Adding internal wireless to T23

[rkawakami]

This has been talked about before by both me and others but I finally got everything all lined up to work on a system today. Several T23 fan assemblies needed to be checked out. I had a Windows XP hard drive that had the Broadcom drivers already installed on it and a non-wireless T23 with a broken lid latch. Got several extra Broadcom cards laying about (thanks Ed!). Since I was going to have to partially tear apart a T23 to check the fans and repair the lid latch, I thought I might as well go ahead and strip it down a little further and try the internal antenna installation.

Here's the result:

http://www.rkawakami.net/ibm_t2x/t23_wireless/

Two internal antennas were installed in a "standard" T23 and compared with a factory wireless version. Using the same Broadcom 802.11b/g cards, drivers, and operating system, the upgraded system does not have the same range as the factory model.

Note: It took longer to create the web site than it did to do the upgrade! Although I hand code everything using Notepad so I guess that's not saying much...

[dorronto]

Ray,

Great pics and step by step instructions. I have a non-internal wifi T23 and I use a 3com xjack card with excellent results. My last 3 T23's with internal wifi were all problematic laptops. The wifi was fine but there were other shortcomings. As much as you make it look do-able, I'll stick to the xjack for wifi for now.

Excellent pics and instructions. I guess when you have 20 or so T23's, you can go for it.

Keep up "Class T23" 101 for all of us. It makes for enjoyable and intelligent reading....................

Ron

[RealBlackStuff]

Here are some more links for installing wifi in a T2x laptop:
http://www.xmission.com/~bmidgley/t20/
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~itxsx/website/diy.htm
This one is in German, but nicely illustrated: Dialup warning!
http://www.arcor.de/G5zoetOlj1D8BOxXzQD ... ID=3555677

I used a combination of the above to install wifi in my T23 (see below).
I have not measured the signal yet, will do so after I install Netstumbler.

[rkawakami]

Here are some more links for installing wifi in a T2x laptop:
http://www.xmission.com/~bmidgley/t20/

I actually played around with putting the second antenna in under the left-side hinge cover. That position is almost at the same height as the keyboard bezel, so it didn't seem to provide any better of a signal (I used Net Stumbler to measure signal strength). Reception improved slightly towards the back side of the laptop. I then moved the antenna into the lid and found that the signal strength was the same as the hinge cover, but it didn't seem to be that directional, so I left it there. If you don't want to go through the trouble of ripping the LCD panel out of the lid, then by all means, use the hinge cover placement.

[RealBlackStuff]

Sitting next to the AP, my signal strength in the T23 is 61db
In the next room, it's down to 65, 2 rooms further (15yards) it's 71db,
going downstairs to the other side of the house, it's around 78-80db.
This is with both antennas (70cm long) under the palmbezel, and the wires rolled up under the keyboard.

As soon as my T30 is up and running again (awaiting new mobo), I'll move the T23 Atheros to the T30, and stick the T30 Xircom card in the T23.
Be interesting to see how the Atheros performs in the T30 with proper antennas.

[goofyGAguy]

Great write-up Ray! Keep up the good work.

[vanaya]

Great work.