXel AG-225H, but the hardware and software are almost identical. It makes me think Startech's either rebranding ZyXel's or just being a copycat.

I used to have AG-225H personally and I would rate this product 2/5. This device is only useful for laptops who don't have integrated Wi-Fis. Think about it... you're the only one whose laptop DON'T have integrated wi-fi, then you connect to network through your laptop that has integrated ethernet port, then use this gadget to work as Wireless AP for other laptops who have integrated Wi-Fi to share the ethernet connection? What's the odd of this happening?

The only plus with ZyXel's (and can't speak for StarTech), is that it's very sensitive and pickup weak signals. It was able to find 10 SIDs compared to 4 or 6 on my PDA or laptop in my house.

What the review doesn't mention, is that the device is huge compared to the size of the USB adaptor. As a result, don't think about using another USB device (like USB Drive) with this monster on a laptop where the ports are tightly spaced together.

Is the device worth it? No, not even for those whose laptop has USB but not integrated Wi-Fi... $50 is more like it.

**breley** · 09-07-07, 08:12 AM

ZyXel of Taiwan sold their ZyDAS (that is the software/chipset and other sundries the WiFi Detector uses) to Atheros last year, who may have licensed the ZD1211 chipset technology to StarTech.com. The software I downloaded to enable the Detector as a wireless adaptor definitely uses the ZyDAS naming convention, but since I didn't have the actual software CD that shipped with the unit I'm not sure if the name (ZyDAS) would actually have been the same or not.

Incidentally, griffin2k3, I made some similar comments to yours in a reply I made on the Aximsite side of things:

Quote:

Well, I'm not sure the device was meant to necessarily supersede or replace the wi-fi scanning capability of a mobile phone or PDA per se.

My impression is that it is designed to augment a more cumbersome mobile device, such as a laptop or even perhaps a tablet. The Wi-Fi Detector's real strength is its abilty to switch on and locate APs in about 10 seconds or so and its relative portability and convenience vis-à-vis other such devices.

For a someone fully comfortable with the wi-fi scanning ability/tools of their phone or PDA, the Detector likely may not suit their needs. Since such devices already have some wi-fi detection ability, the question is really then price and convenience. Is having a small USB memory-stick-sized unit to locate hotspots for you worth $75 given your smartphone/PDA can already do it?

Let's say you're using the Detector and you find a hotspot. In order to use that hotspot, you now have to bring out your mobile device, enable wifi, scan for the detected locations again, and then associate with them. So, in that scenario, it might not make sense to use the device given you are essentially performing a redundant function: you've detected a hotspot, but then must redetect said hotspot again with your mobile device in order to use it.

However, it might make sense for a table or notebook user (especially if its an 802.11b device since the Detector is 802.11g capable when used as a network adapter) since you'd have to haul out the larger device, power it up, log it, then run the wireless scanning capability of the internal 802.11x network card, if one exists.