spread spectrum info

[Kevin J. Rowett <kevinr@suntan.tandem.com>]

>I am running a couple of NCR WaveLAN spread spectrum boards on a pair of
>UNIX laptops. These boards are compliant with "part 15," but what
>exactly are the rules for output power? Is it 1 Watt ERP or something
>else?

In the USA, the limit is 1 watt output.  You can take all the gain you
can get thru antennas.  There is a restriction to not use "repeaters".
The rules don't really say what a repeater is, but it's generally
mean't each end-point must be something useful besides a pair of
radios.

>I would like to get some 900 MHz yagis for these boards. Would that be
>illegal?

It would be a very good idea.

>I have also heard about a "part 97" that would allow one to use more
>transmission power. Does anyone happen to know if these boards comply
>with part 97?

To comply with USA/FCC Part 97, you would have run the specific
spreading sequence listed in Part 97.  The NCR units don't.
In fact, I've heard they have a dismal processing gain of 10dB!

N6RCE