Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

I haven't seen many inquiries on this topic lately and there have been a
lot of new products on the market so I'll throw this out again.

Feedback on Wireless PC Cards, 802.11b or 802.11b/g for internet
connection on the road.

Best reception, distance, installation and so on.

TIA

Chas.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

Chas wrote:
> Feedback on Wireless PC Cards, 802.11b or 802.11b/g for internet
> connection on the road.

Some time ago, I bought a Belkin 802.11b card for my TP770, along with a
Belkin 802.11b router. Installation was no problem but the range was
pretty awful; maybe 20ft with clear sightlines, less if the signal had
to penetrate anything.

After a month or two I replaced the Belkin router with a Microsoft
802.11g router, and what a difference! I now get coverage of the entire
house and most of the yard.

So, IMO the Belkin F5D6020 card (I have V.2) is great. But stay away
from the F5D6231-4 router.

--
Gordon S. Hlavenka http://www.crashelectronics.com
If your teacher tells you to Question Authority
Should you do it?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

Gordon S. Hlavenka wrote:

> Chas wrote:
>> Feedback on Wireless PC Cards, 802.11b or 802.11b/g for internet
>> connection on the road.
>
> Some time ago, I bought a Belkin 802.11b card for my TP770, along with a
> Belkin 802.11b router. Installation was no problem but the range was
> pretty awful; maybe 20ft with clear sightlines, less if the signal had
> to penetrate anything.
>
> After a month or two I replaced the Belkin router with a Microsoft
> 802.11g router, and what a difference! I now get coverage of the entire
> house and most of the yard.

When did Microsoft start making network hardware?

> So, IMO the Belkin F5D6020 card (I have V.2) is great. But stay away
> from the F5D6231-4 router.
>

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

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

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 05:09:51 -0400, "J. Clarke"
<jclarke.usenet@snet.net.invalid> wrote:


>> After a month or two I replaced the Belkin router with a Microsoft
>> 802.11g router, and what a difference! I now get coverage of the entire
>> house and most of the yard.
>
>When did Microsoft start making network hardware?

I forget the exact dates, but Microsoft did make a few networking
products for a while. As I recall, they dropped out of the market less
than a year after they entered it. The stuff was pretty basic wireless
b & g routers, notebook and desktop adapters. The products were make
by a third party and labeled for Microsoft. The only noteworthy
feature was the easy set-up with the Microsoft software. There were
some good deals available on these product when they were
discontinued.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

I use a Motorola Wireless Router (WR850G 802.11 b/g) and wireless PC
cards (WN825G) here. I've been very satisfied. We have a four-level
home, and the router is located in the garage on the ground level. My
daughter can roam anywhere in the house, to the basement, the level
above the router location, and the bedrooms at the top level of the
house without ever losing the connection.

She can be at least 50 feet from the router, and the signal goes
through several walls at sometimes 2 floors and still maintains the
connection and very decent throughput.

I purchased the units online at Newegg.com, but Wal-Mart carries the
Motorola line of wireless networking products at very decent prices. It
is my understanding that these units are manufactured by Broadcom in
Taiwan for Motorola. Interestingly, my new HP business notebook nx6110
uses Broadcom wireless networking, and I have even greater range due to
the antenna in the display area of the notebook as compared to the
PCMCIA card-based antenna in the WN825G in my daughter's notebook.

Hope this helps.

Don

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

* * Chas wrote:
> I haven't seen many inquiries on this topic lately and there have been a
> lot of new products on the market so I'll throw this out again.
>
> Feedback on Wireless PC Cards, 802.11b or 802.11b/g for internet
> connection on the road.
>
> Best reception, distance, installation and so on.
>
> TIA
>
> Chas.
>
>
Depends on your PC, too.

I've had mostly good results from my Netgear router and PCMCIA card for
my 600X. When it worked, which was almost all the time the first year,
it worked fine. Others have reported good results from the Netgear.

Whatever you buy, make sure the router specs show that it has at least
NAT and SPI firewall protections.

I did experience problems the very few times I ever ran the 600X on
battery power, and I finally found the solution posted as a KB article
on the Netgear website.

The 600X uses a TI 1450 PCI chipset (?) and the PCI power management of
this farkles the card.

Since I disabled PCI power management on the laptop the card seems to
work fine.

Doug

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

"Doug Ellice" <DouglasSpamNotEllice@Comcast.NotSpam.net> wrote in
message news:6LWdnec-y9o1uCvfRVn-sg@comcast.com...
> * * Chas wrote:
<snip>

> > Wireless PC Cards, 802.11b or 802.11b/g for internet
> > connection on the road.
> >
> > Best reception, distance, installation and so on.


> Whatever you buy, make sure the router specs show that it has at least
> NAT and SPI firewall protections.


Thanks for the responses everyone but.... I'm looking for a card to use
while traveling where I have no control over the WAP.

I'm looking for cards for IBM T20 and 240x laptops.

I've done a lot of searching but I was hoping to find some feedback in
the laptop NGs where people might have more first hand experience while
traveling rather than the wireless NGs.

For example which cards have worked better than others, how about the
USB wireless devices and so on.

My house is wired through a NAT Router connected to cable DSL so I have
no need for wireless at home.

I have an X31 with a built in IBM A/B/G card which works OK... some of
the time. I have a Proxim/Orinoco Silver A/B card, a Linksys WPC11 v. 4
802.11B card and a cheap Airways? 802.11B card. None of these have
worked very well or at all with Win98SE. The Orinoco works OK...
sometimes with WinXP (dual boot systems).

I'm looking for a card, PC or USB that I can use dependably while I'm
traveling.

> I did experience problems the very few times I ever ran the 600X on
> battery power, and I finally found the solution posted as a KB article
> on the Netgear website.
>
> The 600X uses a TI 1450 PCI chipset (?) and the PCI power management
of
> this farkles the card.
>
> Since I disabled PCI power management on the laptop the card seems to
> work fine.
>
> Doug

That's interesting. I'll have to look into disabling power management.
I've seen a check box that asks if I want to use power management with
the wireless PC Card but it's unchecked.

How did you disable PCI power management?

Chas.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

Chas,

The best one going, bar none, is the US Robotics "turbo-card" or
"superG " 5410.
Price, reliability, & connectability. Names may not be exact, 5410
model is right.

3Com has the X-Jack that retracts, which is nice, but it's pricey.

KC

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

<kcrispin@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119295039.842810.12000@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Chas,
>
> The best one going, bar none, is the US Robotics "turbo-card" or
> "superG " 5410.
> Price, reliability, & connectability. Names may not be exact, 5410
> model is right.
>
> 3Com has the X-Jack that retracts, which is nice, but it's pricey.
>
> KC

U.S. Robotics 802.11g Wireless Turbo Card Model USR5410 $59.95 USD List
price.

Thanks, how does it work with 802.11B which is the most common
connection on the road?

BTW, they are offering a $20 rebate between July,1 and September 1.

Chas.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

<kcrispin@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119295039.842810.12000@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Date: 20 Jun 2005 12:17:19 -0700

Chas, The best one going, bar none, is the US Robotics "turbo-card"
or "superG " 5410. Price, reliability, & connectability. Names may
not be exact, 5410 model is right.

3Com has the X-Jack that retracts, which is nice, but it's pricey.

Well that is nice to know since that is the one I use. I've been using
3Com, USR, and US Robotics for many years. I *love* their hardware, but
their software is just so-so IMHO. Also this is the very first time I've
ever heard anybody else besides me ever mentioned the 5410. It by the
way works fine by me. Although I have nothing else to compare it to.
Normally I use it with a 2Wire HomePortal 1000HG (wireless router,
firewall, DSL modem) at home.


Cheers!


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

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

Any of the "G" cards that I've seen are all compatible with "B" or "G."
I would imagine this could be confirmed on their website. I've seen the
USR5410 on Ebay for $25.

Frankly, I find no difference in speed using b, g, or hardwire network,
but I'm only utilizing for a broadband internet connection. So for that
purpose only, B or G makes no difference whatsoever, IMHO.

OTOH, in network environments, it's a noticeable difference...albeit,
not even close to approaching the speed of a cat5 connection.

KC

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

for travelling, basically anything that'll do B is just fine.

for long-reach, Belkin Pre-N cards & routers.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

<kcrispin@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119295039.842810.12000@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> The best one going, bar none, is the US Robotics "turbo-card" or
> "superG " 5410.
> Price, reliability, & connectability. Names may not be exact, 5410
> model is right.
>
> KC

Thanks for the recommendation. I picked up a U.S. Robotic USR5410
802.11g Wireless Turbo PC Card this evening. It seems to be working
great.

This is the first wireless card that I've been able to get to work with
Win98SE. I have a dual boot T20 with Win98SE/WinXP SP2 and two identical
240x TPs, one with XP SP2 and one with Win98SE. I also have an X31 with
a built in IBM A/B/G Wireless Card with XP SP2.

I have a Proxim/Orinoco Silver A/B PC Card, a Linksys WPC11 v.4 PC Card
and an off brand 11b PC Card from Fry's. I haven't been able to get any
of these to connect to the internet using Win98SE but they work OK with
the WinXP systems.

With the USR5410 I'm seeing neighbor's wireless networks that only the
X31 could detect and I've been able to connect to 2 different 54g
networks with the USR5410 on my 240x Win98SE.

Chas.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,ibm.ibmpc.thinkpad (More info?)

<kcrispin@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119338923.804583.251110@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Any of the "G" cards that I've seen are all compatible with "B" or
"G."
> I would imagine this could be confirmed on their website. I've seen
the
> USR5410 on Ebay for $25.
>
> Frankly, I find no difference in speed using b, g, or hardwire
network,
> but I'm only utilizing for a broadband internet connection. So for
that
> purpose only, B or G makes no difference whatsoever, IMHO.
>
> OTOH, in network environments, it's a noticeable difference...albeit,
> not even close to approaching the speed of a cat5 connection.
>
> KC
>

What OS are you using?

If it's XP, have you installed the U.S. Robotics software or just using
MS's Wireless Zero Config?

Chas.