SMC 7004VWBR for $30.00: Worth the price?

Wanting to experiment with wireless on my new Vaio TR1, I picked up a
7004VWBR at MicroCenter for $30 (after a $30 rebate)..

I checked past posts after the impulse purchase (and box opening), and
saw mostly negative posts (The most common kind on any subject :-)
A few questions please:

1. Is anyone HAPPY with this box?

2. Will the range be suitable for a small ranch, one floor, basement,
no more than three walls, less than 60 feet in any direction?

3 Is the latest firmware (1.23) the one that fixes all the past
problems?





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The range is marginal. [I had to add reflectors to get a reliable signal 30
feet through a wooden floor.]

Heat is a big issue. Mine would fail regularly until I placed it on a metal
stand [or set a fan nearby].

That said, my set-up works well now.

--
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1. Have had my 7004VWBR for 2 weeks now, but I am happy with it.

2. I don't belive the range will be a problem for you however I am not in
the best position to comment as I am in a 1br apartment and the laptop goes
maybe 20 feet in either direction.

3. Check the part number on the bottom of the router. The 7004 now has 2
different units with the same model number. If your part number is:
720-9821, then you have the "new" product/2nd generation router and firmware
1.23 will not apply. The new product as of 2 weeks ago had only shipping
firmware, no updates from the website. If instead you have part number
720:638, then you have the "old" product and the firmware 1.23 will apply.
I have the 2nd gen product 9821 and thus far have no problems.


"Doug Warner" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

Wanting to experiment with wireless on my new Vaio TR1, I picked up a
7004VWBR at MicroCenter for $30 (after a $30 rebate)..

I checked past posts after the impulse purchase (and box opening), and
saw mostly negative posts (The most common kind on any subject :-)
A few questions please:

1. Is anyone HAPPY with this box?

2. Will the range be suitable for a small ranch, one floor, basement,
no more than three walls, less than 60 feet in any direction?

3 Is the latest firmware (1.23) the one that fixes all the past
problems?





To reply, please remove one letter from each side of "@"
Spammers are vermin. Please kill them.

"trimicada" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>1. Have had my 7004VWBR for 2 weeks now, but I am happy with it.
>
>2. I don't belive the range will be a problem for you however I am not in
>the best position to comment as I am in a 1br apartment and the laptop goes
>maybe 20 feet in either direction.
>
>3. Check the part number on the bottom of the router. The 7004 now has2
>different units with the same model number. If your part number is:
>720-9821, then you have the "new" product/2nd generation router and firmware
>1.23 will not apply. The new product as of 2 weeks ago had only shipping
>firmware, no updates from the website. If instead you have part number
>720:638, then you have the "old" product and the firmware 1.23 will apply.
>I have the 2nd gen product 9821 and thus far have no problems.
>

Thanks. I have the 9821. I just tried connectint the laptop to it
via cable, and it connects right away. I guess there's a
compatibility problem with the onboard SIS-900-based NIC.
So, it's off to Soyo for new BIOS, drivers, firmware, etc.
If that's a no-go, I have a spare Linksys LNE100TX installed.


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"Doug Warner" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thanks. I have the 9821. I just tried connectint the laptop to it
via cable, and it connects right away. I guess there's a
compatibility problem with the onboard SIS-900-based NIC.
So, it's off to Soyo for new BIOS, drivers, firmware, etc.
If that's a no-go, I have a spare Linksys LNE100TX installed.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I think both of my desktops have Linksys cards in them...I know at least one
of them is...and both connect fine by cable. My laptop is 2 years old, so
no built in wireless, so I'm using the SMC 2632W card which has been
fine...though I did disable the built in 3c905 onboard nic first. Hopefully
updating your drivers, firmware, etc. will resolve the issue. Good luck.

Hi ,

I use the exact same router as you.

As a matter of fact, all my wireless equipment is from SMC networks.

I am very very satified with there products, and wonder why I dont hear or
read more about them. My lan card never gets hot in my laptop, my nic card
is on 24/7 and no problems there, and my router has been on for over a year
and not one time has it failed.

I used there customer support twice when I first got started to configure my
router, and had no issues there.

I live in New York City , in a high rise, and can go two flights down and to
the other end of the building to a neighbors house, and still get "good" for
signal strength. This is amazing considering New York has a worst case
scenario as far as various signal interferences.

I would advise as you expand your network to get all SMC equipment, and you
will not have compatability problems, and customer support can never say its
another piece of equipment causing the problem.

When you install the firmware, it automatically installs the best version
for you , and will resolve any issues.

Alot of times the people who complain, never read the instructions until
they get to a problem, and hence they caused the problem themselves. I have
responded to some post in the past, and most often its not the equipment
(all vendors included in that statement), its the person who has done
something wrong in most cases.

Hope it works out and you enjoy it.


"Doug Warner" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

Wanting to experiment with wireless on my new Vaio TR1, I picked up a
7004VWBR at MicroCenter for $30 (after a $30 rebate)..

I checked past posts after the impulse purchase (and box opening), and
saw mostly negative posts (The most common kind on any subject :-)
A few questions please:

1. Is anyone HAPPY with this box?

2. Will the range be suitable for a small ranch, one floor, basement,
no more than three walls, less than 60 feet in any direction?

3 Is the latest firmware (1.23) the one that fixes all the past
problems?





To reply, please remove one letter from each side of "@"
Spammers are vermin. Please kill them.

You couldn't pay me to use a SMC7004VWBR. Why? Because it DID NOT WORK and I
had to return it for something that did. I am still disgusted with SMC.

"DENITA PRICE" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:7EAXa.7259$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi ,
>
> I use the exact same router as you.
>
> As a matter of fact, all my wireless equipment is from SMC networks.
>
> I am very very satified with there products, and wonder why I dont hear or
> read more about them. My lan card never gets hot in my laptop, my nic card
> is on 24/7 and no problems there, and my router has been on for over a
year
> and not one time has it failed.

Jim Vadek <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> You couldn't pay me to use a SMC7004VWBR. Why? Because it DID NOT WORK and I
> had to return it for something that did. I am still disgusted with SMC.

SMC has a long history in the biz.
They were building ARCNet chips before ethernet even worked.
I respect that history while acknowledging that the SMC7004VWBR is a
product that I returned. I have the SMC7004WFW which has been fine.

I bought SMC because I valued their reputation over the crap that NetGear
chose to sell as 16 port switches a few years ago.


Now that there is a newer model of the SMC7004VWBR on the market, I will
assume that it works as well as I have come to know SMC products as
working in the past.

It is obviously too late for you, as well as a major retail chain in
California. I notice that Fry's Electronics carries no SMC wireless
products any more.

"Jim Vadek" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>You couldn't pay me to use a SMC7004VWBR. Why? Because it DID NOT WORK and I
>had to return it for something that did. I am still disgusted with SMC.
>

My first one "didn't work" either did the second. It now works fine
after switching to a PCI NIC I had in rhe system.
I think the problem was that my system board's MAC address was all
zeros. My Linksys box would answer a DHCP request from this address,
but the SMC would not.
Now that I got that problem corrected, it works fine, I keep it with
one end propped up so it runs a lot cooler, and has plenty of signal
strength for anyplace in my ranch house and the basement.

I sent in the rebate form.. It works quite well for a $30.00 box..


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I bought mine 1 month ago and I have been happy with it (Really good deal for $30)