Linksys WCF12 802.11b Adapter

[Zuph]

I found the Linksys WCF12 adapter on amazon for $63, which Is a pretty good deal if you ask me. I want to know how good this card is. It seems like it's pretty good on the battery from what i've heard, but what about RANGE. Range is my main concern. I want the most distance possible. Thanks!

[ThomasC22]

It does as well as any card I've seen (I've used Intel and Linksys PCMCIA cards in the past). That's the best I can give ya.

[Zuph]

I was kinda hoping for some numbers, as I've yet to see some solid ones.

[ThomasC22]

I was kinda hoping for some numbers, as I've yet to see some solid ones.

What kind of numbers?

[Zuph]

Comparing Range/Bandwidth, or just plain range would be great.

[ThomasC22]

Well, it's going to really depend on where you're planning to use it and more importantly what the walls are made of...but in my apartment, I can get a signal to the mailbox which is roughly 300ft or so (but there's also another building between the mailbox and my building)

[AirTimid]

Go to the linksys website and look at the specs for the device. From the research i've done, it has the lowest range of many of the current CF wifi cards, but it also uses the least amount of power (desregarding symbol and socket cards because they are twice as much).

[Zuph]

What card is in the same price range, and gets the best range?

[AirTimid]

Netgear and D-link have cards out in the same price range. Both of these cards use more power than the Linksys wcf12, but according to the specs, have a larger reception range. I actually have the Dlink on order, my main reason for choosing it was because I have a Dlink access point (also on order) and the range was better than the Linksys, according to the datasheet. I was very tempted to order the Linksys because of it's low power usage. Go to the netgear and dlink websites to view the datasheets.

[amcmoe]

If you want the most range possible, Linksys made another card before the WCF12, they say it can get 1500ft at 1mbit, but it uses more battery power (300mA) than the newer WCF12. And is also a Type II CF, the WCF12 is Type I.

Here is a link to the WCF11 on Linksys' website- http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=22&prid=194

and here is a link to the range/bandwidth it gets- http://www.linksys.com/support/display.asp?biggie=big_wcf11.jpg&prid=194&grid=22

Here is the range the WCF12 can get-
http://www.linksys.com/support/display.asp?biggie=big_wcf12.jpg&prid=434&grid=22

I was thinking about getting the WCF11 because of the good range. Hope this an help.

Adam

[Zuph]

Is this the most range I'm going to be able to get out of ANY CF card? I'm not partial to Linksys at all. I want the most range possible. Also, i've heard Linksys' figures aren't too accurate of real world performance. I want actual experience. These figures are always the most accurate.

[bdeli]

I do not think you can get 1500ft with the WCF11. I have a WCF12 and going round in my old apt building I get a decent link connection - though my 2 laptops with 2 WPC11 get a better range than the WCF11.

[Roosterman]

Comparing Range/Bandwidth, or just plain range would be great.

How far do you need it to go? What are you going to use it for at that distance? Based on that you need to then evaluate the cost benefit ratio along with the power consumption to determine which unit is going to be the best for you. I would say the Linksys, for the $, is an outstanding unit. I may be a bit slanted because I have one, but it's ok for battery use, and has for me acceptable distance.

[Zuph]

I want to get around 300 feet indoors. It's in my school, so there isn't going to be much interference from other devices, but I'm worried about the Cinder block walls. Bandwidth isn't much of a problem, it's not like i'll be transferring DVD images from my PPC :)

[Roosterman]

Did a non scientific test this morning on how far I could get away from my access point and still have a useable signal. By my expience, 200 hundred feet is about the extent. This is, however, thru about three walls and a floor to get outside. This is for my home network and my house isn't big enough to to test 200+ feet :) . Signal dropped from excellent to poor at that point and transfer rate went from 11Mbs to 1Mbs. For the next 20 feet the the signal would cut in and out and at 220 there was no signal. I hope this helps in your decsion.