Hi Everyone;
This article was sent to another list and I thought it would also be useful
here.
I have also heard of people using Bluetooth headsets with amateur radio.
I believe their may even be a device out there that will let you connect
your Bluetooth headset to an amateur radio.
73 De Anthony W2AJV
[log in to unmask]
ECHOLINK NODE NUMBER: 74389
----- Original Message -----
From: Anthony Vece
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 7:40 AM
Subject: Bluetooth technology: what is it, how does it work, and what can I
do with it?
Hi Everyone;
Since practically all of us use Bluetooth technology in one way or another,
I thought this article would be useful.
Enjoy
Anthony
Source:
http://kb.palmone.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=PalmSupportKB,ts=Palm_E
xterNal2001,case=obj(20821)
Bluetooth technology: what is it, how does it work, and what can I do with
it?
BluetoothR technology is a wireless standard developed by the Bluetooth
Special Interest
Group, or Bluetooth SIG (
website
), an industry association of electronics manufacturers. The Bluetooth
standard ensures
that many different types of devices with wireless capabilities (Bluetooth
headsets,
PCs with Bluetooth cards, Bluetooth mobile phones, Bluetooth keyboards,
Bluetooth
handhelds, etc.) can communicate with each other without the need for
extensive setup
by the user. Bluetooth devices usually talk to each other seamlessly and
automatically.
The Bluetooth radio
You may have heard mention of the "Bluetooth radio." In this context, a
radio means
any device that transmits a wireless signal. One type of radio is the AM/FM
radio
you're familiar with, but there are many other types of radios, including
the GSM
or CDMA radio in your mobile phone that transmits your conversation to the
cell tower,
and the very small Bluetooth radio in all Bluetooth devices.
Bluetooth technology uses the 2.45 GHz (gigahertz) frequency. 2.45 GHz is a
widely
used frequency known as ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical). A number
of other
wireless technologies also use the ISM frequency, including 802.11 (Wi-Fi)
devices
and cordless phones. Bluetooth, 802.11 and the other wireless technologies
can coexist
peacefully on the same frequency because they use vastly different
standards. A Bluetooth
device will never mistake an 802.11 communication as a Bluetooth
transmission.
Bluetooth devices transmit a 1 mW (milliwatt) signal that travels about 10
meters
(that's about 33 feet), or up to 100 meters with a power boost. Because the
Bluetooth
radio is very small, it can fit into many different electronic devices,
including
handhelds, SD expansion cards and earbud headsets.
Bluetooth technology employs "spread-spectrum frequency hopping": it
regularly switches
transmitting among 79 individual random frequencies. The switch happens
1,600 times
per second, so it's improbable that two Bluetooth devices will be using the
same
frequency at the same time. This makes it possible to have many different
Bluetooth
enabled devices running in close proximity at the same time without
interfering with
each other.
Personal Area Networking and Bluetooth Pairing
When a Bluetooth device senses a transmission from another Bluetooth device,
they
start talking automatically. This conversation is called a Personal Area
Network
(PAN). The beauty of Bluetooth is that the PAN doesn't have to be set up
manually;
it just "happens" when two or more willing Bluetooth devices come into range
of one
another.
Sometimes, however, you may not want your Bluetooth device to communicate
with every
Tom, Dick and Harry within range. In the handheld world, there are two basic
ways
to protect your security with Bluetooth technology.
First, you can turn off the Discoverable
setting on your device. When a Bluetoth device is Discoverable, it
broadcasts its
existence to other Bluetooth devices and announces that it is available for
Bluetooth
communications. When you turn off discoverability, your device will not
appear when
other Bluetooth devices trawl the airwaves for partners. This can come in
handy if
you're in a public space with curious Bluetooth-bearing strangers.
Second, Palm Bluetooth handhelds, and many other Bluetooth devices, can use
a Passkey
(PIN)
to allow or deny unmitigated communication. A Passkey is a code entered on
both
devices that lets the sending device skip authentication every time it
attempts to
communicate with the other device. This is known as a
Trusted Pair
. Depending on the device, you may set up a Passkey on the fly (as long as
you enter
the same code on both devices), or, on simpler devices like headsets, the
Passkey
is pre-set and you can't change it. Consult the documentation for your
Bluetooth
device to learn more about Passkeys and pairing.
More on Bluetooth Pairing from a Palm perspective
.
Bluetooth Profiles
So far, we've talked about Bluetooth radios and communication, but what can
you actually
do
with Bluetooth technology? The short answer: a lot. So much, in fact, that
no single
device incorporates all possible capabilities of Bluetooth technology. The
Bluetooth
specification combines a number of differing capabilities and technologies
under
one umbrella. These vastly different functions are organized into
Bluetooth Profiles
that describe a general group of functions. Bluetooth Profiles ensure that
two devices
that claim the features of a particular profile can interact on a basic
level. This
is part of what makes Bluetooth technology so flexible: an assurance of
basic compatibility
between two devices that may differ greatly.
Learn more about Bluetooth Profiles
.
What can you do with Bluetooth technology?
The Bluetooth standard is constantly being examined and updated by the
Bluetooth
SIG. As other technologies expand and do more, more Bluetooth Profiles are
added
to keep up with the demand for new wireless lifestyles. That's the general
overview;
for a specific handheld viewpoing, see our
comprehensive list of everything Palm Bluetooth handhelds can do
.
What does the word "Bluetooth" mean?
Impress your friends with this bit of knowledge: Bluetooth was named for the
10th
Century
Danish King Harold Bluetooth
, who unified several kingdoms under one banner. Rumor has it that the
founders of
the Bluetooth consortium (including Nokia from Finland and Ericsson from
Sweden)
were referring to the fusion of many competing standards under one
international
specification.
More information
Bluetooth is an emerging technology. We've gathered a few third-party
websites that
contain Bluetooth information.
Bluetooth.com
(the official Bluetooth website
Bluetooth.org
(Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Inc.)
How Bluetooth Works
(from How Stuff Works)
An Introduction to Bluetooth
(from Wireless Developer Network)
Sysopt.com: Bluetooth technology and implications
(an ancient article from 1999, but still relevant)
|
