USB 1 and 802.11

The easiest way for me to get an older computer on the network is with a
802.11 adapter that plugs into USB. However the computer has USB 1, not USB
2. Will this compromise my network speed? It's a 700 MHz box.

Thanks

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Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Peter Aitken wrote:
> The easiest way for me to get an older computer on the network is with a
> 802.11 adapter that plugs into USB. However the computer has USB 1, not USB
> 2. Will this compromise my network speed? It's a 700 MHz box.

Depends. If you're just sharing an internet connection, the USB adapter
is probably okay since it's up to 12Mbs (1.5MBs). Not the best, but
okay. If you're wanting file and printer sharing on a LAN, USB 1 is slow.

Do you know how easy and cheap it is to add a NIC?

R?g?r <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Peter Aitken wrote:
>> The easiest way for me to get an older computer on the network is with a
>> 802.11 adapter that plugs into USB. However the computer has USB 1, not
>> USB 2. Will this compromise my network speed? It's a 700 MHz box.

> Depends. If you're just sharing an internet connection, the USB adapter
> is probably okay since it's up to 12Mbs (1.5MBs). Not the best, but
> okay. If you're wanting file and printer sharing on a LAN, USB 1 is slow.

If he runs 802.11b, the 11Mbps signal lines up nicely with the performance
of USB 1.1. True about the local sharing, but then he'd have to have
802.11g to take advatage of the higher USB speed.

For just surfing the web, my DLink DWL-122 802.11b USB is the same speed as
my Orinoco Cardbus card, or direct wired. The DSL is the slow link.

The PCI wireless card is lower performance sometimes, due to poor antenna
positioning on the wrong side of the downstairs PC, 1 inch away from the PC
case, blocked from a view of the antenna. That would be another argument
in favor of the USB dongle. With the short cable that came with my DLink,
I can position the dongle well above the PC case. I can even put a
reflector behind it or around it, to improve the signal.

A normal sized USB adapter would have a better antenna, and be able to
take advantage of reflectors like the Windsurfer EZ-12, normally used at
the router end.

I just built a "windsurfer" for my Netgear router, for a cost of nearly
nothing. I printed the template on the backside of some discarded HP photo
paper, used a glue stick to paste some aluminum foil to it, and I was
done... It took me about twenty minutes because I kept dropping the
assembly on the floor as I was trying to tape it together.
http://www.freeantennas.com EZ-12
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/w...fer-dining.JPG The signal with
the reflector is not only 13dB stronger, it's more stable.

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


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