Some hard :) hardware questions for the forum

[jack74]

Hi,

I've spent the past few days reading around the topic of WiFi and would like to tap the experience of the forum now please.

I have a T42 Thinkpad with in-built Centrino/Intel WiFi that usually works well to pick up open source WiFI signals. However, occasionally it fails to see signals that the computers of my friends are seeing, and I'd like to remedy that. However, the questions that I've not been able to find answers to are:

1. Will buying a Proxim Orinoco Gold or a Senao 362 PCMCIA card lead to a better signal sensitivity than my in-built mini PCI card?

I haven't been able to figure out a way to tell what the sensitivity in mW of my in-built card is. They specs on the Proxim and Senao are for a sensitivity of 200mW but I've read that they really are more like 100mW.

Does anyone know what the sensitivity of a mini-PCI card in a Thinkpad T42 is?

2.Will buying an omni antenna with a 9dB gain and an SMA card lead to a better signal than my in-built antenna?

The context for this question is that I've read that because all 802.11g signals have a wavelenth of 12.5 cm this means that the ideal antenna is 6.25 cm, which is apparently what is inside the screen of my laptop. Furthermore, I've read that apparently higher gain is not necessarily better because the beam is more focused meaning that it tends to multipath.

Thanks very much for the replies!

[Ash]

Hi jack74,
Firstly welcome to CompuForums, I hope that you can stick around and post here rather than vanish, never to return once we've given you our advice.

What do you want to do exactly? Wardriving or do you just want to use open hotspots while on the road?

I'm not too great when it comes to wireless cards and I'm happy with the Centrino wireless chipset I have. But I've heard good reviews of the Orinoco Gold card - and if you use them in conjunction with an antenna, in theory you should have improved reception over your laptop's built-in antenna.

An omni-directional antenna with a 9dB gain + suitable connector with your card should have improved performance, however I won't be able to tell you for sure as wireless is not my main field.

But just remember - the wireless inside your laptop is designed for at home/work in a good coverage area, whereas the cards, particularly the higher-cost ones, are usually designed for professional use [site surveys, and security testing]

[jack74]

Thanks for the welcome Ash.

It's for connecting to WiFi when I'm on the road, yes.

[Stubs24]

I'll tell you right now that most "add-in" cards are a lot better than the built in wifi. Built in wifi is usually for home/office use to where you're not moving around a lot and just like the wireless feel. Cards usually have better frquency distribution amongst different wireless access points. Just let it be known that you can choose whichever card you feel is better, but all in all a card is better than built in wireless. If you would like me to look into the wireless cards you are talking about i will get back to you with my review. but if you think your mind is set i wont waste my time.

-Matt

[jack74]

That'd be great Matt! I'd really appreciate that

[Stubs24]

Originally Posted by jack74

That'd be great Matt! I'd really appreciate that

Give me a day or two to get back to ya. hopefully you dont need it right away. I got a lot of work right now, and i dont wanna be too stressed out.

[jack74]

Of course - no rush.

[Stubs24]

ok dude, it seems after much research that the Senao 362 PCMCIA has a few more attributes. 1) it has a further accessibility range. Now you have to realize the further you get away from the access points the slower your connection will be. They both have the normal data transfer rate. 2) this one has infastructure and ad-hoc mode. which is kinda nice to have. otherwise, they both are closley related to eachother. Im not sure if you can add an antenna, but they really do help. im sure most people are like, "why the hell do i need this huge piece of metal hanging off my laptop?" Well, they really do help with range. And since this card has a longer range...

* side note: (when you set the range on the card to the longest range it slows down the transfer rate, ok? Adding an antenna will only make the transfer rate speed up by providing a better connection, which is nice. got it? good)

...by itself adding an antenna will only make it better. so all in all, the choice is yours. I hope everything works out ok. If its not up to your expectations, well....i dont know what to tell ya. wireless cards can only do so much.

have fun though.

-Matt
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This user added the following:
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by the way, i wanted to add something after looking at the Senao 362 PCMCIA. it has 2 antenna slots and the antennas will do you mucho bueno (very good). they're antennas happen to be 7dbi which arn't too shabby. anyway, do what ya wanna man.

-Matt

[jack74]

Thanks very much for that Matt! Great review!

Just a question though - do you mean that the Senao card has an inbuilt 7dB antenna?

[Stubs24]

No, they dont have built in antennas. What i meant was that there are two ports to plug antennas into. So you have to buy the antennas seperately. Its up to you if you buy em', but i think they'll only do good for you in the end.

-Matt