opinions on thinkpad 11 a/b/g wireless mini-pci adaper

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noeffort · #1 Post by **noeffort** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:42 pm

Thinking about installing ibm thinkpad mini-pc adapter II in a T41.
I' using a wireless lan pc card now and would like to install the above for convenience.

Any users opinions on conectivity, range would be appreciated.

thanks

DIGITALgimpus · #2 Post by **DIGITALgimpus** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:47 pm

Unless you have an external antenna on your PC card, you'll likely get better reception with a built in min-pci adapter.

Do note that you need the antenna in your laptop, it's not just the card.

AIX · #3 Post by **AIX** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:55 pm

I think that all T41 models which came without wireless card are wireless upgradable; so - there is no need to worry about antenna - it's all about mini-pci card.

davidspalding · #4 Post by **davidspalding** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:05 pm

Find your MTM (e.g. 2373-9EU) on the bottom of the TP then you can find out if your model had the antenna installed at the factory.

I like my IBM a/b/g, but I've also used a T30 with Cisco Aironet 350, and it was grand. I'm using the 350 pc card equivalent on my work machine, and it has features no other card I've played with even dreamt of.

So not all cards are created equal.

noeffort · #5 Post by **noeffort** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:51 pm

Find your MTM (e.g. 2373-9EU) on the bottom of the TP then you can find out if your model had the antenna installed at the factory.

*****************************************
looked up my system and it says it is wireless upgradable. Guess that means the antenna is installed? Had the keyboard off and did not see the antenna wire connectors... Guess I'll have to look more closely.

davidspalding · #6 Post by **davidspalding** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:36 pm

Read the forum FAQ, I believe Bill & Co. have some links regarding identifying the wires. ThinkWiki.org also has some articles and GREAT BIG IMAGES illustrating where the wires are.

Oh, wait, the topic is Wifi .... Take a look here at the mini-PCI movies. They'll show ya.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-50233

noeffort · #7 Post by **noeffort** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:14 pm

Read the forum FAQ, I believe Bill & Co. have some links regarding identifying the wires. ThinkWiki.org also has some articles and GREAT BIG IMAGES illustrating where the wires are. Wink

Oh, wait, the topic is Wifi .... Take a look here at the mini-PCI movies. They'll show ya.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-50233
*******************************************************
Thanks dave...
whoaaa, unbelievable, a movie! why buy anything else? support is the best!!!
Ebayers are charging twice as much for this card than Lenova...
One more question, what software do you use with the mini?

makai · #8 Post by **makai** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:20 am

Ebayers are charging twice as much for this card than Lenova

I don't think you can get it cheaper than from this guy>>>
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZdragon ... dgeQQhtZ-1

I've purchased from him in the past and shipping/service was always excellent!

davidspalding · #9 Post by **davidspalding** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 9:22 am

noeffort wrote: ... One more question, what software do you use with the mini?

I use the IBM software ... their drivers, and IBM Access Connections ... which is a marked improvement over the Windows mechanism. IMHO, naturally.

BTW, there's this QUOTE feature here which makes it easier to see what is being replied to. Instead of the REPLY button, try QUOTE, and see what phpBB codes are used. You can easily edit the quoted text.

noeffort · #10 Post by **noeffort** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 9:56 am

... One more question, what software do you use with the mini?[/quote]

I use the IBM software ... their drivers, and IBM Access Connections ... which is a marked improvement over the Windows mechanism. IMHO, naturally.

************************************
Thanks David,
used the quote! Great pricing here:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl ... n_the_edge

as Makai posted.

What wireless card are you using in your T41?

makai · #11 Post by **makai** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:36 am

Actually, I have 2 T41's. One uses the stock Intel 2100 3B and the other uses an IBM a/b/g card.

Both work very well. By the way, the guy that I linked you to also sells Bluetooth cards... that's where I got mine.

noeffort · #12 Post by **noeffort** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:11 am

Actually, I have 2 T41's. One uses the stock Intel 2100 3B and the other uses an IBM a/b/g card.

Both work very well. By the way, the guy that I linked you to also sells Bluetooth cards... that's where I got mine.

******************************************
thanks makai,
I may buy this Atheros AR5004G B/G/Super G 108M WLAN Mini PCI Card IBM.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Atheros-AR5004G-B-G ... dZViewItem
I'll post how I make out....

AIX · #13 Post by **AIX** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:20 am

makai wrote:Actually, I have 2 T41's. One uses the stock Intel 2100 3B and the other uses an IBM a/b/g card.

makai, stock Intel 2100 = generic Intel 2100 card or IBM Intel 2100 card?

davidspalding · #14 Post by **davidspalding** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:17 pm

I have the stock IBM a/b/g in my 43, and use an older Cisco Aironet 350 PC Card in my 41.

makai · #15 Post by **makai** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:51 pm

AIX,

It's an Intel Pro 2100 card.

techydude · #16 Post by **techydude** » Fri May 05, 2006 9:08 pm

Hi Everone,

I have a problem with my T40 (2373PM1) Cisco Aironet WiFi miniPCI NIC.

It regularly (although not predictably) drops out, sometimes just sitting in it's usual spot (only about 10feet and through one gyprock internal wall), but almost ALWAYS if I take it to another location in the house.

Windows XP Pro will pop up a sys-tray bubble saying "Your wireless connection has limited or no connectivity (etc)". It will NEVER reconnect of its own accord. I have to "repair" it (which disables, re-enables, reconnects, DHCP, flush etc - takes 30+ seconds & is driving me nuts!).

At its usual location, signial strength varies from "Excellent" to "Poor" with no obvious explanation (no interference from other 2.4GHz devices I'm aware of). I have other WiFi-connected laptops & PDA in this house that _never_ have WiFi problems, even at the same time my T40 drops out. I've tried setting my Netgear DG834G router to other wifi channels, broadcast SSID on or off, no change.

I've got the latest driver & firmware downloaded from IBMs website when I first set up the T40 in Jan06, as well as reinstalled (replaced) the driver with same a month ago. No joy.
Package Version 3.8.26.01
Driver Version 3.8.26
Firmware Version 5.41
Utility Version 6.03.011
(27 Sept 2004)

I've opened it up and made sure the 2 aerial wires are connected OK and re-seated the miniPCI card.

I've seen other threads here talking about complications when replacing with non-IBM-supplied miniPCI NICs. I'd like to replace mine, not just to fix this problem but to get 802.11g speeds, but these threads all seem to relate to models other than T4x's. Can someone give/point me to the low-down on this?

I've seen an eBay merchant in the UK (oxford.net) selling various miniPCI cards, also warning of the above non-IBM-card issue (with links to sites dealing with it) but that if I have the latest BIOS & embedded ctrl'r firmware (which I do) I'll be OK, but of course, buyer-beware, so I'm here to get the straight dope

.

Many thanks for any help,
Anthony - techydude

#17 Post by **underclocker** » Fri May 05, 2006 10:52 pm

The obvious thing to check is cordless phone use, 2.4GHz phones will do this, and microwave use.

Both used to knock me right off the network, as you describe. It took me a while to figure out.

I wound up replacing my 2.4GHz phone with a 900MHz one. Eventually, I upgraded to an IBM B/G card and the drops from the microwave went away.

Try to check these items first.

If you live in an apartment, it could be others causing the issue for you - more frustrating.

techydude · #18 Post by **techydude** » Sat May 06, 2006 10:56 am

Yeah i did wonder about other 2.4ghz devices for a while, but I suspect none of the common interference sources explains why I can almost never roam the house (pick up laptop, walk to another room & sit down) without having to disable/enable wifi.

When you say you had the same problem due to 2.4ghz cordless phones, you had to disable/enable WiFi after each call? Or did it reconnect automatically after the phone call (as I understand it should)?

I have no Bluetooth devices here (yet), and probably no neighbour close enough to cause a problem as far as i understand (their closest wall/window would be more than 10m/33ft?).

The garage door opener/remote is 20+ years old, so undoubtedly not 2.4ghz-based.

The microwave oven is easy to eliminate too - I'm not hungry quite that often enough

But there are 3 different cordless phones in the house (sounds excessive, but me, housemate, & 1 came with the house screwed to the wall

, at least 1 and I suspect 2 are 2.4ghz (not looked at the spec of the 2nd to be sure).

But i only experience classic cordless-phone-caused WiFi drop-outs when i actually make calls on them (& even then, only sometimes) - but the T40 will usually re-establish WiFi automatically after the phone call, as expected.

Do 2.4ghz phones/base-stations 'talk' at any time other than ringing or during a call?

BTW, I forgot to mention in original post, I'm using Windows' 'Zero Config' to handle WiFi, not IBMs, which just wouldn't quite work - never got around to looking into it again (was getting strange 'paradoxical' error messages when trying to first configure a connection, can't remember details now sorry).

I also reconfig'd Netgear router to b-only instead of b&g, no change. I also upgraded router to latest firmware.

I also get Windows sys-tray "You are now connected to [my SSID] network" msg bubbles more frequently but just as randomly as my 'terminal' drop-outs. I don't experience that on other laptops or PDA in this house either (except after boot/login, & after the above known interference sources of course).

I've run net-stumbler to watch the dynamic signal graph for a while a few times, and there are occasional (roughly 1 or 2 every minute, quite random) 1-off drop-outs (the graph updates every second), and sometimes those drop-outs will be longer (and cause obvious disruption to a Remote Desktop connection for example).

But when the problem happens, NetStumbler dutifully reports no signal until i disable/enable wifi manually. Same if I walk around the house with it running to 'force' a drop-out to happen.

Yes, it's a weird one...

I'd jump at replacing it with a 802.11b/g & just be done with it, but need to clarify this non-IBM-card thing first, would prefer not to pay 2-3x the $

davidspalding · #19 Post by **davidspalding** » Sat May 06, 2006 11:50 am

Use the Cisco ACU or Site Survey apps to scan your area ... you might find other routers using the same channel. Both utilities will open up a ton o' features that the Aironets offer.

Another thing to check ... what powersaving are you doing? PSP (my fav)? CAM (Constantly Aware Mode)? or Max power saving. I know that the Aironets, when in the latter mode, will stop transmitting when net traffic dies down. ... Wondering if you lose the connection coincidentally when you're not downloading mail or browsing the net for a few minutes.

Some devices like, I'd guess, 2.4 GHz phones, may indeed "talk" at a low power level from time to time. Cell phones do. Depends on the phone, I guess.

Oh, if you're using the Windows zero config ... what kind of Wifi security are you using? You might find Cisco's ACU (Aironet Client Utility) a good "location switching" app. I loved it with a T30 with Aironet 350 MiniPCI card from a job.

And one final thought ... I know the Cisco 350 was supported and offered with T30s ... but not sure about the T40s. I thought I'd read somewhere that they weren't supported. Ought to work, though. Maybe if you just dump Windows and get the Cisco utilities to manage connections.

techydude · #20 Post by **techydude** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:31 am

hi david,
power-saving settings - i hadn't thought of that.
(tho doesn't explain why i cant roam the house without having to repair

i have outlook running almost 24/7, polling every 5 min, so there's regular activity. & my bit torrent client runs for extended periods sometimes too, neither stop the terminal drop-outs.

i'm not familiar with these PSP or CAM acronyms before - what's PSP, and/or where are they selected? i have the 'battery maximiser wizard set up the way i want for powered and battery modes, but can't remember what NIC power-save settings i might have configured.

(i can't check at the moment 'cause i have another problem with Windows not giving me access to my start menu which needs at least a log-out to restor function, & i have stuff open i dont want to close yet - the start menu stops working (or at least nothing shows up in Programs or Settings sub-menus) after a random # of days running continuously, no idea why, not had time to look into that one yet. oh the joys of computing

)

re scanning with ACU or site-survey - does net stumbler do the same thing? it disables windoze-zero-config temporarily & shows details on everything it detects...

thanks for suggestions re using ACU. with this problem i probably should have tried it again sooner

. i'm using 128bit WEP & mac addr filtering. also been meaning to look into better encryption options that my router now supports after the firmware upgrade, tho need to check out what my housemate's laptop & my PDA are capable of too, otherwise it's moot.

davidspalding · #21 Post by **davidspalding** » Sun May 07, 2006 11:05 am

DEFinitely get the Cisco Aironet utilities. Who knows, you may find that your firmware can be updated too (painless with the ACU). The last version I know of is 6.6.00.

Here's a glimpse.

BTW, the 350 line doesn't support AES for WPA-PSK, since it's implemented with hardware. WEP is breakable, and MAC filtering is a tissue-thin deterrent to the dedicated hacker. You really ought to up at least to WPA TKIP, which 350s will support. Or ... there's a newer Aironet a/b/g (PC CARD at least) that ought improve your performance. BTW, speed isn't the only gain of 802.11g; range and signal quality is better, too.

#22 Post by **carbon_unit** » Sun May 07, 2006 10:38 pm

The Cisco 350 line does somewhat support WPA-PSK. I have a library with 6 PCI350's all running WPA-PSK (Windows).
I also recently tried a MPI350 in my T42 and it also ran WPA-PSK in WinXP, not in Linux.

davidspalding · #23 Post by **davidspalding** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:23 pm

Good point, I use TKIP both at home and work

As per Cisco published docs, the Cisco Aironet 350 cards don't support AES, as that is implemented in the hardware (for those Cisco cards, that is) and cannot be flashed with firmware. For that ... they have a new a/b/g card that tempts me sorely (about US$100 or so on Amazon).

opinions on thinkpad 11 a/b/g wireless mini-pci adaper

opinions on thinkpad 11 a/b/g wireless mini-pci adaper

wireless upgradable

gotta luv ibm/lenova!

Re: gotta luv ibm/lenova!

Re: gotta luv ibm/lenova!

Cisco Aironet "dropping out" & can I upgrade a

just my two cents

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