PCMCIA WiFi card with external ant?

Hi All,

Any cards (ideally g) come to mind that are supported by Netstumbler
(for faultfinding) please?

All the best ..

T i m

"T i m" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi All,
>
> Any cards (ideally g) come to mind that are supported by Netstumbler
> (for faultfinding) please?
>
> All the best ..
>
> T i m

buffalo, a friends got one, he was dissapointed at first because the signal
strength was less than his belkin, untill he realised he could get far more
AP's at the same point, it also works with netstumbler

Des

Des <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> buffalo, a friends got one, he was dissapointed at first because the signal
> strength was less than his belkin, untill he realised he could get far more
> AP's at the same point, it also works with netstumbler

That's an interesting note about the signal strength. I think NetStumbler
just reports what it is given, and there may be no standard for the
numbers. I recall noticing that NetStumbler said something about "invented
numbers" or something like that.

I had an SMC 2435W and a DLink DWL650. The supplied utility with each
looked _very_ similar. The DLink consistently reported higher numbers, but
the SMC would connect to WAPs that the DLink only showed excellent signal
for. Move a little closer, and the DLink would connect.


For NetStumbling, since the external antennas are getting harder to find, I
would go with a USB adapter. Either attach an antenna to one of the
standard sized adapters, or use the mini-USB as a remote antenna.

Under WinXP, most adapters work with Netstumbler.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 22:24:29 GMT, "Des"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>"T i m" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:(E-Mail Removed).. .
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Any cards (ideally g) come to mind that are supported by Netstumbler
>> (for faultfinding) please?
>>
>> All the best ..
>>
>> T i m
>
>buffalo, a friends got one, he was dissapointed at first because the signal
>strength was less than his belkin, untill he realised he could get far more
>AP's at the same point, it also works with netstumbler
>
>Des
>
Thanks for that Des .. I'll have a Google ..

Cheers ..

T i m

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 23:15:14 +0000 (UTC),
(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Des <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> buffalo, a friends got one, he was dissapointed at first because the signal
>> strength was less than his belkin, untill he realised he could get far more
>> AP's at the same point, it also works with netstumbler

Ok ..
>
>That's an interesting note about the signal strength. I think NetStumbler
>just reports what it is given, and there may be no standard for the
>numbers. I recall noticing that NetStumbler said something about "invented
>numbers" or something like that.

Ooo err ;-)
>
>I had an SMC 2435W and a DLink DWL650. The supplied utility with each
>looked _very_ similar. The DLink consistently reported higher numbers, but
>the SMC would connect to WAPs that the DLink only showed excellent signal
>for. Move a little closer, and the DLink would connect.
>
Sounds like wireless then ;-)
>
>For NetStumbling, since the external antennas are getting harder to find, I
>would go with a USB adapter. Either attach an antenna to one of the
>standard sized adapters, or use the mini-USB as a remote antenna.

I was hoping to use my little Yagi to get a bit of directionality .. ?
>
>Under WinXP, most adapters work with Netstumbler.

Good to know, thanks ..

Cheers

T i m

>>
>>>Hi All,
>>>
>>>Any cards (ideally g) come to mind that are supported by Netstumbler
>>>(for faultfinding) please?
>>>

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MESE%3AIT&rd=1

this isnt G, but this is what your looking for.

T i m <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>>For NetStumbling, since the external antennas are getting harder to find, I
>>would go with a USB adapter. Either attach an antenna to one of the
>>standard sized adapters, or use the mini-USB as a remote antenna.

> I was hoping to use my little Yagi to get a bit of directionality .. ?

The mini-dongle in a can is somewhat directional. Good enough for signal
improvement, maybe not good enough for locating the WAP.

New Zealand uses mini-USBs in various parabolic reflectors.
http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/

Bob Alston's coffee can
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/Computer.htm
Clarence Dold's coffee can
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg
I used the turnpoint calculator to decide where to poke the hole.
http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html
David Taylor's standard USB cantenna
http://www.nodomainname.co.uk/cantenna/cantenna.htm

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 08:44:59 GMT, T i m <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>>For NetStumbling, since the external antennas are getting harder to find, I
>>would go with a USB adapter. Either attach an antenna to one of the
>>standard sized adapters, or use the mini-USB as a remote antenna.
>
>I was hoping to use my little Yagi to get a bit of directionality .. ?
>>
>>Under WinXP, most adapters work with Netstumbler.
>
>Good to know, thanks ..

I think USB would be the way to go as you don't have to spend for
expensive coax and have signal loss between the antenna and the
computer. Below is a simple setup I made and it works reasonably
well (although I don't have another type of setup to compare it
to).

http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/antenna.htm

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 16:16:46 +0000 (UTC),
(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>T i m <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>>>For NetStumbling, since the external antennas are getting harder to find, I
>>>would go with a USB adapter. Either attach an antenna to one of the
>>>standard sized adapters, or use the mini-USB as a remote antenna.
>
>> I was hoping to use my little Yagi to get a bit of directionality .. ?
>
>The mini-dongle in a can is somewhat directional. Good enough for signal
>improvement, maybe not good enough for locating the WAP.

That was what I was thinking .. I have a mini dongle and a couple of
external USB WiFi units but didn't fancy mucking about (for this case)
with any 'addons' to make any of them directional, especially when I
need this kit to be easily portable (my Yagi is pretty flat and sits
in my laptop cas ok).
>
>New Zealand uses mini-USBs in various parabolic reflectors.
>http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/
>
>Bob Alston's coffee can
>http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/Computer.htm
>Clarence Dold's coffee can
>http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg
>I used the turnpoint calculator to decide where to poke the hole.
>http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html
>David Taylor's standard USB cantenna
>http://www.nodomainname.co.uk/cantenna/cantenna.htm

Handy links for playing about with fixed kit though .. (thanks) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 16:39:47 GMT, shb*NO*SPAM*@comporium.net (Si
Ballenger) wrote:

>On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 08:44:59 GMT, T i m <(E-Mail Removed)>
>wrote:
>
>>>For NetStumbling, since the external antennas are getting harder to find, I
>>>would go with a USB adapter. Either attach an antenna to one of the
>>>standard sized adapters, or use the mini-USB as a remote antenna.
>>
>>I was hoping to use my little Yagi to get a bit of directionality .. ?
>>>
>>>Under WinXP, most adapters work with Netstumbler.
>>
>>Good to know, thanks ..
>
>I think USB would be the way to go as you don't have to spend for
>expensive coax and have signal loss between the antenna and the
>computer. Below is a simple setup I made and it works reasonably
>well (although I don't have another type of setup to compare it
>to).
>
>http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/antenna.htm

Hi Si and thanks for that.

Funnily enough I have been playing with different devices recently re
getting WiFi down to an outbuilding.

I had a setup that worked wiith a 5m USB extension / hub connected to
a Netgear external USB WiFi unit and that worked well till the USB
lead got damaged and it all went crazy (and in spite of replacing the
extension was never to work again ..) ;-( Using a new external Belkin
USB unit (ie not dongle) was ok for 2 weeks then that locked up (and
would lock solid most PC's you plugged it into?).

At the moment I have a PCI WiFi card and have experimented with a std
'rubber duck' on the back of card, a higher gain rubber duck on the
rear, both on a little desk mount, the Yagi on it's .5m fly lead or on
5 and 10m extension leads.

The long extension leads *do* loose signal but getting the Yagi
*outside* the building returns the highest signal strength of all.

All the best ..

T i m