Best PCMCIA wireless card for HP Laptop

My HP has internal Broadcom wireless but I want something with a
connector for an external antenna.

Which card has the best range/gain etc? I have heard that Buffalo has
one and this link has what they claim is a long range setup.

http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wi...nge-notebook-w
ifi-kit.php

There are so many cards so which one really has the best range? Thanks!

--
..

On 02 Jun 2005 00:30:07 GMT, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>My HP has internal Broadcom wireless but I want something with a
>connector for an external antenna.
>
>Which card has the best range/gain etc? I have heard that Buffalo has
>one and this link has what they claim is a long range setup.
>
>http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wi...nge-notebook-w
>ifi-kit.php
>
>There are so many cards so which one really has the best range? Thanks!

You can always trade speed for range. The receiver sensitivity at the
slower 1 and 2 Mbit/sec connection rates is MUCH better than at the
higher speeds. Slow down and you go farther.

Methinks the winner of the PCMCIA card range tests are the Senao made
cards. See:
http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/SenaoCard
They output 200mw instead of the usual 35mw. The receiver is
apparently decent on the older Prism 2 and Prism 2.5 chipset versions.
The Prism 3 based cards absolutely suck for receive sensitivity. I'm
not thrilled with the built in antenna so I suggest you buy the cards
with the external R-MMCX connector such as the SMC SMC2532W-B card,
and use your own antenna.




--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# (E-Mail Removed)
# (E-Mail Removed) AE6KS

Get the Buffalo WLICBG54S

"http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00028CB9I/sanfrancisc0b-20/002-0572012-6553661?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1"

A good deal at $42 from Amazon, with free shipping.

However, beware of the limitations of using an external antenna. The
antenna must be very close to the notebook. If you use an extension
cable, you will lose a lot of the gain.

You may want to consider the external wireless access points from
Buffalo. The USB 2.0 and Ethernet models can at least be placed closer
to where you want the antenna, even an outdoor antenna (you can use a
longer Ethernet cable (100 meters) than a USB 2.0 cable (16'), though
the disadvantage is that you have to run power to the Ethernet access
point, and the Ethernet access point is more expensive.

Ethernet access point:
"http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00028CBFC/sanfrancisc0b-20/002-0572012-6553661?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1"

USB access point
"http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00023LTOQ/sanfrancisc0b-20/002-0572012-6553661?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1"

Not to nit-pick, but it's CardBus, not PCMCIA, unless you have a very,
very old laptop.