What is a goog Long Range Wireless PCMCIA Network Card

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Can anyone please tell me what is a good PCMICA Network card to pick up
a weak signal? My internal IBM Thinkpad Network card knows a network
is there but wont connect to it. Its not a password or security issue
- its a signal problem.

I dont know what is meant by a 200mW card or 23dBm etc. WHat should I
be looking for?

BTW I am using XP Pro.

Any help is appreciated.

Steve
 
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Guest

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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Steve Dion" <msm0001@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119305446.880269.136680@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Date: 20 Jun 2005 15:10:46 -0700

Can anyone please tell me what is a good PCMICA Network card to
pick up a weak signal?

I don't know Steve. I use an US Robotics 5410 myself and I like it.

I dont know what is meant by a 200mW card or 23dBm etc. WHat should
I be looking for?

Both are values for power output (although for receive they also use
dB). 200mw means 200 milliwatts or 0.2 watts. 23dB is another way at
looking at the power output. Both values, the higher the better. That
5410 of mine is 18dB or about 65mw. Where did you see a 200mw card?

The record for connecting by WiFi is 51 miles by a hacker at Deathcom in
Las Vegas, btw.


Cheers!


______________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD & Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within Word 2000


"Steve Dion" <msm0001@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119305446.880269.136680@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Date: 20 Jun 2005 15:10:46 -0700

Can anyone please tell me what is a good PCMICA Network card to
pick up a weak signal?

I don't know Steve. I use an US Robotics 5410 myself and I like it.

I dont know what is meant by a 200mW card or 23dBm etc. WHat should
I be looking for?

Both are values for power output (although for receive they also use
dB). 200mw means 200 milliwatts or 0.2 watts. 23dB is another way at
looking at the power output. Both values, the higher the better. That
5410 of mine is 18dB or about 65mw. Where did you see a 200mw card?

The record for connecting by WiFi is 51 miles by a hacker at Deathcom in
Las Vegas, btw.


Cheers!


______________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD & Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within Word 2000
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I have 2 laptops with built-in wireless (2 differnt cards--a Dell and an
Intel) and neither works very well anymore. I wonder if the internal
antenna connection comes loose or breaks? Anyway, both laptops work great
with PC-Cards--I think the antenna being outside the computer helps. With
my desktop wireless, I also found that using an external antenna really
boosted performance relative to the little antenna connected to the card.
This is a long-winded way of saying that for long-range performance, look
for a card that lets you connect to an external antenna. I think Buffalo
makes one.


"Steve Dion" <msm0001@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119305446.880269.136680@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Can anyone please tell me what is a good PCMICA Network card to pick up
> a weak signal? My internal IBM Thinkpad Network card knows a network
> is there but wont connect to it. Its not a password or security issue
> - its a signal problem.
>
> I dont know what is meant by a 200mW card or 23dBm etc. WHat should I
> be looking for?
>
> BTW I am using XP Pro.
>
> Any help is appreciated.
>
> Steve
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

High power SMC PCMCIA a/b/g card is a good start. Basically, you need
two things - 1) high power in the card - this will broadcast enough
power to get back to the router. 2) sensitive antenna (usually, high
power cards will have this as well) - higher sensitivity = picks up long
range signals better.

Another good option, Belkin Pre-N cards.

both of these are good to start with - have the latest technologies, and
designed for those long-haul applications.

---

If that still doesn't work, you'll need a wifi booster unit placed in
between you and the router - it picks up the original wifi signal, then
rebroadcasts it (boosts it) so you can have a longer signal path.

---

Belkin Pre-N cards and routers tend to reach very, very far, even when
coupled with non-PreN cards.