Thinkpads Forum

Hello All,

My husband recently picked up a 600x 2645-7EU for me. It didnt come with ac adaptor and the battery I assume is completely dead. I took it over to a friend with a universal ac adaptor and we were able to boot it up and play around with it. Its a cute little laptop. I can see how most of you guys become addicted. I was wondering if anyone know where I can buy an ac adaptor(besides Ebay) The other thing is I would to do the wireless internet thing with this little cutie. What sort of stuff do I need to make it happen? like a wireless network card ect???? any info greatly appreciated

Kind Regards

i have some appropriate IBM AC adapters for that 600X..

i would suggest that you post a WTB advert in the marketplace section, for a decent a,b,g PCMCIA card, or if you want a cheaper wifi card, find a used "b" card..

fast enough for all that you will be doing with the 600X..

welcome to the thinkpad world..

Welcome!

You could try a search online for an IBM AC adapter (either the standard 56 watt or 72 watt will work). There are various FRU (part numbers) but stay away from the ones marked "02K6549". Refer to the IBM site about this:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... PAD-RECALL

For a list of the various IBM adapters:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4PJRRG

Scroll down for the 72 and 56 watt adapters. Most of them have 3-pin AC cords, requiring the matching grounded outlet. There are some 2-pin adapters available, if that is a concern. I would expect that most on-line and brick-and-mortar stores will be more expensive than trolling at eBay.

As to the wireless, I would say your best bet would be anything that matches your existing wireless access point capabilities and that plugs into the PCMCIA card cage on the right side of the laptop. Netgear, D-Link, Linksys, and others make various flavors of wireless cards that will work but be sure that you get one that works with whatever operating system your 600X has and your current access point. Don't got an access point yet? Well, that opens up a whole can of worms as to which type to get... If you have a cordless phone, check to see what frequency band it operates in (2.4 or 5Ghz) and then select a wireless system that uses the other band. 802.11b/g wireless systems uses 2.4Ghz, 802.11a uses 5Ghz. You can also get interference from microwave ovens which operate around the 2.4Ghz band. Prices are generally $15-$25 at eBay for PCMCIA wireless cards. If you buy brand new from a store, you shouldn't have to pay more than $35 to $40 for one.

If you are brave enough, you could also install a wireless card inside the bottom of the 600X, replacing the 56k modem. However, you will have to take the laptop apart in order to install an antenna somewhere inside the case.

THANX[/img]

rkawakami wrote:Welcome!

If you are brave enough, you could also install a wireless card inside the bottom of the 600X, replacing the 56k modem. However, you will have to take the laptop apart in order to install an antenna somewhere inside the case.

I'm brave enough to try that, I've disassembled my 600x more than once. I've got an 800 MHz CPU module sitting around waiting to go in it, I could do an antenna at the same time.

Buuuut... having never done that, do you know of any howto written by someone who's already tried it? Questions that spring to mind:

- Length?
- Where to get terminals to snap onto the mini-PCI card?
- Material? Is just some thin wire OK? What do they use for the factory ones in newer models like the T30?

You can find the manual Here


Suggestion for the antenna get one of these Because they have long cables and they can fit behind the LCD.

For the card the Intel PRO/2200 802.11b/g

Your best bet for the antenna is to buy the ones that are made for wireless off of eBay. They are generally pretty cheap. They will come with the connectors that you need.

Length is going to depend on how you are going to install it. Are you placing the ends in the casing around the LCD, or flat underneath the keyboard?

And if you find that the reception from an antenna located inside the LCD lid is not enough, you can try this. It's how I installed an external antenna jack in a 600X.

rkawakami wrote:And if you find that the reception from an antenna located inside the LCD lid is not enough, you can try this. It's how I installed an external antenna jack in a 600X.

rkawakami,

How much better is the external antenna maybe 10,20,30,50% better?

I was looking for the materials needed that you mention in your thread but i cannit find the socket for the antenna.

cmarti wrote:How much better is the external antenna maybe 10,20,30,50% better?

Well, good question. I just installed NetStumbler into my 500Mhz 600X with the internal antenna installed in the top of the display lid. The signal-to-noise ratio reads (on average) about -80dB. Running the same Mini PCI card in my 500Mhz 600X with the external 5" antenna, I'm getting -55dB. Numbers approaching 0dB is a stronger signal. So, a significant improvement. I believe a 3dB increase is double the power. Both laptops are within a foot of each other, about 30' away from my access point, but with three walls between them. I have not tried installing the internal antenna below the keyboard. That might (or might not) give better reception (less metal in the way). I can't directly compare these numbers to my D-Link PCMCIA 802.11b cards since NetStumbler seems to have a problem with them. I do know that with the D-Link cards, I sometimes have problems with seeing my access point at the far side of my house. Not a problem with the external antenna and Mini PCI card. YMMV.

cmarti wrote:I was looking for the materials needed that you mention in your thread but i cannit find the socket for the antenna.

I found this U.FL to RP-SMA bulkhead jack on eBay. In fact I just received two more yesterday as I am planning to upgrade some of my other 600Xs (see sig below).

(edit: Note to moderators - Maybe this portion of the thread can be combined with my earlier post?)
(edit2: Corrected CPU speeds... what was I thinking when I typed this? )

rkawakami wrote:

cmarti wrote:How much better is the external antenna maybe 10,20,30,50% better?

Well, good question. I just installed NetStumbler into my 650Mhz 600X with the internal antenna installed in the top of the display lid. The signal-to-noise ratio reads (on average) about -80dB. Running the same Mini PCI card in my 600Mhz 600X with the external 5" antenna, I'm getting -55dB. Numbers approaching 0dB is a stronger signal. So, a significant improvement. I believe a 3dB increase is double the power. Both laptops are within a foot of each other, about 30' away from my access point, but with three walls between them. I have not tried installing the internal antenna below the keyboard. That might (or might not) give better reception (less metal in the way). I can't directly compare these numbers to my D-Link PCMCIA 802.11b cards since NetStumbler seems to have a problem with them. I do know that with the D-Link cards, I sometimes have problems with seeing my access point at the far side of my house. Not a problem with the external antenna and Mini PCI card. YMMV.

cmarti wrote:I was looking for the materials needed that you mention in your thread but i cannit find the socket for the antenna.

I found this U.FL to RP-SMA bulkhead jack on eBay. In fact I just received two more yesterday as I am planning to upgrade some of my other 600Xs (see sig below).

(edit: Note to moderators - Maybe this portion of the thread can be combined with my earlier post?)

Wow excelent explanation.

So maybe having the antennas under the keyboard may provide better signal? Mmmm interesting!