Will I get better 802.11g with a dock & PCI Vs PCMCIA ?

[g8ina]

I have a T22 and at present a PCMCIA 802.11g wireless card.

I have been trying to get hold of a 2631 docking station for home use. Will a PCI 802.11g card give me any advantages over the PCMCIA card Im already using ?

The router is to my right when Im in the other room, and so the PCMCIA card is on the LH side of the laptop. If I had the docking station, the PCI card would have it's antenna at the back of the system, and, from my radio days, this should give a better signal as the bulk of the laptop body will not be between the router and the antenna.

Any ideas or direct experience ?

TIA,

[MobileGuru]

It almost sounds like defeating the purpose in my book, since the whole point of running wireless is to be just that .. wireless .. ! If you are that close to the router, why not just run a cable right to the dock and run wired?

Enjoy the wireless, use the PCMCIA, and have a cold beverage on the back patio this summer without all those nasty wires folowing you around.



Just my 2 cents.

[Cavorite]

most of the PCI wireless cards are just a cheapo chipset/antenna or they are just a PMCIA to PCI bridge for a PCMCIA wireless card. I don't really like wireless in stationary systems unless it's a system that's running as an Access Point / Router, I deal with wired if it's stationary for faster speeds and better security. That being said though, if you really just want a bettter wireless card, then you might just consider buying a PCMCIA Sanyo card, with 200mw of power and either the built in patch antenna or the one with external jacks and an external antenna of choice. Getting the external antenna makes for a bit more more stuff to deal with and more cables to hang off the laptop, however, I use one of those cards with a nice little external 8dBi patch antenna and I can pick up 20 access points in a place wheras my little cheapo PCMCIA card only can pick up a few at the same place. Anyways, Netgate.com has all the sanyo stuff and antennas, etc, so you might check them out, you will get better performance that way if that's what you crave. (also, they sell a PCI to PCMCIA bridge that works with the Sanyo card).

Sorry if that was longwinded, I've been up far too long and now i'm just killing time for a bit.

-C-

[g8ina]

Thanks for that Cav, my reasoning may need some explanation.

I'm disabled, and the rooms in my house are setup for me to use in my wheelchair. My "main" PC is in the office, which is where my D Link 802 router is. Sitting in my living room with the T22 (in my usual spot), the wireless signal is not so good. Rerouting a cable is not possible, so I'm just trying to improve my wireless routing.

Ive just won a 2631 in eBay, so Im going to borrow a PCI card to test the system out.

There *is* method in my madness

Thanks again,

[stgreek]

Thanks for that Cav, my reasoning may need some explanation.

I'm disabled, and the rooms in my house are setup for me to use in my wheelchair. My "main" PC is in the office, which is where my D Link 802 router is. Sitting in my living room with the T22 (in my usual spot), the wireless signal is not so good. Rerouting a cable is not possible, so I'm just trying to improve my wireless routing.

Ive just won a 2631 in eBay, so Im going to borrow a PCI card to test the system out.

There *is* method in my madness

Thanks again,

You can boost your router signal either by purchasing a better model or (easy, free but NOT OFFICIALLY SUPPORTED) use a hacked firmware in order to increase the transmit power of your antennae, thus giving you better signal on all your wireless cards.

[Leon]

or, if you're not into hacking, for most routers, you can buy an "enhanced" antenna and/or a signal booster for not much $$$

[RonS]

stgreek was probably referring to buying a Linksys WRT54G router and upgrading it to the free SVEASOFT firmware. That firmware allows you to boost the wireless power. It's easy to do and works well.

Beware that the newest WRT54G's are version 2.2, which are currently incompatible with the free SVEASOFT software (the new hardware is better, but not yet recognized by third-party firmware). This problem should (hopefully) go away soon.

[Christian]

Hi,

You can in fact get pretty good pccards. I have just bought a SMC Wireless PCcard on recommendation from my network supplier. It really is much better in connection than what i have ever tried on wireless pccards and its cheap too. When the lid is closed on my T40 the connection is better with the SMC than with the build-in card and about equal when its opened.

You can see the card here:
http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?event=view ... d=&pid=573

/Christian

[g8ina]

Thanks all, will check out all options noted.



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