2nd wireless in T23 - suggestions?

T2x/T3x series specific matters only
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mattbiernat
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2nd wireless in T23 - suggestions?

#1 Post by mattbiernat » Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:14 pm

i am in a need of an external wireless solution for my t23. what are my options? USB versus PCMI??? what are the benefits and downfalls of each. will there be any compatibility problems with my internal (original) T23 WiFi? any suggestions guys?

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#2 Post by tom lightbody » Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:41 pm

using my wireless x22 with a usb wireless dongle, and XP, I found
I had two different IP addresses, and that using "ping -i" I could
ping each one from the other. My experience has been that the
Hawking usb dongle that I have is superior to any of the PCMCIA
cards that I have: Avaya, Hawking, and a Microsoft 720.

part of the reason, no doubt, is that using a 5 meter extension, I
can haul the usb dongle up in the rigging, thus vastly improving
bandwidth.

sticking in one of the PCMCIA cards, although XP recognized all 3,
I could get only 2 working at once.

using Ookla's speed test, and averaging up/dnload speeds, I find:
*inbuilt Prism 2.5b 243kbps
*PCMCIA mn720g 286kbps
*usb Hawking 54g 318kbps
here in Catskill Marina. No 5 meter extensions were used.
the way up and the way down are the same (heraclitus)

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#3 Post by jronald » Sun Jun 29, 2008 6:52 pm

Different pcmia cards have hugely different sensitivity. I have about 4 different brands Linksys, CompUSA (realtek), noname brand and a 2wire. The 2 wire is by far the best. Did some digging and found it has the ORINOCO Proxim chipset. Cheapest card was $12.00 and I think I gave $29.00 for the Linksys. The 2wire came with a laptop I ordered. It always outperforms the others.

Ron
I see in my son's eyes, each day, the wonders I have squandered fortunes to possess and have sought my entire lifetime to attain. jrr 09/2011


T400's and T500's

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#4 Post by mattbiernat » Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:11 pm


tom lightbody
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#5 Post by tom lightbody » Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:46 pm

well, maybe: but note the reviews. Personally, for the same
dollars, I'd go for something like eBay item 220249925217
WPC54GX Linksys Wireless-G PCMCIA Card MIMO SRX NIB
$23.49 "b.i.n." The guy has 22 of them, probably you can get
one for less.
the way up and the way down are the same (heraclitus)

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#6 Post by mattbiernat » Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:48 pm

i don't use ebay and i couldn't find those recommendations on newegg. any ideas?

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#7 Post by Mike Blake » Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:55 pm

mattbiernat wrote:i don't use ebay and i couldn't find those recommendations on newegg. any ideas?
I got that same card he recommended on my local Craigslist.

I also see it's about $30 at circuitcity.com, and a whole range of used and new prices from $12.50 up at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006ZM4XU
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#8 Post by mattbiernat » Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:03 pm

thanx Milke! I got the card you suggested, I will be getting it in 1-3 days. i'll let you guys know how it works.

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#9 Post by mattbiernat » Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:55 pm

So I got the linksys card but I cannot connect. I get an error message "cannot associate with network adapter." anybody knows what that means? I tried it both on my T60 and T23 and it didn't work.

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#10 Post by Mike Blake » Thu Jul 03, 2008 12:33 am

"cannot associate with network adapter."

It actually says network adapter and not access point? That's a new one on me.

Does it show up OK in Device Manager? Are you using Access Connections or Windows to manage the connection?
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#11 Post by T23FUN » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:38 pm

I have a Linksys card and it works great. The only problems I had was setting up to my wireless router. I had to figure out about the security WEP and things. Otherwise it works great.
What it is... is what it is. T23 2647-HU8, 512 MB, 40 GB HDD, XP Home, Linksys B adapter.

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#12 Post by mattbiernat » Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:39 pm

Mike Blake wrote:"cannot associate with network adapter."

It actually says network adapter and not access point? That's a new one on me.

Does it show up OK in Device Manager? Are you using Access Connections or Windows to manage the connection?
im using the provided linksys software to manage my connection. i don't use access connection (as it is not supported by AT&T) and i can't seem to find "find wireless networks" option in the network connections. any clues?

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#13 Post by RealBlackStuff » Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:05 am

Let Windows manage your connections. Works in most cases.
What does Netstumbler say, find any networks?[/url]
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#14 Post by mattbiernat » Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:01 pm

I try to download it and I get this page: http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/ - error 404 page not found
EDIT okay i have downloaded it from somewhere else. i've installed netstumbler on my t23 but it doesn't say anything. all it does is finds all the networks in the area and that's it. i don't find any option in Win2K to find network (unlike WinXP). that's why I was forced to use linksys software to connect. any help would be greatly appreciated.

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#15 Post by Mike Blake » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:27 am

mattbiernat wrote: i don't find any option in Win2K to find network (unlike WinXP). that's why I was forced to use linksys software to connect. any help would be greatly appreciated.


Ah. W2K. Do you have SP4 installed? That's supposed to include a Wireless Zero Configuration Service, WZCSVC.DLL
--Mike Blake

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#16 Post by mattbiernat » Sat Jul 12, 2008 2:57 am

okay i got too frustrated with W2K; i've reinstalled WXP. Windows Zero Configuration service is up and running but windows still cannot see any wireless network. netstumbler does find a bunch of networks using that card but I cannot connect to the net using netstumbler. the linksys software again says that it cannot connect to the access point on the network.
1. how do i get windows xp to find networks using my linksys card?
2. any other advice on how to connect to the net without messing with the router?

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#17 Post by joester » Sat Jul 12, 2008 7:27 am

On the lower right of the screen should be a series of icons near the clock. One of them is a computer with 3 signal type lines coming from it. This icon only appears when the card is inserted.
Right click that one, and select "View Available Wireless Networks".

One of the networks should be yours, unless the problem lies with the router. The fact that ytou've found other networks by using the card and Netstumbler indicates the card works.

Netstumbler won't make a connection to the networks found, just identify them and provide specific information about them. If your router is identified by Nestumbler, look to see if the signal has a lock on it. If so, security settings for the router are preventing the connection from being made.

Joe
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#18 Post by mattbiernat » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:56 pm

i did click on "View Available Wireless Networks" but it finds none.

SOLVED (partially) i have resolved this issue by using windows driver instead of the linksys driver. i find it amazing that linksys would provide me with a driver that is not compatible with Windows XP. I still can't connect to my network but at least windows can see all the available networks in the area. time to give AT&T a call...

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