Intersil PRISM1BRDA Datasheet

PRISM1BRDA

Data Sheet November 1998 File Number

OEM Wireless Local Area Network PC Card

™

The Intersil OEM WLAN PC Card (Note

1) is a complete wireless high speed
modem utilizing the Intersil PRISM™
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

Wireless Transceiver chip set. This card
is made available to OEM’s (Original Equipment
Manufacturers) intending to private label or integrate the
product. It provides a sophisticated turnkey solution of
hardware and software to system providers or integrators
requiring wireless data communications capability and is ideal
for integration into computer platf orms.

Supporting the IEEE 802.11 network specification for Direct
Sequence Spread Spectrum DSSS signaling, the card is
packaged in a PCMCIA TypeIIextendedcoversetandsold in
standard packs of 50 units. Radio design evaluation can be
conducted by using PRISM1KIT-EVAL (PCMCIA card with an
open cover set and connector output, two cards per kit) or
WLANKITPR1-EV AL (PCMCIA card with co ver set and
integrated antenna, 2 cards per kit). The card provides data
rates up to 2Mbps. Outdoor line of sight range in excess of
1000 feet has been demonstrated and indoor range of 300
feet, depending on environment, is achie vable. Interoperable
Access Points are available from a number of suppliers,
enabling a total wireless network solution.

NOTES:

1. Throughout this document,allref erencesto ‘PC Card’, ‘WLAN
adapter’, ‘adapter’, or ‘card’ refer to a covered card assembly
conforming to the mechanical size specifications of the PCMCIA
Standard Release 2.0, Type Il Extended (5.0mm) definition.

2. Therangewillvaryindifferentoperatingenvironmentsduetoeffects
such as building construction.

4595

Features

• FCC Certified Under Part 15 to Operate in 2.4GHz
ISM Band

• Support for 1 and 2 Megabit Per Second (Mbps)
Data Rates

• Supports the lEEE802.11 Direct Sequence Specification

• Microsoft® Windows® 95 NDlS3 and Microsoft Windows

3.1 NDIS2 Network Drivers Available (ODI Network
Drivers Planned)

• Integrated Microstrip Antenna

• Microcode/BIOS are Contained in Programmable
Nonvolatile Flash Memory

• Radio Range of 300 Feet in an Indoor Environment
(Note 2)

• Completely Covered Assembly is Designed to Fully
Support PCMCIA’s Defined Mechanical and
Environmental Stress Conditions

• Intelligent Power Control, Including Low Power
Standby Mode

Ordering Information

CARDS

PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION

PRISM1BRDA OEM WLAN PC CARD 50
WLANKITPR1-EVAL WLAN EVALUATION KIT 2

PER SET

Packaging

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PRISM and Design® is a registered trademark of Intersil Corporation. PRISM™ is a trademark of Intersil Corporation.

CAUTION: These devices are sensitive to electrostatic discharge; follow proper IC Handling Procedures.

http://www.intersil.com or 407-727-9207

Microsoft® and Windows® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

| Copyright © Intersil Corporation 1999

PRISM1BRDA

Functional Overview

The WLAN PC Card is designed to operate in the 2.4GHz
ISM frequency band, channels 1 to 11, as specified by the
FCC in the USA and ETSI in Europe (refer to Table 3). The
Card will also operate with reduced performance (due to
filter selection) on channel 14, specified for use in Japan.
Radio Transmitters must be certified in a country prior to
use. Refer to Table 4 for a list of countries and agencies that
have approved the PRISM1BRDA for operation.

The Intersil PRISM Chip Set and AMD PCNet Mobile allows
for high lev el integration allowing for reduced size, increased
throughput, improved radio perf ormance and f aster time to
market. The WLAN PC card implements Direct Sequence
Spread Spectrum DSSS technology providing superior noise
and signal jamming immunity including less severe impact
from unintentional radiators such as microwav e ovens. The
user can connect the PC Card in an ad-hoc, peer-to-peer
networking scheme, allowing for instant network setup in any
office environment. By using an access point, the wireless
LAN can be set up to allow for a greater number of users to
interconnect, and to increase the coverage area. With a
portal, the wireless LAN can be easily connected into an
existing wired LAN, allowing for easy expansion of the service.

To learn more about what the IEEE802.11 is, refer to:

• Tech Brief TB337 “A Brief Tutorial on Spread Spectrum
and Packet Radio” [1].

For a more detailed description of radio operation, please
refer to:

• Data sheet “PRISM 2.4GHz Chip Set” [2] and:

• Application Note AN9624 “PRISM1KIT-EVAL DSSS PC
Card Wireless LAN Description” [3].

For more specific software questions, refer to:

• Application Note AN9666 “Wireless LAN Evaluation Kit
SW Installation and Usage” [4].

• Random Backoff

• RTS/CTS Handshake (Ready To Send/ClearToSend)
and NAV Management (Network Allocation Vector)

• MAC Level Acknowledgments (Media Access Control)

• Re-Transmission of Unacknowledged Frames

• Duplicate Detection and Rejection

• Broadcast and Multicast Frames

• Fragmentation and Re-Assembly

• Power Management (Planned)

• Timestamp Synchronization

• Probe Generation

• Beacon Generation in an Ad-Hoc Network

• Probe Response Generation in an Ad-Hoc Network

Card Information Structure

The standard Intersil WLAN PC Card will be supplied with
the following information embedded in the CIS. It should be
noted that in most systems this information is displayed
when the card is inserted. Customization of the CIS for
specific customer requirements is available upon request, to
enable customer information to be displayed when the card
is inserted.

TABLE 1.

FUNCTION NAME CONTENT

Manufacturer’s ID 00
Function ID Network Adapter
Product Revision 5
Manufacturer AMD
Product AM79C930
PROG
LOT

The MAC Protocol Handler
(AMD® PCNet™ Mobile) (AM79C930)

The PCNetMobile device (AM79C930) and its firmware are
responsible for running the 802.11 protocol in the WLAN
card. This section describes the features of IEEE 802.11 that
are implemented. Further information can be obtained from
the following documents:

1. AMDPCNetMobiIeWLANController,FirmwareOverview
(available from AMD)

2. Firmware Interface Specification for IEEE 802.11/D5
(available from AMD)

Contact AMD’s web site:

http://www.amd.com/products/npd/npd.html
select * Available Literature
or * PCnet Family Drivers

The functions supported by the STA (station) Firmware are:

• DCF (Distributed Coordination Function)

• CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with
Collision Avoidance)

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Network Driver Software

The Intersil OEM WLAN PC Card will be supplied with
NDlS2, NDIS3 and ODI network drivers. These drivers will
be tested with the following network operating systems:

TABLE 2. SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY TESTING

MANUFACTURER TITLE VERSION DRIVER

Microsoft Windows for Work

Groups
Microsoft Windows 95 NDlS3
Microsoft Windows NT NDlS3
Novel Netware ODI
IBM OS2 ODI

Contact the factory for latest software status or visit our
PRISM web site: http://www.intersil.com

AMD® is a registered trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

PCNet™ is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

3.11 NDlS2

PRISM1BRDA

IEEE 802.11 International Agreement and
Frequency Assignments

The IEEE802 LAN committee has forged an international
agreement providing for wireless data communication
standards for the frequency range of 2.4GHz to 2.4853GHz,
as allocated by the FCC in the USA, and in the 2.471GHz to

2.497GHz frequency range, as specified by the regulatory
authority in Japan. These standards are designed to focus
the industry to develop highly integrated, low cost,
interoperableWLAN equipment,of whichPRISM1BRDA is a
prime example.

There are 11 channels specified by the FCC in the 2.4GHz
to 2.4853GHz range, and one channel in the 2.471GHz to

2.497GHz range, for operation in Japan. The ETSl
(European) regulatory body conforms to the USA (FCC)
channel assignments with the exceptions of channels 1 and
2 as shown in Table 3.

The available channels of operation in the 2.4GHz to

2.4853GHz and 2.471GHz to 2.497GHz ranges are as follows:

TABLE 3.

CHANNELIDFCC CHANNEL

FREQUENCIES

ETSI CHANNEL
FREQUENCIES

JAPAN

FREQUENCY

Warranty

The Intersil WLAN PC Card productis covered by a one year
manufacturing warranty. Operation of the WLAN PC Card
outside of the maximum ratings detailed above will make the
warranty void.

Agency and Regulatory Body Approvals

The WLAN PC Card will comply to the following standards:

TABLE 4.

COUNTRY APPROVAL NOTES

USA (Note 3) FCC part 15,

Sec. 15.247,

Sec. 15.107 and 15.109
Canada (Note 4) ICAN RSS-210 Approved
Europe ETSI 300.328 Nov 96

EMC prETS 300.826

NOTES:

3. The Intersil FCC Identification Number is: MRF13316C2

4. The IC Approval Number is: CAN2722102478

Approved for
Intentional Radiators
Computer Peripheral

Planned

1 2412MHz N/A N/A
2 2417MHz N/A N/A
3 2422MHz 2422MHz N/A
4 2427MHz 2427MHz N/A
5 2432MHz 2432MHz N/A
6 2437MHz 2437MHz N/A
7 2442MHz 2442MHz N/A
8 2447MHz 2447MHz N/A

9 2452MHz 2452MHz N/A
10 2457MHz 2457MHz N/A
11 2462MHz 2462MHz N/A
12 N/A 2467MHz N/A
13 N/A 2472MHz N/A
14 N/A N/A 2484MHz

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