Thinkpads Forum

Rather than tag onto one of the other wireless threads...

I have a TP60 with the factory-installed a/b/g/n PCI-E card. My router is a Linksys WRT54G V2.0 wireless-G device.

This router provides good-excellent signal strength to wireless-G cards throughout my house. In particular, my old A30 with a Netgear G PCCard sitting right next to my T60 is getting an excellent signal (5 bars) as usual from the XP connection status display.

My T60 is, also as usual, getting erratic SS from 2 to 4 bars (low-very good) varying over a several second cycle. This behavior is the same 24x7 and across all channels, so doesn't seem like interference. (And I can find some spots where I do get excellent signal by moving or re-orienting the T60.)

• - Anyone else have findings to report?
  - Are there any sources of more current Atheros drivers or client software known? The latest driver offered by Lenovo SU appears to actually be about six months old.

Thanks,
RA

Open her up and check to see that the antennae leads are correctly and firmly attached to the card.

James

James,
Yeah, that was my thought, too. I am delaying until I get an additional SODIMM so I can kill two birds, etc. Or is the difficulty reseating the keyboard / palmrest overstated?
RA

if you do open her up -

A lot of people are interested to see if the N configured t60 do infact have 3 Antennas.

The diagrams show standard Lan wireless to have two(L/R side of LCD).

Rumor - "unconfirmed" says a 3rd Ant is along the bottom of the LCD bezel.

Do we infact have 3 wires from the card?

I've been using N card with a LinkSys g router and a Netgear g router as a wireless access point.

I've had no probem from day one. I've changed the channel number a few times thinking that I got interference from the neighbors.

Hi guys,

I cracked open the T60 today to add memory (PNY 1 GB from BestBuy at a pretty good price) and look at the wireless card:

• - Reseated the card in its slot. It's held in place by two screws so I don't think it was off-base anyway.
  - Pried off and reseated the antenna wire connectors. These are pretty good little connectors--hadn't seen this type before. They were tight when I started and tight when I finished.
  - There were indeed three connectors exactly as shown in the HMM and the wires went in the directions shown. Whether there are antennas at the end I know not, but I assume there are.
  - I did a very minor reroute of the black antenna wire to match the HMM.

OK, result is: either a very marginal improvement, or, no improvement other than the placebo effect. I'm thinking number two.

Any other ideas for problem analysis before I ask Lenovo to send me a fresh card to try?

(I'll post the three antenna verification over in that thread if I can find it.)

RA

I am going to a status of SOLVED I guess. Software problem.

I installed AC 4.23 and set it up to manage the NIC. The meters on the AC panel show 80-100% signal strength and Excellent signal quality pretty consistently in spots where the Windows meter varies between Low and Very Good.

So it looks like there is a problem with Windows interfacing with this NIC.

RA