DT-30

Is the performance of the beam affected by weather? As a general rule, the Canobeam will perform well if the units are visible to one another, even in bad weather conditions. However, the effects of weather on optical beams should be considered. Rain, fog, and snow reduce, scatter light, and lessen the amount of light that passes between the units. Since this can result in errors, a backup line is recommended. Are the lasers safe? The Canobeam III / DT-30 uses class 3B lasers. The laser light output by these units is safe even if viewed with the naked eye at the point of output for up to ninety seconds. The use of magnifying optics is not recommended, as the effect to the eye through these devices will be stronger. What happens if a bird flies across the path of the laser? If the laser beam is partly obstructed by a bird flying across its path, the amount of light passing between the units will be briefly reduced but there will still be adequate light for data transmission. If a bird obstructs the beam completely, the data will be momentarily interrupted but the problem will be resolved by a retransmission of the data if TCP/IP is used. Is a relay setup possible? For network connections between buildings that are more than 500 meters apart, or that do not have a clear line of sight, pairs of CANOBEAM units can be connected to relay the signal. Because the waveform is normalized by the 3R function at each relay point, the data is not damaged by the relay process. The 3R function is available in the Canobeam DT-30/MM model as an option. The 3R function can be used to normalize the signal waveform with Fast Ethernet, FDDI, and ATM/SONET (155 Mbps, 622 Mbps) transmissions in order to permit relay transmissions without deterioration of signal quality when multiple Canobeam III / DT50 systems are used between buildings that are more than 2 kilometers apart or that do not provide a good line of sight.