Wireless router & CF Card

[missc]

Would anybody like to recommend what kind of wireless router and CF card to purchase ?I know there are preferences but I don't understand the differences in the wireless routers. There are so many different models to chose from. Here is what I hope to accomplish

Hook main PC running Windows XP Pro and Broadband Internet to another (older) computer running Windows 98 and my axim - wirelessly.

What do I need? Router, cards for both PC's and a CF card for my axim? I plan to go to Best Buy or someplace similar and talk to somebody there but I would like to have a little bit of understanding so I don't look like a total dweeb

I've read all the posts on this subject AND I'm still uncertain!

Thanks for any help..........

[flyingdad]

Originally posted by missc@Feb 8 2003, 12:17 PM
Would anybody like to recommend what kind of wireless router and CF card to purchase ?

Here in France Dell Axim has just been released and the Dell wi-fi CF card is not yet available. Is that Dell card better than the others ? Who has some experience with the D-Link CF card (I am fully D-Link equiped at home). Is one better than another ?

[jda5id]

I have found that this site contains a fair amount of decent information in a relatively easy to digest format. Look at the links under the top banner ad for some decent primers.

http://www.practicallynetworked.com

As for what you need...

1) A wireless gateway - this will serve a couple of purposes. It will hook directly to your cable modem and then act as a firewall. *Very* important to have if you have a 24/7 cable modem connection. The router will also connect all of the machines on your network to both the internet and each other. If your XP machine is located right next to the cable modem then you should buy a gateway that also has standard Ethernet connection. This way, you will not have to buy a WiFi card for the XP machine (assuming it already has an ethernet card).
2) A WiFi CompactFlash card for the Axim. It seems that the most prevalent models are the D-Link, Linksys, NetGear, and Socket. Do a couple of searches and you can see what people think about them (lots of threads already out there). The two things I have noticed repeatedly is that the Linksys WCF12 seems to fit awfully tight in some Axims and that the Socket is extremely expensive (though perhaps worth it for low power consumption)
3) If your older machine is very close to the cable modem then perhaps you can just use a standard ethernet card and some CAT5 cable to connect it to the router as well. If it is in a different room, then you will need to buy a WiFi card for that desktop. You can get these in PCI versions (you have to crack open your case to install it) or USB versions (just plug into a USB port). A drawback to the PCI version (beyond having to open your case if you are leery of that) is that the antenna location on these can sometimes lead to poor signals. The advantage is that they won't clog up a USB port and (I believe) have faster throughput than USB 1.1. With USB you can better position the antenna for maximum signal, though now you are limited to the USB speeds throughput.

[missc]

Wireless router & CF Card, How do I know which one to get?

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missc Posted: Feb 8 2003, 12:17 PM



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Would anybody like to recommend what kind of wireless router and CF card to purchase ?I know there are preferences but I don't understand the differences in the wireless routers. There are so many different models to chose from. Here is what I hope to accomplish

Hook main PC running Windows XP Pro and Broadband Internet to another (older) computer running Windows 98 and my axim - wirelessly.

What do I need? Router, cards for both PC's and a CF card for my axim? I plan to go to Best Buy or someplace similar and talk to somebody there but I would like to have a little bit of understanding so I don't look like a total dweeb

I've read all the posts on this subject AND I'm still uncertain!

Thanks for any help..........



--------------------
Quote - The more we know, the more we forgive.



---MissC---

jda5id,

Thanks for the site info

Anybody else have suggestions as to Linksys, D-Link, Netgear? Costco had a Netgear package that seemed like a decent price - maybe I should just get it and see what happens....

[missc]

Don't ask me what I just posted ....I have no idea how I did that!

[jda5id]

missc

Sorry if I gave you more info than you wanted. When I first read your post it sounded like you weren't sure what equipment you needed, but when I looked again it seemed that perhaps you were just looking for brand info. Sorry to spew if it was the latter.

I am using the DLink DI714P. It has been very reliable so far and was extremely easy to setup. It was on the PracticallyNetworked recommended list and seemed to get decent feedback from user opinions on multiple sites. I also have the DLink 650 PC Card WiFi adapter for a laptop that has done well. The only problem I have had is that ocassionally (once per month perhaps) the laptop will stop communicating with the router. All I need to do is reboot the router and it works fine after that.

I have also set some other people up with the Belkin Cable router and that was very easy and seemed well done.

Good luck

[missc]

jda5id,

No, you did not give me too much information. I only noticed the site you referred me to when I replied...I didn't scroll far enough to see all the info you provided. The more, the better...
Thanks so much!!

I just bought a Linksys router and cf card and I'm just getting started. This should be interesting as I am not very technical....

[Chuck]

I defaulted with the wireless router to the one the dsl provider provided.
bellsouth also charged me another $10 a month for it. and with rebate only had to pay $100 for it. who says you cant get things done just by throwing money at it.
It was a 2wire wireless router.

I then put a socketcom.com low power cf card in the pda(axim)
the other computer I used a dlink-120 usl wireless adapter "on it right now"

2 problem's I did have were when the router logged on it then updated and now will not use my ( fast hub T100) the router may only run at 10T.

when setting up my D-link 120 Things are case sensitive 2wire123 is not the same as 2WIRE123.