Thinkpads Forum

Is there a way to install a third antenna on a ThinkPad T60 that doesn't have one? I want either an Intel 4965AGN chip or an Atheros N chip in there.

MOD EDIT: Picture warning added.

Yes. I just did this on a 15" T60 that originally had a Verizon WWAN card. The third N antenna goes in place of the WWAN antenna. I think that all screens have this knock-out, though. On the 15", the installed third antenna sits flush (no protrusion) and on the 14" it sticks out about 1/8". See if you have a 2.5" long knock-out on the right edge of your screen just above the bottom screw. If so then I would guess that then antenna will mount. Be sure to order the antenna designed for your screen size.

BTW: The Atheros a/b/g/n card draws about 2.5W of power which is 1 to 1.5W more power than the Intel a/b/g card so be prepared for a power penalty. It appears that the power management isn't working because the power use is the same regardless of where I set that option. The power use increase was present in a, g and n modes.

-darren

One more piece of information to consider with this upgrade. The only consumer base stations that I'm aware of that support the 5GHz wide-band N mode are the Apple Airport Extreme and a unit from Buffalo. I wanted the latter because it has gigabit ports and will run G and N simultaneously but I didn't have $250 and the patience to wait for it to come off back order. I purchased the Apple unit from an Apple store who price-matched Best Buy's price of $160 (it was out of stock at Best Buy).

The software that comes with the Aiport Extreme runs under Windows and configuration was easy.

In real world transfer tests, I was downloading at 22Mbps under G, 26Mbps under A and now 59Mbps under N. My guess is that this limit is the result of the 100Mbps ethernet connection. One reviewer reported getting 109Mbps out of the Apple in what must have been a wireless-to-wireless test.

-darren

Yup, I've got that knock-out slot you talked about. So you're saying that in order to get 802.11n on this thing, I have to have something protruding from the side? Oh well, where do I go to order this antenna?

The antenna sticks out, but not far at all -- nothing like the WWAN antenna. The P/N for the 14" antenna (taken from another post here) is 42R9909.

-darren

So even though this thing didn't come with one, I can get that 3rd antenna, an AR5008, and be good to go? The hardware RF kill switch will still work, right?

Now, what is that part number on the Integrated Wi-Fi Wireless a/b/g/n Card?

Here is the info I've found for the 15" Antenna.

Part number 42R9910.
On the image below, it is labeled "2"


This part supports the following models:

XGA
* 1951-CTO
* 1952-CTO
* 1953-CTO, HBx
* 1954-CTO
* 1955-CTO
* 1956-CTO
* 2007-CTO
* 2008-CTO
* 2613-CTO
* 2623-CTO, 7Ux
* 2637-CTO

SXGA+
* 1951-CTO
* 1952-CTO
* 1953-CTO
* 2007-CTO, 7Kx, 7Px, 7Qx, FLx, J3x
* 2008-CTO, 7Kx, J3x
* 2613-CTO, KCx
* 2623-CTO

UXGA
* 1951-CTO
* 1952-CTO
* 1953-CTO
* 1954-CTO
* 1955-CTO
* 1956-CTO
* 2007-CTO
* 2008-CTO
* 2009-CTO
* 2613-CTO
* 2623-CTO
* 2637-CTO

This is a direct copy and paste from http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62806. Search words are "Wireless LAN 3rd antenna".
for full 15" service parts list.

darrenf wrote:Yes. I just did this on a 15" T60 that originally had a Verizon WWAN card. The third N antenna goes in place of the WWAN antenna. I think that all screens have this knock-out, though. On the 15", the installed third antenna sits flush (no protrusion) and on the 14" it sticks out about 1/8". See if you have a 2.5" long knock-out on the right edge of your screen just above the bottom screw. If so then I would guess that then antenna will mount. Be sure to order the antenna designed for your screen size.

BTW: The Atheros a/b/g/n card draws about 2.5W of power which is 1 to 1.5W more power than the Intel a/b/g card so be prepared for a power penalty. It appears that the power management isn't working because the power use is the same regardless of where I set that option. The power use increase was present in a, g and n modes.

-darren

A bit off topic, but as far as the missing power management options... is this because of Vista, or are these truly faulty drivers?

I called (800) 426-7378, a no-[censored] IBM number in Atlanta, and was told by the tech support there that I can in fact install a 3rd antenna in my 1953-D6U. The kind gentleman on the phone then referred me to (800) 388-7080 where I spoke with more genuine IBM people at the parts warehouse. From them, I ordered these two parts:

42R9909: 14.1" MIMO antenna
42T0825: AR5008-based WLAN controller

This American tech support is awesome!

Howdy y'all,
So I heard from another thread that T60 with 7200 CPU may already have the third antennae installed. I don't know yet if this is the same for all T60 with 7200 but I'm not willing to break down my panel just yet.

I have a T60p with 7200 CPU and the standard A/B/G card.

If you know of this, please chime in here.

darrenf wrote:One more piece of information to consider with this upgrade. The only consumer base stations that I'm aware of that support the 5GHz wide-band N mode are the Apple Airport Extreme and a unit from Buffalo. I wanted the latter because it has gigabit ports and will run G and N simultaneously but I didn't have $250 and the patience to wait for it to come off back order. I purchased the Apple unit from an Apple store who price-matched Best Buy's price of $160 (it was out of stock at Best Buy).

The software that comes with the Aiport Extreme runs under Windows and configuration was easy.

In real world transfer tests, I was downloading at 22Mbps under G, 26Mbps under A and now 59Mbps under N. My guess is that this limit is the result of the 100Mbps ethernet connection. One reviewer reported getting 109Mbps out of the Apple in what must have been a wireless-to-wireless test.

-darren

I'm positive that all wireless router manufacturers have draft N routers that are available. Some even have them with gigabit ports.

I purchased my T60p 2613CTO 7600 with IBM wireless A/B/G card in February and it definitely did not have the third antenna installed. I have since had it installed.

I have a T60p with the WWAN card installed.
If I want the best Atheros card and opt not to install this antenna,
is that a problem?
Will I be better off just going with the wireless card without the N capability?

Thanks

It works fine for G-mode to use either both Tx ports or Tx and Rx ports.

What is the main benefit of Wireless N? My broadband internet service at home is limited to 6 Mbps download speed / 1 Mbps upload speed, so I suspect that is the bottleneck in my Wireless G network. How are you guys achieving 20+ Mbps (even 50+ Mbps)?

Roadster wrote:What is the main benefit of Wireless N?

It's great for doing backups to another machine or transferring large files. Or even for lots of small files.

Also, if you have a large space to cover and need repeaters, each repeater uses half your bandwidth, so with two repeaters you're at 1/4 capacity. 1/4 of 248Mb/s is a lot faster than 1/4 of 54Mb/s.

whizkid wrote:It's great for doing backups to another machine or transferring large files. Or even for lots of small files.

Also, if you have a large space to cover and need repeaters, each repeater uses half your bandwidth, so with two repeaters you're at 1/4 capacity. 1/4 of 248Mb/s is a lot faster than 1/4 of 54Mb/s.

Thanks. That was very helpful. I have a pretty large house, so I already have one repeater, and I'm thinking about adding another one in the basement.

Roadster wrote:What is the main benefit of Wireless N?

Bandwdith! There are many uses for it in a household situation beyond just connecting to the Internet.

Devices such as the Microosoft Home Server and the growing number of lower cost NAS solutions are just a few examples pf where a wide bandwidth wireless connectivity can be very useful domestically!

Cheers,

Bill B.

wswartzendruber wrote:Is there a way to install a third antenna on a ThinkPad T60 that doesn't have one? I want either an Intel 4965AGN chip or an Atheros N chip in there.

MOD EDIT: Picture warning added.

Hey I know you!

http://forums.gentoo.org/profile.php?mo ... le&u=49103

Don't get too much sand in it when you open it up.