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BreezeLink doesn't fit the mold of the other products we tested. From a physical standpoint, it is less than half the size. Instead of a single antenna, BreezeLink requires separate transmit and receive antennas. And unlike the other products, which use direct sequence radio technology, BreezeLink is based on a frequency-hopping design that is both an asset and a drawback.

On the positive side, because frequency-hopping radios bounce randomly around 79 different 1-MHz channels in the 2.4-GHz band, BreezeLink boasts excellent dynamic noise immunity characteristics. You have to reconfigure other products to overcome interference. However, all that hopping carries the price of higher latency. BreezeCom allows you to minimize latency, but doing so increases your susceptibility to transmission errors.

From a performance standpoint, BreezeLink turned in the slowest numbers, registering 84 percent throughput in our T1 crossover cable test, even after we adjusted the factory defaults to maximize data performance, which resulted in advisory alarms on our console.

Configuration occurs via a console port that provides a menu-oriented interface. We found the interface to be a little confusing in places, especially related to configuration of remote units. But on the whole, it is easy to use. Our initial attempts at configuration were unsuccessful, requiring some minor changes. Unfortunately, the units kept rebooting periodically, a feature that's designed to return the units to a known state automatically should something go wrong.

At 16 dBm, BreezeLink offered the lowest output power of any product we tested, as well as the worst receive sensitivity (-71 dBm). The BreezeLink path design has a little less margin for error. In fact, we were told that a 10 dB fade margin is normal for BreezeLink installations. Engineering links based on this assumption would certainly reduce overall system availability. For links of, say, five miles or closer, BreezeLink should work fine. But for longer links, other products would be better choices.

As noted earlier, BreezeCom includes features in its devices that are not supported in the United States because of FCC regulations governing frequency hopping spread-spectrum transmission. Elsewhere, users can take advantage of synchronization capabilities that allow for the collocation of 10 or more radios at a single hub installation. Where permissible, BreezeCom can also provide systems that use narrow-band carriers to deliver even greater hub density.

BreezeLink, $4,495, BreezeCom, (760) 731-9880; fax (760) 431-2595. www.breezecom.com or sales@ breezecom.com

Send your comments on this article to Dave Molta at dmolta@nwc.com,
or to Asad Irshad, a Syracuse, N.Y.- based freelance writer, at airshad@ syr.edu.