802.11g USB adaptor

[samn01]

Where can i get one in this coutry??

I want one for my laptop. I have a Dreytek vigor2600G wireless router and in my office (upstairs) and I want to take the laptop downstairs and in the garden (on nice days)
Will a 802.11g USB adaptor give me a connection??

Thanks
Sam

[JonRB]

Does your laptop not have PCMCIA? Why have USB dongles hanging out of the back of your laptop like a prolapsed rectum when you can slot a PCMCIA card in semi-internally?

>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 27th April 16:33

[greenv8s]

broadbandbuyer advertise several makes from about £40.

[arcturus]

What, like this one:

http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=NGENA03SKX

If you have no joy with Insight, mail me offline I can get them for you - am in the trade.

However I would agree with the comment above and go with the PCMCIA Netgear WG511 instead.

[samn01]

I know this will make me sound stupid but I dont know what PCMCIA is???

Sam

[JonRB]

samn01 said:

I know this will make me sound stupid but I dont know what PCMCIA is???

Not to worry.

If you look on the side of your laptop (it is almost always the side) you should see one or possibly two appertures the width of a credit card end-on and about 5 times as thick, usually covered with a little flap and with a button to one side to eject the device when fitted.
This is a PCMCIA slot.

The industry tried to change the name to "PC Card" as PCMCIA was too clumsy, but the name didn't stick.

Anyway, I'd be astounded if your laptop didn't have at least one of these slots.

>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 27th April 17:16

[greenv8s]

Suppliers seem to be using "CardBus" as the new name for PCMCIA these days.

[JonRB]

greenv8s said:

Suppliers seem to be using "CardBus" as the new name for PCMCIA these days.

According to a quick Google search, it looks like CardBus is a 32-bit implementation of PCMCIA. So a CardBus port will take any PCMCIA card (16-bit or 32-bit) but a PCMCIA port will not necessarily take a CardBus card, although if the laptop is reasonably modern I wouldn't anticipate a problem as I would presume it would actually be a CardBus port.

See here for CardBus and here for PCMCIA

I dunno, I turn my back on the standards for a year or two and they go and change all the acronyms.

>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 27th April 19:31

[nighthawk]

I have a netgear WG511 card

works very very well, I recommend it to anyone

[samn01]

There is a slot the width of a credit card but is a thick as half a pack of playing cards.

Could that be the one?

Sam

[nighthawk]

might be easier to tell us what lappy you have

my pcmica slots are about 6 or 7 mm thick

[JonRB]

samn01 said:

There is a slot the width of a credit card but is a thick as half a pack of playing cards. Could that be the one?

Yep. That's it. At that thickness you should expect to see two eject buttons as it is a double slot. That means you can have 2 type I or II cards (thin & medium respectively) or 1 type III (big bastard, usually mini hard discs). Or possibly 1 x Type I and 1 x Type II, or 1 x Type III.

Anyway, that is immaterial. The point is that you should be able to slip a nice wireless card in there and be sorted. Once it's in you can forget about it. Compare that with a USB device which you'd be forever plugging and unplugging and the advantages are obvious.

A quick search of Novatech.co.uk shows the WG511G at £29.74 ex VAT:


www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NGR-WG511G

Or the WG511T for £42 ex VAT. Don't ask me what the difference is!


www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NGR-WG511T

Edit: NetGear are obviously not the only manufacturer on the market, although I personally like their kit and it is always very good.

A fuller range can be seen here

>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 27th April 22:55

[samn01]

Thats great thanks !!!

[squirrelz]

the 511G is 54mbps, and the 511T is 108mbps using proprietary extensions to the 802.11g protocol. i.e. only works with other netgear kit that has the same extensions.

[JonRB]

squirrelz said:

the 511G is 54mbps, and the 511T is 108mbps using proprietary extensions to the 802.11g protocol. i.e. only works with other netgear kit that has the same extensions.

Makes sense. Thanks for that squirrelz.

[chrisgr31]

I have D Link card, its fantastic, works well either at the end of the garden.

Much better than the Belkin USB receiver thats in my wifes desktop!