WiFi Access

[bill mudd]

Andrew
what PCMCIA card did you end up with anyway? Looking at my card its way lower specked than whats available......and the mini satalitte dash dish sounds pretty hot, any info on that would be appreciated.
bill

 

[Jason Montano]

Another note on purchasing WiFi equipment, it is very important to look at the coax used on external antennas. Microwave frequencies such as 2.4GHz are very lossy in coax cable. The LMR-... coax cable are among the best made. For example using LMR-100A coax there is a loss of ~3.893dB / 10ft, using RG174 coax there is a loss of ~6.024dB / 10ft.

For my "cookie cantenna" I am using 5' LMR-400 coax, terminated with a N-Female connector and a 12" pigtail made of LMR-100A coax terminated with a MC card connector. Which should equate to attenuation of ~0.475dB plus plus a little loss for the connectors.

 

[David Drummond]

I picked up one of these at a Best Buy on the road last year when my Orinoco quit working:

http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=268

I kinda like it. Plugs into the usb and the antenna on it flips up. I would stick it up on the dash, or when we were stopped up on the roof or flip it over the edge of the window. Worked pretty well.

 

[Jason Montano]

Originally posted by David Drummond
I picked up one of these at a Best Buy on the road last year when my Orinoco quit working:

http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=268

I kinda like it. Plugs into the usb and the antenna on it flips up. I would stick it up on the dash, or when we were stopped up on the roof or flip it over the edge of the window. Worked pretty well.

I have also seen a couple websites where people turned this USB network adapter into a cantenna. They reported great sucess with it. I am looking for the link and will post it if I can find it.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Originally posted by David Drummond
I picked up one of these at a Best Buy on the road last year when my Orinoco quit working:

http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=268

I kinda like it. Plugs into the usb and the antenna on it flips up. I would stick it up on the dash, or when we were stopped up on the roof or flip it over the edge of the window. Worked pretty well.

I have one of those as well. I have it on my daughters computer and it does surprisingly well. It is easy to setup and get connected. I can see where it would make a great backup or dashmount unit.

 

[bill mudd]

well Andrew says it should have a 200 mw rating or higher - and I believe this aircard dlink 54 only has a 32mw rating (or at least my Buffalo g54 only has that)
so we might be into some obsolete technology if he is right (see his thread explaining this)
bill

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Originally posted by Andrew Revering+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Andrew Revering)</div>

I've done a lot of research on WiFi communications recently and thought I'd share some of my findings.............What one really needs to do is look at the specifications of your PCMCIA card you plan on purchasing. Don't settle for anything less than a 200mW output power (23 dBm) with at least a -89 dBm receive sensitivity. The larger the output power (higher positive numbers) and larger negative receive sensitivity the better. For example 24.3 dBm (300mW) and -91 dBm sensitivity would be better yet.

Andy[/b]

<!--QuoteBegin-bill mudd
Andrew
what PCMCIA card did you end up with anyway? Looking at my card its way lower specked than whats available......and the mini satalitte dash dish sounds pretty hot, any info on that would be appreciated.
bill

I would like to know which PCMCIA card has those specs as well. Every card I have is far from reaching those specs. It would be nice if you would share that information.

 

[Andrew Revering]

Originally posted by David Wolfson
Andrew, or anyone... do you have any experience yet with the small, dash-placeable external adapters with a pointable antenna that give you better signal targeting and a few db gain? These are I think a more practical alternative for someone traveling to the States than a cantenna, Yagi, etc.

It sounds more practical, but no. I have no experience with those.

 

[Andrew Revering]

Originally posted by bill mudd
Andrew
what PCMCIA card did you end up with anyway? Looking at my card its way lower specked than whats available......and the mini satalitte dash dish sounds pretty hot, any info on that would be appreciated.
bill

Alright, I'll give away all my hard-earned work. I spent some 20 hours to find these two cards, so I hope you appreciate it. ;-)

The card I bought was only $30 off of EBay. It's the SMC2532W-B

There is another out there that is better yet... that one will cook your noogies and I believe is above FCC regulations. It runs $149.95 and can be found here:
http://www.demarctech.com/products/reliawa...cmcia-card.html

and while I'm at it, the best omni antenna I could find (which isn't as great as some of these directional ones you guys are talking about) is this one:
http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/re09u.php

...and yes, it's most typical to find output power of 3x mW or 15 dBm. That's far lower than what you could have for output power.

I have the DLink USB wifi adapter for use in my apartment. When I'm sitting on the far side of the apartment, I get about 50% signal strength/link, and with the SMC card I get 100% no matter where I am in the apartment.

I actually picked up my neighbor's network about a mile away at McDonalds to my surprise. The one problem with this SMC card is that its VERY easy to break off the included 2dBi antenna (the black part that pops off so you can connect the external)... so be VERY careful about that. I broke mine off shortly after buying it. Replacements are only $10, but its a pain to have to deal with that. Then again, if you plan on always using the external then big deal, right?

Andy

 

[Jason Montano]

User Deleted: made no sense

 

[Andrew Revering]

Jason,

I appreciate you admitting that you were drunk when you wrote that. I don't feel so bad asking you for more clarification of what you're saying.

I'm a little under the weather so the combo of your drunk writing and my sick reading didnt get the communication across, but:

Are you saying that the hyperlinktech.com version is not as good as the sharperimage.com version?

Can you give detail as to why the sharperimage.com version is better, and perhaps a link to the specific product?

Thanks,
Andy

 

[Andrew Revering]

I should also mention that the hyperlinktech.com antenna magenetic base sucks. It's only about 2-3" in diameter and blows off consistently at about 60 MPH. So although you wouldn't use it going 60, it does make it difficult to use it if you're using Netstumbler for a little war-driving to just see where wifi spots are located.

I'm in the process right now of trying to find a double-sided 6" flat magnet that I can put down to put this magnet on top. I would assume that would solve the problem, having that additional magnet to pull down on the antenna's cheapo magnet.

If anyone has any leads for me, please shoot me an email.

Andy

 

[bill mudd]

Andrew,
First thanks for sharing this info with us - I for one really appreciate it!
(20 hrs is a lot of research)

I found a smc2532wb on ebay for $61 so I bought it (I know the one at $149 mentioned in your link is better) but its LIGHT YEARS better than what I had!

Regarding the hyperlinc antenna - I can see why it blows off - the tiny lil base was not meant for rooftop use - but unless someone else has a better idea then I might get it anyway.

Question: was the antenna included TOTALLY inept for drive by use?
Question: since it is directional do you mount it in a right / left adjusted position to get drive by signal?

Magnet: I'm gonna cut apart a CB antenna base (in stock) and use its 4" base if I cant locate a better idea soon!

Many thanks!
Bill

 

[Jason Montano]

Jason,

I appreciate you admitting that you were drunk when you wrote that. I don't feel so bad asking you for more clarification of what you're saying.

I'm a little under the weather so the combo of your drunk writing and my sick reading didnt get the communication across, but:

Are you saying that the hyperlinktech.com version is not as good as the sharperimage.com version?

Can you give detail as to why the sharperimage.com version is better, and perhaps a link to the specific product?

Thanks,
Andy

Phew...Sorry...I need to stay off the computer when I have had a couple too many. What I was trying to say is that Hyperlinktech.com orders must be over $100 and they recommend purchases under that be done at sharperconcepts.com.

I ordered that antenna from sharperconcepts and it was awful. They initially sent me one with a broken MC Card connector, I contacted them and they sent me a new base/connector. When I was able to hook it up, while monitoring in netstumbler, I was actually loosing signal. I contacted them again and demanded a refund. They agreed and gave me my money back.

This may be an isolated event but I was very unhappy with that product from sharperconcepts. I have read about that antenna and people say its a good one, which leads me to believe it was sharperconcepts that sent me either a faulty product or one not made by Hyperlinktech. That is why I say beware of dealing with them.

BTW: I am going to delete my original post on this b/c it makes no sense what-so-ever.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

User Deleted: made no sense

Man, don't start this precedent; I'll be hammering on the delete key all the time!