Hardware ReviewsIntelogis Passport Plug-In Network UPDATE: We have not completed the install and test of the Passport system but know that at least several folks have been waiting for us to complete the tests. Although we never want to prejudge any system before we fully complete a review, we felt it necessary to provide some update. Here's where we stand as of 12/27/99: To make a long story short, we have gone back and forth with the very helpful Intelogis tech support folks but we've done it all by e-mail (as our preference not theirs) so that has taken some time. They made several suggestions and we have followed them all, one by one, and still have not had success completing our tests. We believe the next step may be to look at swapping out the hardware and retesting, but we left our latest note to Intelogis just before the holiday so we really don't expect to hear back from them until later this week. In the meantime, one homePCnetwork visitor agreed to let us post his experiences as a mini-review of sorts. Thanks to him for his permission to let all of you read this directly. Keep in mind that this is just one person's experience and his opinions are not those of homePCnetwork. We reserve the right to agree or disagree with this assessment once we complete our own tests and evaluations. What homePCnetwork visitors are saying A number of homePCnetwork visitors have sent us comments on their experiences with the Passport system. Here are a few: From D. Leeper: "Here's more data for you re Intelogis Passport from one user who's had decidedly mixed results. I finally got a reliable network of 2 PCs and 2 printers going. Everything works. Printing, Internet-connection-sharing, remote gaming, and even AOL connection via proxy. I estimate the net speed to be (at least) 150 kbps. My initial problem appears to have been a bad PC plug-in. When I got my hands on a new unit, all my problems vanished. HOWEVER, in trying to add yet another (3rd) PC to my network, I've encountered 3 *more* bad PC plug-ins in a row, and I can't even find any more for sale in my area to try! I think Intelogis has serious quality control problem. The design of the system looks sound, but I've (apparently) hit a string a bad units (in my local area). Summary: I've had 6 PC plug-ins to test in my setup. Plug-ins #2 and #3 work all the time, no matter where I plug them in or what PC they're connected to. They find each other and the two printers on the first try every time. PC Plug-ins #1, #4, #5, and #6 have *never* worked, no matter where I plug them in or what PC they're connected to. They either can't find any of the other plug-ins or they can't do more than list one or two of them with a '?' and a 'No Name' designation in Passport Administrator. Units #5 and #6 were bought locally, so I can return them there. Scot G., a very agreeable tech support person at Intelogis, has authorized the others to be returned to Intelogis for replacement. He said they *did* have some faulty units in their early shipments -- maybe that's what I've been receiving here. Anyway the 2 good PC Plug-ins and 2 Printer Plug-ins work so nicely that I'm convinced the Intelogis system design must be sound. Their price point is excellent, and they should do well with this product if they can get the bugs out of their hardware!" An update from D. Leeper (1/13/99) As a follow-up to the material you posted on my experience with Intelogis Passport -- Customer support sent me replacement PC-Plug-Ins for the ones I thought were faulty, and they instantly solved all my problems. I've had a reliable network of 3 PCs and two printers running for a couple weeks now. Everything works fine -- shared Internet connection, remote gaming, printer access, file transfers, etc. Others seem to have had different experiences, but in my case all my troubles seem to have been faulty hardware. If Intelogis has bad units still in their distribution channels, I hope they can recall them and replace them with good units. Letting the customers weed out the bad units is an awful way to do it!
And from L. Allmond: "The one good part to the Intelogis story is their tech support did offer to replace my units because the ones I bought they said were bad. That was a week ago yesterday and they arrived today. But I was just too impatient. I went out and bought the Linksys hardware last night and I was up and running in a couple of hours... including the print server. "I thought the idea was a great one. I built my computer from scratch and am always tinkering... I might spend more time in it than out of it. I think the company [Intelogis] has a good idea going. The thought of being able to add functionality like that without a screwdriver is a good one. "My biggest reason for getting the product was not having to run the cables. But... let me tell you... It is quite a mess of cables once you get the Passport stuff setup. First of all you now have to have an extra AC outlet for everything. This was a little annoying to me because I am already maxed out on power strips. Second of all... their tech support told me I HAD to use their power strips for everything but the Passport units. From what I understand their power strips filter out the frequency that the Passport units use from all of your other equipment. So I had to daisy chain power strips to get everything plugged in. My printer that was plugged directly in the wall now had to use the power strip... and only one outlet on it. I also bought one of their standalone PC units (I had to hookup 3 PCs and one printer). That standalone unit did not come eith one of their special power strips. More juggling of cables. "The summary is: Intelogis: Eww. ACk! Bad experience for me. Would not recommend. $199 kit + >$79 extra box for third PC. Already back at CompUSA."
And from W Burychka: I would like to add another real life experience to your PassPort file. I bought the 3-piece system (2 PC, 1 Printer) on 12/5 and installed it the same day. Initially I had both PCs in the same room for convenience in testing, and I was quite impressed. Clear, concise instructions; everything worked as described. The shared Canon bubblejet printer worked perfectly. File transfers were reasonably quick. Even pcAnywhere worked over this network. Wow. That was it, however, for the good news. When I moved one of the PCs to another room (downstairs about 20 feet away as the gamma ray flies but I don't know how many feed of house wiring may be involved), the fun ended. At first it worked, sort of, and I could use the printer which was still upstairs. And the upstairs PC and printer have continued to work flawlessly with one another--of course the two units are on the same outlet! First, file transfers became erratic. Even a 3MB file would likely stop with a communication failure. The PassPort log files would fill with SPURIOUS this and INVALID that--as many as 5 error messages per second! The remote devices would appear then disappear in PassPort Administrator from one F5 to the next. Then total failure. Upstairs cannot see downstairs and vice versa. And only the upstairs PC can see the printer (on the same electrical outlet). Suspecting the downstairs device, I swapped the two PC PassPorts. The former downstairs unit worked just fine upstairs with the printer. I uninstalled completely, even cleaning the registry of any vestige of the PassPort installation. Performed the Reset to Factory Settings. Reinstalled...not as convenient as when both PCs were in the same room. No improvement. Other points: Either PC PassPort works with the upstairs PC and printer. Neither the original nor the updated software makes a difference. Secure vs Unsecure...no difference. Tried two different outlets both upstairs and downstairs...no difference. Unlike homePCnetwork's experience, I have not had a response from Intelogis at all. Maybe my first email exhausted their favorite suggestions. However, I asked a number of questions which they have also not answered, for example: *Do GFIs make any difference? *Does the fluorescent light caution apply to a handful of screw in light bulb replacements? I tried turning them all off. *Does the heavy motor warning apply to light timers? I tried unplugging the timers. *Can a longer parallel cable be used? What specs? *Can the PassPort be plugged into an extension cord? In my last email to Intelogis, I requested authorization to return to CompUSA for full refund without original packaging. That was on December 29, and I haven't heard back. At this point, I would recommend that you would be better off with a second phone line and pcAnywhere connecting at 28800, than to waste time with PassPort."
Where we go from here Thank you, again, to all of you whom have been waiting patiently for us to complete our review of the Passport. We expect to hear back from Intelogis this week and could have some more hardware to install and test by next week. Perhaps by mid to late January, we'll get something posted. Updated 1/2/99
All content © 1998-2007 by homePCnetwork, inc.
|