What Wi-Fi Tools are MetaGeek and Oscium Cooking Up Together?

As I write this, the 2018 Wi-Fi Tek Conference is going on in San Diego. I’m not attending (mostly because Boardman is there) but I am listening to various comments being made about the event goings on though the many channels that all of us WLAN types keep each other updated on. There’s a lot of good chatter, and I wish my CWNP family the best of luck with conference (I am on the CWNE Advisory Board you know… I run in those circles.) One little nugget from Twitter caught my attention, in particular.

I happen to have products from each company, and both are among my favorite tools when it comes to WLAN support. After the tweet, I went and found MetaGeek’s own announcement on the new partnership, which you can read about here.

Now, betwixt you and I- neither company has been especially active of late as far as getting new tools (or even updates to existing tools) out in front of us loyal customers, and I’m glad to see hope of that changing.

I’ve written about Oscium in the past and still think their WiPry 5x is one of the slicker spectrum analyzers out there for those of us that have familiarity with real lab-grade spec ans. I’ve also covered MetaGeek through the years, and was fortunate enough to see their presentations at multiple Tech Field Day events. You won’t find nicer folks than MetaGeek’s current and past employees… must be a Boise thing.

Now back to that announcement of a partnership between MetaGeek and Oscium. We still don’t know a lot, but this is pivotal from the MetaGeek blog:

MetaGeek plans to partner with Oscium for additional hardware offerings moving forward as part of the company’s shift to focus on the software side of their industry-leading Wi-Fi analytics solutions.

Just as Ekahau has realized, you can only take legacy USB adapters so far in the world of 802.11ac (and soon .11ax) wireless support tools. MetaGeek has had profound impact on the WLAN industry with their USB-based stuff, but it also became stunted despite having really effective software pairings (like Channelyzer, InSSIDer, and the fantastic Eye P.A.). Oscium has figured out how to leverage well a range of mobile devices (both Android and Apple) and their latest connectors for use as Wi-Fi support specialty tools.

I smell synergy, baby…

I have seen nothing in beta as for as this story line goes. I’ve had no conversations of late with either MetaGeek or Oscium, so I really can’t give you anything beyond speculation and hope that good things are coming, but I also have a lot of faith in both companies.

I’m looking forward to the end of the year, and whatever announcements these two toolmakers are working on.

Wireless Handheld Testers You May Not Know About

In the world of Wi-Fi engineering and support, there are definite crowd favorites when it comes to tools.  Not every WLAN Pro sees the world exactly the same when it comes to tools, and usually what we pick to use in our daily duties comes down to ease-of-use (which can be subjective), cost, and effectiveness. That equation shakes out a little bit different for each of us, yet the same tools tend to show up often in what is a fairly limited market. I’m not talking apps here, as there are lots of those. Here, I’m more getting at handheld wireless tools, or if you want to stretch it a bit, ones that plug into a USB (or Lightning) port to turn the host device into a handheld tester. Before you yawn and click away, let me get right to the point: chances are that almost all of us have at least one tool from MetaGeek, or AirMagnet/Fluke Networks, or maybe Oscium. You know… the usual stuff. (Again, no slight to the software/app toolmakers in the crowd.) But this blog is about the slightly exotic. Of late, I’ve stumbled across some funky looking brands of hand-held testers/spectrum analyzers that I’d like to share. If you know of others that are off the beaten path, please let us know in the comments.

I’ll ease you into this with one from a company that’s actually been around a long time, and used to be more mainstream among wireless tools- the Yellow Jacket BANG, primarily a spectrum analyzer from Berkeley Varitronics Systems (BVS).

Everything BVS has ever put out just looks cool. Here’s the specs on the Yellow Jacket BANG.

Next- get an eyeful of this thing:

From Test Um, with more info here. Needless to say, it’s underwhelming… yet interesting to look at, no?

Next up- the RF Explorer. (I wish I could say that in a Darth Vader voice with reverb effect.)

(With handsome carrying case!) Details and specifications here.

Moving on to the 802 AWE from Trilithic Broadband Instruments, I have to say that this one looks like it could be for real, and a possible competitor to the Fluke Networks AirCheck.

I’d love to take the 802 AWE for a test drive. Check out this whitepaper, and see what you think.

We’ll finish with an interesting offering from the UK.

 

The Vonaq Artisan Wi-Fi Tester also looks like a for-real tester, and that snazzy orange case means it should be safe in the woods during deer hunting season.

How many of these have YOU seen before? Ever laid hands on any of them? Do any of them interest you? There *may* be life beyond MetaGeek and Fluke Networks here… Please add your thoughts.