I also bought the Spectec card, and got it working with my home router with WEP security, no SSID broadcast, adding the Axim X51's MAC address to the MAC filtering list. The X51 does a good job browsing, speed-wise (processor speed set on Auto). Streaming music is great; I've had that going for 3 hours while while browsing and running other programs.
Note: the Spectec software comes on a mini-CD. I almost missed finding it in the packaging.
The top 1/4" of the Spectec card sticks up from the top of the X51. It looks kind of exposed and fragile up there. It IS supposed to be a little longer; see a review at
The Spectec SDW-820 SDIO WiFi Card Review at Gear Diary.
My only complaint is that after I have it all working, and turn off the X51, then when I turn it on again, often the little antenna icon is gone, and a soft reset is needed for the Axim to re-recognize the card. If the WLAN utility was up at the time I turned off the Axim, it has crashed. Turning the Wi-Fi Radio button off in the utility and closing all aps before turning the unit off does not seem to improve the chances of the antenna icon returning. Popping the card in and out also doesn't seem to get the Axim's attention.
(There is usually no need to bring up WLAN unless you want to see more detail about available routers, or want to check signal strength. Once you set up for your home router, the antenna icon on the Axim shows you when it connects. Also, Settings/Network Cards shows available routers if you are at a hot spot.)
If you turn the Axim off briefly, then back on, the antenna is visible for an instant, then disappears. It reappears when the card is rediscovered after about 10 seconds. If you leave the unit off longer, the card is usually forgotten.
I downloaded the driver from Spectec, rather than use the CD-ROM version. Uninstalled on the Axim per the directions and re-installed with the new driver. The WLAN utility was not included as part of the download. Seemed to help some (at least the WLAN utility doesn't crash). I see in retrospect that the CD-ROM suggests first installing WITHOUT the WLAN utility due to incompatibility on some devices. But you may need it to get your MAC address if you are doing filtering on your router.
I often find ActiveSync running when I haven't launched it. I wonder if it has any effect on the dropping of the antenna icon. Also found another X51 user reporting the same card-forgetting problem at
Spectec SDW-820 SD WiFi Card - Support Forum - eXpansys UK.
(Later note) My hunch was correct about ActiveSync; see this Aximsite article:
x51(v) Not Powering On, Disappearing CF/SD Cards and Battery Discharge - Solution. This solution lets you have ActiveSync up only when you want it (Always be sure to exit ActiveSync after using it.) No problems at all now. I can pop the card in and out, and after 10 seconds, it is recognized without fail.
(Final note) I installed WiFiFoFum, a WLAN-like sniffer program. I had the same problem reported
elsewhere, that it causes the X51 forget the WEP key for your home router. I removed the program, then reinstalled the Spectec software with WLAN utility. WLAN now works fine. Looks like ActiveSync was the culprit.
Axim X51
