Compact Flash Wirless NIC's

[flash1845]

Has anyone bought a wireless nic for their ipaq? I just ordered one from linksys and was curious as to how it compares to models like D-Link and Symbol.

[Jason Dunn]

It's identical to the D-Link model - they're both made by the same OEM. The Symbol one is a different beast - Type 1, low power, less range.

[flash1845]

Thanks, I feel a lot better. Especially since I already bought the linksys model. Do you have a home wireless network setup?

[Thomas E.]

I have the Symbol myself, at the time thought the low power usage would be more important wrong. now I miss the range of the more powerfull ones. Live and learn.

[cbolvin]

The Symbol is considered a 100mw class card which would explain some issues with battery current draw. The DLink and Zcomax are 30mw class radios and as such have a lower draw. This is one reason why Casio only supports the Zcomax vs Symbol. As for range, power output alone does not mean long range. The quality of the receiver is even more important. What good is a card with a big mouth if it has small ears??

I'm not bashing the Symbol card, just making a comparison... Many 30mw cards will outperform 100mw cards just due to the performance of the receivers.

[Jason Dunn]

Thanks, I feel a lot better. Especially since I already bought the linksys model. Do you have a home wireless network setup?


Yeah, I have a D-Link 713-P and a few 802.11b PCMCIA anc CF cards.

[garay]

I recently bought a lightweight Symbol CF card, which works, but its range is rather short. Good thing I keep my Lucent Gold and/or Cisco Aironet PCMCIA cards and sleeve handy for when the Symbol cannot reach the 802.11b access point (at conferences and hotels, mostly).
Your mileage may vary.

Btw, I am in the process of setting up an 802.11a access point at home with an 802.11b daughter card for 54Mbps bandwidth and ultimate 11Mbps compatibility. Has anyone done this already?

We have two (2) desktop computers, three (3) Pocket PCs, and four (4) notebook computers to share a single ~800Kbps cablemodem connection. :( I am thinking of upgrading from our reliable Linksys EtherFast Wireless AP + cable/DSL router to an Intel 802.11a/b Access Point. Comments?

[Bond]

Well, you mention that you are using the access point to share one 800kbps cable modem. If you are using the systems primarily to access the internet and not each other, boosting the bandwidth of 11mbps to 54mbps would have little to no affect on the 800kbps cable modem, and would just result in wasted money to upgrade your cards.

Personally, I would go for a new base station based on U.S. Robotics new chipset, allowing for 22 mbps over 2.4 GHz. Although each individual system only would have the standard 11 mbps, the access point is able to handle twice the traffic, resulting in a two-fold speed increase and points where multiple systems are accessing the access point.

[seanturner]

Yeah, I have a linksys basestatoin with some Linksys cards as well as in Orinoco Gold Card. I find that the Orinoco gets better range, but it had problems talking to the base station. I finally changed the preamble mode on the basestation and that fixed it...

BTW, does anyone know what preamble does anyway?