Wireless bgn minipci card or wireless N pc card for a t43p?

[sizzleman]

I am looking to upgrade my wi-fi in my t43p. I have seen wireless cards available (atheros) that will fit in the minipci slot with the wireless N standard. I realize there is a "white" list of the supported cards, but this is an old list and the wireless N is relatively new. While it would be nice to just slap in a minipci card in and call it good, I would be open to a pc card as well. It would be worth noting that I couldn't find any postings about this in the t4x section of the forum.

So I was curious if anyone has upgraded their wi-fi to the N standard. And if so, did you run into the dreaded 1802 error? It would be fruitful if minipci card and pc card owners alike could post their findings so I could compare the differences.

Thanks for any input.

Edit: The "White List" is inside the bios, so it is predetermined of which cards will work or not. My bad.

[RealBlackStuff]

You can put in an N-card, after you first apply the no-1802 patch.
Applying the patch is a no-brainer.

See also this: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=75612

NOTE: This does NOT apply to (as of 2008-12-26):
R32, R52, R60, R61, T43, T400, T500, T60, T61, V200, X200, X200T, X300, X301, X41, X60, X60T, X61, X61T, Z60, Z61.
For the above models, see the thread by Zender, as mentioned below in sizzleman's post..

[sjthinkpader]

The common 1802 patch utility doesn't work on T43/T43p?

[sizzleman]

Actually, the T43 series has a different bios structure, to my understanding. Therefore the no-1802 fix will not work. The only solution after many hours of searching is to fix the bios. Here is a very informative thread that Zender started:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... hilit=1802

I have to make a correction about not finding any information about wifi N not being listed for t43 series. Seems I did not use the right search parameters. So, sorry about the extra thread.

I was hoping to find people who have done this with success (or failure for that matter) so this could be a point of reference to the T43 crowd. Since the T43's were the start of the next generation, but were too early in the wi-fi age to have wi-fi N natively equiped.

The areas of concern for upgrading to wi-fi N are:

1. Which minipci card would be the best candidate? There are several out there, but I don't know which one is better.

2. Would the current wi-fi cables in the t43 support wi-fi N? If not, then what should they be replaced with? I am not too sure if the 2 factory installed cables will perform well, but I do know there needs to be a third for the card to operate properly. The third can be run under the keyboard (the side you don't leave your hand on) with acceptable results. <--- Thanks Bill!

3. Getting past the dreaded 1802 error. Seems simple enough if you contact Zender through the above thread. He is a busy guy, so be patient.

Thanks for any feedback anyone can leave.

[sjthinkpader]

....
1. Which minipci card would be the best candidate? There are several out there, but I don't know which one is better.

Not in T43, but I have the 2R/2T Atheros in my T42. A few Ralink 3R/2T version in A31p.

2. Would the current wi-fi cables in the t43 support wi-fi N? If not, then what should they be replaced with? I am not too sure if the 2 factory installed cables will perform well, but I do know there needs to be a third for the card to operate properly. The third can be run under the keyboard (the side you don't leave your hand on) with acceptable results. <--- Thanks Bill!

Yes, all 2.4Ghz single band cards should would fine with antennae in our Thinkpads. I did add the 3rd antenna in 3R/2T setups (A31p, T60).