Wireless upgrade to N

[clmbngbkng]

I have a T42p with the Atheros A/B/G card and was wondering if anyone had upgraded any internal card from either B/G or A/B/G to some of the newer A/B/G/N card?

I've searched the forums as well as over the web and it haven't found much on upgrading to N. I understand my T42 would need the no-1802 change but what card would I use for it?

Any links would be great, thanks!

[sjthinkpader]

That is correct, T42p would not give a 1802 error or you can override it with the no-1802 utility.

I am using an Atheros 11n card with two antennae connection (no third antenna). It does work but not fully with AC.

[clmbngbkng]

Which card did you buy? Link?

What doesn't work in AC? Does the rest of it work fine in Windows?

[Microspeed]

I have a T41, a few months back I put a TP-Link mini express in it. Only needs 2 antenna and it works great at home with my Netgear N router. I use it everyday on the road and it connects without problems to G and B signals. Of course I had to do the No-1802 patch but it wasn't hard. Here is a link to the card.
http://www.tp-link.com/products/product_des.asp?id=138
Good Luck
Micro

[sjh953]

I hope we can keep this thread open long enough to hear from people who have made the jump to N. I have a T42p with the Atheros G card, and it works flawlessly with Access Connections. I've tried twice upgrading to N cards that are either USB dongles, or PC Cards, because I want the speed. Both times I've gone back to the built-in card and AC because I could never get the add-on cards to work properly using the Windows connection routine (can't remember name).

In Microspeed's post, there's a link to a card which he/she says uses two antennas. In the photo for that card, it shows three connections. Could this be the card intended:

http://www.tp-link.com/products/product_des.asp?id=145

This card uses only two antenna connectors. If this is the correct card to use in a system (T42p) with only two built-in antennas, would it be best to then use that card with an N router using two antennas? (Some N routers have two antennas, some have three.)

Thanks - and please add your comments if you know how to make N work on these older machines, especially with AC.

[bill bolton]

please add your comments if you know how to make N work on these older machines, especially with AC.

You are wasting your time with anything less than a dual band device with a 2x3 antenna for a T4x if you want reliable 802.11n operation in a variety of WiFi enviroments/locations.

That means a Linksys WPC600N cardbus device, or a Linksys WUSB600N USB device (or similar).

You will also be out of luck with Access Connections for any device which does not have a IBM/Lenovo OEM ID in its firmware.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Microspeed]

[quote][In Microspeed's post, there's a link to a card which he/she says uses two antennas. In the photo for that card, it shows three connections. Could this be the card intended/quote]

Yes, you are correct. It is in fact a TL-WN861N. Sorry I posted the wrong link.

[Microspeed]

You are wasting your time with anything less than a dual band device with a 2x3 antenna for a T4x if you want reliable 802.11n operation in a variety of WiFi enviroments/locations.

I am sure you have a point about it not being a dual band device. I was not really concerned with that. My T41 just had a FRU-91P7267 wireless card. I don't know what it's spec were supposed to be, but I can tell you this. The speed, or rate it transferred data was unacceptable for my purposes. The range was also poor. I tried a USB dongle that matched my Netgear N router (WRN854T) and it wouldn't work when plugged into the on-board USB port. This was because of the common USB 1.1 problem that some T4X have. I next tried a USB PCIMA card. It didn't have enough power for the Netgear N adaptor. It wouldn't stay connected at all unless I plugged the AC adaptor into the USB card. That meant I always had to be "Plugged IN". This was just not working for me. I took for ever to set up and was cumbersome. I decided my best solution was to replace the internal card. This made things more portable. The setup works for me. I get good speed when not connected to an N router and great speed when it is. The range the new card had was noticeably better. The connection software that it comes with works as good as any other I have used. I am sure you are correct that the specs of a linksys would be better, but this one works in the laptop. I get a performance boost from what I had. I can connect with any wireless router. On a typical day I connect with several different brands and vintages. Depending on the router that means everything from 11 to 300. To me all this means it is reliable in a variety WiFi locations and environments.
With all that said I am not an expert. Mr. Bolton is far more experienced than I.
To be clear I am just saying it works for me. I need to connect to the Internet, look at WEB pages, download and upload information.
Cheers
Micro

[bill bolton]

The setup works for me.

Lucky for you, but its high likely to not be a generally repeatable result.

The solution you have is operating a 40Mhz "wide" channel in the 2.4GHz WiFi band, which is very sensitive to interference with other 802.11b/g traffic in the vicinity.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[TTav134]

I have a T42p with the Atheros A/B/G card and was wondering if anyone had upgraded any internal card from either B/G or A/B/G to some of the newer A/B/G/N card?

I've searched the forums as well as over the web and it haven't found much on upgrading to N. I understand my T42 would need the no-1802 change but what card would I use for it?

Any links would be great, thanks!

hello,

I have a T42 type 2373 with an Atheros AR5800 wifi card with 3 antennas working like a charm (300mbits/s).
To avoid 1802 errors I have modify the BIOS, I also include a SLIC 2.1 mod to activate new Windows 7

File Name: T42-SLIC2.1_7U_no_1802.rar
http://www.sendspace.com/file/j2ekci

have fun

[sjthinkpader]

Microspeed:"The setup works for me."
Lucky for you, but its high likely to not be a generally repeatable result.

The solution you have is operating a 40Mhz "wide" channel in the 2.4GHz WiFi band, which is very sensitive to interference with other 802.11b/g traffic in the vicinity.

Cheers,

Bill B.

40mhz wide channel @ 2.4Ghz band works for me too.

[clmbngbkng]

I was planning on getting a dual band card but sounds like I might need to go USB.

I understand most N mini pci cards have 3 antenna connections where my current ABG card has 2, if I did buy a ABGN card it can still work without that 3rd antenna, just at a cost, right?

Or if some of you added another antenna, where?

[andy2000]

I'm using a N card with only two antennas, and it works fine. I'm sure it would be better with three antennas, but even with two, it's still a noticeable improvement over G. I can get more than 100 Mbits all over the house, and the range is better than G.

[sjthinkpader]

It is not advisable to leave an antenna port unterminated. Most cards with three ports are 2T/3R (two transmit and 3 receive). It is more critical to have a transmit port terminated with an antenna. But it will be a guess which port is receive only.

There are 11n miniPCI cards that only use two antennae ports.