jasnyder

I got my Axim 300 last friday - arrived 7 days after ordering. I also ordered a Netgear MA701 wireless card.

I got the card configured just fine but I am very disappointed with its range. Basically as soon as I leave the room that my WAP (linksys) is in I start to lose the signal. I have two other wireless PC's in my house and they work fine.

If I put the Axim right next to my laptop it can't pick up the signal that the laptop does even though the AP browser shows 78% signal strength, actually higher than the laptop.

This is basically unusable unless I'm very near the room where my WAP is, any suggestions?

Thanks.

cageyjames

There could be so many reasons why you are having trouble. I have the same card and can go to me neighbors house and browse the internet. It could be the combination of AP and your Netgrear, could be a bad card, or could be interference that the antenna on your laptop is able to overcome.

shaneincottondale

I agree with cageyjames. I have the same card with no problems like you mention. Our access point is in a closet but I can still go halfway down the block and get a signal, and that's through a few brick and block walls. But as a caveat, dont expect your CF wifi to get the same signal strength as USB or PCI wireless because the CF is not nearly as powerful. If it was, your battery would go dead in 5 minutes or less.



shane
:crooked:

__________________
Time is our greatest teacher, however it kills all its students!

bigcake

I also agree with the previous two posts. The access point in my office building is located on the first floor and I can get rather strong signal (about 60 - 75%) on the third floor. (But get no signal at all on the forth floor though.)

Try searching the same topic (wireless cf card) in this forum. I remember I saw someone experienced a similar problem and a solution was offered by one member. Can't seem to find it right now.

TSB8C

Ditto here. I use the same card and have excellent range, both at the office and at home. I had a Linksys card before and the range was not as good as my Netgear card is.

Txsized

I too have the MA701 and I also have a a linksys wireless router. The farther I get from the router, the less signal I get. Also, I may loose my connection at any given time and then it comes back at any given time. The other day while taking my card out of the ax, I inadvertantly put some pressure from the back of the card. I noticed that the signal immediatly came back to 100% on both bars. I left the card in and released it and waited for it to loose its signal and sure enough, it did. I applied some gental pressure again and the signal came back. It seems that as long as I am holding pressure on the card, it will stay at 100%. I can put pressure on it from front or back, it does not make any difference. Is this a problem with the ax, the card, or both? Has anyone had the same trouble? What should I do? I have had both for less than 2 months. I am very please with both, except for the loss of the signal.

Thanks in advance.

Highsider

Quote:

Originally posted by jasnyder I got my Axim 300 last friday - arrived 7 days after ordering. I also ordered a Netgear MA701 wireless card. I got the card configured just fine but I am very disappointed with its range. Basically as soon as I leave the room that my WAP (linksys) is in I start to lose the signal. I have two other wireless PC's in my house and they work fine. If I put the Axim right next to my laptop it can't pick up the signal that the laptop does even though the AP browser shows 78% signal strength, actually higher than the laptop. This is basically unusable unless I'm very near the room where my WAP is, any suggestions? Thanks.

All the replies are pointing the finger at your Netgear CF card, but could it be to do with your Linksys WAP???

Dunno - but might be worth considering that too.

--
...Highsider...

Roundboy

i use the same combo you are..

flip the linksys router over.. look after the model number ... if it is a later revision it will say 'v2' etc

i have v3 ... i hear there is up to v3.2

later revisions use diff firmware, and diff hardware inside. Yes.. it gets better w/ age.

The netgear CF has no problems with me conencting to the various hotspots i have found... you may also want to try the intersil / prism drivers found in the wireless forum. I like them MUCH better.

As for the post stating 'the further i get, the less signal i get'

Thats just dumb.. thats EXACTLY how things work. The further away you are, the less signal you get. Ditto through walls (composition matters as well)

its usually 165 CLEAR feet for 11 mbit, and stepping down to 2mb for a CLEAR 1000'

if you are having trouble right NEXT to the router.. then something is fishy with hardware. if you are losing a signal just in the next room, etc... then it could be interferance .. try getting a range extender and place it in the spot you want wireless acess too.

make sure your AP is HIGH and central to where you roam. The exception to this is if you want wireles access in the backyard, etc. then put the AP as close to the back yard as possible.

dshirsh

I've got the MA701 and the ME102 as the AP. It's on my desk in the basement. I get 100% signal on the first floor and about 50% on the third floor. Quite usable. I'm thinking the dual-antenna setup on the 102 definitely helps. As for power consumption I'm sure the MA701 is not the lowest but considering I paid $29 (after rebate) for it I can't complain. I still am unsure as to how the 'low power' units achieve their efficiency. They have to be trading off some performance somehwere (transmit mw power ?).

Highsider

Quote:

Originally posted by dshirsh ...I get 100% signal on the first floor and about 50% on the third floor.

How do you tell how strong the signal strength is on your PPC? I have a Dell TM and there seems to be nothing to indicate signal strength. I have a set of 5 bars at the bottom of my screen but they always seem to stay at 5.

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...Highsider...

Roundboy

signal strength is in the drivers installed. I had a signal strength and SSID browser with my default netgear drivers.

i also have it with the intersil drivers and also with the winec drivers


Remember - the dell cf card has the smallest range out of all the cards.


Low power mode is defined as a 'sleep' mode.. where it is not actively transmitting but listening.

i don't know how often a cf card will 'sleep' when browsing the web, etc... so... i dunno if these are really useful features.

war walking maybe...

BBERIC

Quote:

Originally posted by dshirsh ..............I paid $29 (after rebate) for it I can't complain.

Can you tell me where you got yours CF card.....if you don't mind ?
Thanks.

Highsider

Quote:

Originally posted by Roundboy Remember - the dell cf card has the smallest range out of all the cards.

Those bars must be the signal strength then.
Personally my experience so far of my Dell card has been pretty good. Great reception inside my apartment and even outside, downstairs in the garden!

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...Highsider...

dshirsh

CompUSA had 'em last week. I got mine in March during an earlier rebate campaign.

jasnyder

Here's an update to my MA701 poor performance problem. I bought a DLink Wireless CF card and it works great! Problem solved!