One of the distinctive services we offer at Wav is our integration program. Almost 4 years ago we started a program to offer a data collection terminal product based on the Symbol Series 3000 line of terminals but with Lucent OEM 802.11b radios instead of Symbol radios. We called the product line ChameleonRF. Since then we’ve added ChameleonRFII to the line with the integration of the Cisco 350 radio.  

Note that I used the term “integration”. The short definition is “to make a whole” or “to unite”. Integration is more than just slapping the radio in the terminal. There are several items that must be taken into consideration when integrating a radio into a device that wasn’t designed to accept it. Will the radio even fit in the device without physical modifications? Does the antenna have the right connector? Will drivers need to be written to make the radio work in the device? Will the device meet FCC technical and safety requirements or will it need to be re-certified? 

Integration must take into account all the factors in order to be successful. End users rely on the expertise of the Integrator to make sure the end product works, is reliable, serviceable and most important, supportable. Integration of a “foreign” radio into a device may violate the warranty of the device. So warranty and repair are critical. Any device that Wav offers as part of the ChameleonRF or ChameleonRFII product line are serviced and supported by Wav. 

One of the biggest challenges we face is the driver. The radio may fit, the antenna has the right connector, all is good. But. The radio won’t work because there’s no compatible driver. This is the case with many DOS based or proprietary OS based devices. Symbol Series 3000 terminals have PCMCIA slots, but the controller chips aren’t standard. So a special driver is required. But that also brings up a question. What will the driver look like to the application software? Is compatibility with existing application software required? If so, the driver must make the radio look like the radio it’s replacing. That’s what Wav did when we developed our Lucent and Cisco based Series 3000 terminals. We crafted the driver to make the radio emulate the Symbol Spectrum24 radio. The end result: Existing applications can run on a ChameleonRF terminal with no or little changes. Most off the shelf commercial applications run as is. Anytime we look at a new integration, compatibility is always high on the priority list.  

Another challenge is FCC certification. Manufactures put their products through a testing procedure that matches the device, radio and antenna as a complete product. So replacing the radio results in a combination that isn’t FCC certified. Will the combination violate FCC emission standards? For body worn devices there is a special safety consideration. This is the same issue that cell phone manufactures have struggled with. How much RF radiation is safe?  

The FCC has a special set of tests that must be run for body worn devices. It’s called Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). When you replace a radio in a device that’s body worn, will the new combination exceed the maximum radiation standards? Will it be considered safe? Wav does the required FCC testing and certification including SAR testing. These tests can be very expensive, but customers need to know the products they are buying and using are safe and won’t present potential liabilities due to a lack of equipment certifications.  

Sometimes we get lucky and an integration project is relatively easy. But even then, issues come up. WindowsCE based devices are a good example. Not all vertical market terminals implement WindowsCE the same way. The mechanisms used to store files or the operating system itself, make it difficult or impossible to hold radio card drivers in non-volatile flash memory. WindowsCE devices will lose installed applications if they are not stored in flash memory. But even though applications can stored in flash, the system registry is not. How are applications restored after a cold boot? How do you restore the registry? There’s no standard so each manufacturer does it differently. 

The point being made here is this: Successfully integrating two or more different products together into one requires experience, a commitment to quality and shouldn’t be taken lightly.  

For more information on our upgrade program, email me at chuckb@wavonline.com