Thinkpads Forum

I was just wanting to upgrade my wi-fi in my T60 DAU 1953. Will this chip work? Is it really going to be worth it? Main reason I want to upgrade is because I want a broader range for picking up signals. Thanks guys,

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Danyael

MOD EDIT: Link shortened for better scrolling.

you won't get any speed increase because the T60 doesn't have a third wifi antenna for wireless N. it also depends on what wifi card you currently have, Atheros wifi tends to drain more power but provide better range whereas Intel wifi saves more power.

Well, Im not really looking for speed though. Im more looking for range. I don't know a whole lot about the internals of the wi-fi chipset for my particular model, but I did swap processors and I still am going to swap lcd panels so I can go higher than 1024 x 768.

But currently, I'm looking for better range with my wireless. Thanks!!

Danyael

Also, wouldn't you get the 1802 error because this is not from Lenovo?

That I don't know. Guess its a good thing there are forums like this on.

Danyael

ps- I have tried external PCiII (or whatever they're called) cards in my expansion slot, didn't work. I didn't get any better range than my built in wi-fi. Now, the weird thing is, I used that same laptop card (with the help of an adapter) in one of my desktop PC's and I was able to see networks with that that I couldn't see with that same card in my laptop. I'm scratching my head on that one.

Danyael

Danyael wrote:I was just wanting to upgrade my wi-fi in my T60 DAU 1953. Will this chip work?
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This card won't work with your T60, because it is non-lenovo product. T60 will give an 1802 error and ask your to remove the uncertified hardware during boot. Although someone is working on hacking the restriction, but so far there is no satisfying solution.

Estrogen Kid wrote:you won't get any speed increase because the T60 doesn't have a third wifi antenna for wireless N.

Some T60 latops do have a third wifi antenna for wireless N. For example, my T60 in signature.

What you need is Zender's hack:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... ck&start=0

Read that thread carefully before proceeding. Although if you're new at this, I wouldn't recommend doing the hack at all, since the BIOS is not to be messed around with.

Danyael, the Intel a/b/g/n Wifi is among the least powerful on the market, 25mW or 50mW in power depending on who you get the data from. (Intel gave me data as 25mW.)

By comparison there are USB WiFi adapters and PCMCIA WiFi cards with 600mW of power, more than 4x as much power which of course means 4x more power drain on your battery.

But every WiFi control applet I've ever seen gives the user the choice of setting performance versus battery life. Having a weak WiFi radio simply means you CAN'T get performance from it, even when you can afford to use the power.

The other advantage to an external approach is that many of them will let you use an omnidirectional gian antenna. I don't know th egain of the internal antennas but suspect it isn't great, using an external antenna could again easily double your effective range.

Bottom line? Go external.

Thank you "hellosailor". That was pretty much what I was looking for. I rarely have my laptop on when it cannot be plugged into the wall, so I'm now too concerned about battery drain. I guess now I'll start looking at external wi-fi adapters.

Does anyone have a good external wi-fi adapter that they swear by? Last one I picked out didn't work that great.

Again, I'm more concerned with RANGE vs: speed... although both would be nice, but RANGE is definitely what Im looking for.

Thanks!!!

Danyael

If you want range, then you want a directional antenna, not omnidirectional. When you get one, point it at your access point, as instructed by the manual. I don't have any experience with external WiFi solutions.

Directional antennas always allow for higher gain compared to an omni, but there are high gain omnis as well. The problem with a directional antenna is that you have to start hunting the direction of the source, and then if you move a bit...it's gone. With an omni, you can always velcro it to the laptop cover, and then more or less ignore it. But set up a directional (like a yagi) in the airport...and you may get more attention than you want, in these paranoid times.