Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Hardware Comparison

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 01:56:53 -0500

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Hardware Comparison

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This Page Contains Hardware Comparisons, please feel free to add charts for other types of hardware, update fields with ?, update prices, add new models/manufacturers etc.. You know the dealRegrettably, one is, also, free to delete information that may still be of use...

Looking for a neat table comparing all of the receive sensitivities? Check out ReceiveSensitivity .

Note: Please standardize on xmit power. It is hard to compare dBm and mW. Here is some help: 30dBm is exactly 1000mW or 1 full Watt, 20dBm is exactly 100mW, 17dBm is about 50mW, 15dBm is about 32mW. Because antenna and distance calculations use dB it might be better to use dBm for all power ratings. Weird, but more useful.

Note note: A dBm <-> mW calculator can be found here, for those that are wondering about exact mW/dBm correlations. Power in dBm is simply 10*log(power in mw) so, for example, 100mw expressed in dBm is 10*log(100)= 10*2= 20dBm

802.11b Client Adapters

802.11b Access Points

802.11a Client Adapters

Dedicated Routers

802.11b bridges

802.11g Hardware (NEW!)

ISA/PCI adapters

Client Card Recommendations

Macintosh Drivers/Advice

802.11b Client Adapters

Card Name

Interface type(s)

Power

Price(s)

Ant. Connector

Comments

Chipset

Drivers for

1stWave Wavemaxxpro

PCMCIA

100 mW

98 Euros

NO

--

Prism ?

Linux - BSD?

Actiontec HWC01170-01

PCMCIA

?

32ukp

None

Poor range

Prism 3

Windows Linux BSD

3com AirConnect

PCMCIA

30 mw

$150

DUAL Lucent!

AirconnectComments

Prism 2.5

Linux/[open|free]BSD

AddtronCard

PCMCIA

30mw

$130

None

AddtronCardComments?

IntersilPrism

Linux

Belkin F5D6001?

PCI

?

?

?

None

Prism 2 -

Well Supported everywhere

Belkin F5D6001? Ver.2

PCI

?

?

?

Ver.2 is only printed on the card itself, not the box

AdmTek ADM8211

[ftp.longshine.de/anonymousFTP/adm8211.tar.gz-RH7.3]

Belkin F5d6020

PCMCIA

13 dBm ~ 20 dBm (50mW) (max)

$39.99 (CompUSA Dec-2002)

None

Old Firmware

Prism 2 -

Works beautifully w/linux :-) & BSD

Belkin F5d6020 Ver.2

PCMCIA

17 dBm (50mW)

$30 (OfficeMax Dec-2002)

Yes, but what type? connector and other pics

same as SMC 2632W V2

Atmel AT76C502?A

Works w/linux driver HOWTO

Dell TrueMobile 1100

PCMCIA

30 mw

$99

Rebranded CiscoAironet 340

IntersilPrism2 w/ Aironet MAC controller

Linux/FreeBSD

Demarc ReliaWave 200mW

PCMCIA

200mW

$139.95

RP-MMCX

-91dbm 11Mb/-96 1Mb

Prism 2.5

Windows 9x/ME/NT4/2000/XP/CE3/Linux/MAC/NetBSD

Demarc ReliaWave 100mW

PCMCIA

100mW

$119.95

RP-MMCX

-91dbm 11Mb/-96 1Mb FCC Cert w/ high gain antennas

Prism 2.5

Windows 9x/ME/NT4/2000/XP/CE3/Linux/MAC/NetBSD

smartBridges airCard

Wireless PCMCIA

50mW

About $69

One clik Installation

Very High Receice sensitivity

Windows and Linux (according to the site)

Deliberant WEC-100

Ethernet Client / Bridge

20 dBm (100mW)

About $100

No

Quite stable.

Prism 2.5

None needed (ethernet bridge).

Dell TrueMobile 1150

PCMCIA/MiniPCI

30mW

About $60

Same as Orinoco

Rebranded Orinoco Gold

Hermes

Windows (XP has them built in), *unix, Mac, WindowsCE

Dlink DWL-520

PCI

15 dBm

?

Reverse SMA

IntersilPrisim? 2.5

Dlink DWL-520plus

PCI

?

$79 (-$15 rebate @ Best Buy)

Reverse SMA

TI ncx100

Binary Linux Driver ncx100_pci.o

D-link DWL-520c1

PCI

?

$?

Reverse SMA

AdmTek ADM8211

Windows Binary Linux Driver http://www.longshine.de/anonymousFTP/adm8211.tar.gz

D-link DWL-650

PCMCIA CardBus

15 dBm

?

Integrated

New DWL-650 revision with ADM8211 chipset

AdmTek ADM8211

Win/Linux http://www.longshine.de/anonymousFTP/adm8211.tar.gz

D-linkDwl650Plus

PCI

? dBm

?

?

TI Chipset

D-linkDwl660

PCI

? dBm

?

?

TI Chipset

Enterasys RoamAbout

PCMCIA

30 mW

$77Aus from Applicon

lucent MC connector

rebadged Orinoco silver card with Enterasys firmware

Hermes

Windows drivers on website, in linux use orinoco_cs

EST Model 192E

Standalone

1.00 W

about $2,000

RP-TNC

Industrial grade, operates as: client, access point, bridge , or repeater

?

not needed since interface is Ethernet

FarallonSkyLine? PC-Card

n/a

?

$121.95

Unknown

FarallonSkyLineComments?

IntersilPrism

Mac/Win

IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Card

PCMCIA/ISA (with adapter)

30mW

~$160

LucentProprietary? Connector

It's a rebranded/relabeled Lucent Orinoco Gold

Hermes

Windows, ?Linux?

InTalkNokiaCard?

PCMCIA/ISA

?

?

?

InTalkNokiaCardComments?

?

Linux

Intel2011Card?

PCMCIA/PCI

30mW

$133

None

Mediocre Windows Drivers that don't support the ANY essid, WinCE drivers would not load on two different machines

IntersilPrism

WinCE, Linux

LinksysCard WPC11

16-bit PCMCIA

95mW

$110

No!

blah

IntersilPrism

Linux

Linksys WPC11

PCMCIA 16

16mW

discontinued

No

original version 128 bit WEP 12dBm Pout -90dBm sensitivity

Prism 2.0

numerous

Linksys WPC11 v2.5

PCMCIA 16

40mW

$80 Frys May 2002

No

128 bit WEP 16dBm Pout -80dBm sensitivity

Prism 2.5

numerous

Linksys WPC11 v3.0

PCMCIA 16

40mW

$80 Frys May 2002

No

current version 128 bit WEP 16dBm Pout -80dBm sensitivity

Prism 3.0

numerous

Linksys WMP11

PCI

+16dBm

$70

ReverseSma

Works amazingly w/ linux-wlan 0.1.10. Newer versions are no longer based on the Prism2 chipset (now BroadCom?) and have no linux driver. I have v 2.7 of this card and the only released windows driver for this revision comes on the cd and is pretty buggy.

Prism 2.5

Linux

LinksysWET11

Ethernet Bridge/client

WET11 User Manual: 19dB (~80mW)

About $100

Ideal client device for WISP, uses ReverseSma connector

-83dB Receive Sensitivity. You CAN connect WET11 to Linux systems using Orinoco WaveLAN in Ad-Hoc mode

Prism?

Windows Config Utility - Runs with any OS that supports Ethernet

Lucent / Orinoco Gold (Agere)

PCMCIA

30mW

detail.asp?dpno=950604 $99 @ eCost $73 @ LanStreet $65 @ ProNet

MC Card (RFI 6010A, RMC-6010-B, Radiall R299.792.107) $35 @ HyperLinkTech

same as LucentWirelessCard, 128 bit encryption

Hermes

Windows, MacOS, WinCE, FreeBSD, Linux: Orinoco (GPL), wvlan_cs (deprecated),www.orinocowireless.com/template.html?section=m52&envelope=90 wavelan2_cs(propietary)

Lucent / Orinoco Silver (Agere)

PCMCIA

30mW

$59 @ justdeals $90 @ Outpost[$58 at http://www.invictusnetworks.com/itmidx1.htm] $65 @ LanStreet

MC Card (RFI 6010A, drawings/RMC-6010-B.pdf RMC-6010-B, Radiall R299.792.107) $35 @ HyperLinkTech

same as LucentWirelessCard, 40 bit encryption, upgradeable to 128 bit: follow Link "Upgrade Silver To Gold - Windows" on http://wireless.pollaknet.at/index.php?wirelessp=hardware/silvertogold

Hermes

Windows, MacOS, WinCE, FreeBSD, Linux: Orinoco (GPL), wvlan_cs (deprecated),wavelan2_cs(propietary)

Lucent WaveACCESS PC24E-H-ET-L

PCMCIA

6mW

?

as LucentWirelessCard

Low power output for ETS 300 328 point-to-point (with up to 12dB antennas), red plastic instead of black, otherwise believed to be identical to Orinoco Silver

Hermes

as LucentWirelessCard

NetGate 2511CD PLUS EXT2

PCMCIA

200mW

95$ http://www.netgate.com/NL2511.html

2x MMCX external antenna jacks

Engenius (rebadged Senao)

Prism 2.5

Windows 9x/ME/NT 4.0 /2000/XP/CE3.0/Linux/MAC/NetBSD OS 10.1,10.2

NetGate 2511CD PLUS

PCMCIA

200mW

89$ http://www.netgate.com/EL2511.html

NO (Internal Antenna)

Engenius (rebadged Senao)

Prism 2.5

Windows 9x/ME/NT 4.0 /2000/XP/CE3.0/Linux/MAC OS X 10.1, 10.2/NetBSD

NetGate 2511MP PLUS

mini PCI

160mW

95$ http://www.netgate.com/EL2511MP.html

2x MMCX antenna jacks

Engenius (rebadged Senao)

Prism 2.5

Probably Windows/Linux/MAC OS X 10.1, 10.2/NetBSD

NetGear MA101

USB1.1

13dBm

150? http://www.materiel.net/details_MA101.html

No but http://www.nodomainname.co.uk/MA101/MA101.htm

?

Atmel AT76C503?A

Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP/Linux

NetGear MA301

PCI

?

?

?

?

?

Linux 2.4.18 (Experimental)

NetGear MA311GE

PCI

?

£36

Yes

(with wlan or orinoco 0.13+)

IntersilPrism 2.5

9x/ME/2000/XP/Linux

Netgear MA401

PCMCIA

59mW

$69 Buy

http://www.nodomainname.co.uk/ma401/ma401.htm

Practically Networked

IntersilPrism2

Linux

NetWaveCard?

?

?

?

?

NetWaveCardComments

?

Linux

Nortel Emobility 4121

PCMCIA

100mW

was $35 on ebay

None

Nortel Comments Same as Symbol 4121

SymbolSpectrum?

Windows/Linux

Nortel Emobility 4123

PCI

100mW

was $55 on ebay

Dual MMCX

Nortel Comments Same as Symbol 4123

SymbolSpectrum?

Windows/Linux

Proxim RangeLan-DS 8434-05

16bit PCMCIA

30mW (13dB)

$50 from WirelessSupplyGuy

Reverse MMCX

RangeLanDsComments, this is a 3.3v card with detachable antenna

IntersilPrism2

Linux/*BSD/Win2k/Win9x

Proxim RangeLan-DS 8433-05

16bit PCMCIA

30mW (13dB)

$50 from WirelessSupplyGuy

Unknown (SSMB?)

RangeLanDsComments, this is a 3.3v card

IntersilPrism2

Linux/*BSD/Win2k/Win9x

SamsungCard

PCMCIA/ISA

?

?

?

SamsungCardComments?

IntersilPrism

Linux

Senao/Engenius NL-2511 Plus EXT2

PCMCIA Type II

200mW (adjustable)

90$ Other info at SenaoCard

dual female MMCX

Cards are rebadged as other brands; NetStumbler reported to work with WinXP and this card; see also Netgate above

Prism 2.5

Windows 98/2000/ME/NT4.0/CE/XP and Linux, ?BSD? SenaoCard Click HERE for review

Senao/Engenius NL-2511 Plus

PCMCIA Type II

200mW (adjustable)

85$ Other info at SenaoCard

Internal diversity antenna

Cards are rebadged as other brands; NetStumbler reported to work with WinXP and this card; see also Netgate above

Prism 2.5

Windows 98/2000/ME/CE/XP OS X 10.1 SenaoCard Click HERE for review

SMC2602W

PCI

?

$179

?

SmcComments

IntersilPrism

?

SMC2632W

PCMCIA

50mW

$80 at jandr.com

None

SmcComments

IntersilPrism

?

Sony PCWA-C100

16-bit PCMCIA

?

$50 @ CompUSA

MC-Card

Rebranded Orinoco Silver, can be flashed to their firmware.

Hermes

?

Symbol Spectrum 24

CompactFlash type 1

100mW

$150-$180

None

Part No. LA4137

?

HandEra330, Linux, WinCE 3.0, WinCE 2002(Beta), Windows 98 ME 2000

SymbolWirelessNetworker? 4111

PCMCIA

100mW

?

dual MMCX

?

IntersilPrism2

?

SymbolWirelessNetworker? 4121

PCMCIA

100mW

$129

?

?

?

?

SymbolWirelessNetworker? 4123

PCI

100mW

?

dual MMCX

?

IntersilPrism2

?

ToshibaWireless

PCMCIA

30mW

$149

MC-Card (Radiall)

same as LucentWirelessCard Silver / Not sold in USA-UK is 13 channel, French is 4 channel

?

Toshiba-Win only but can use Lucent or Enterasys for all other

Trendware TEW-201PC

PCMCIA

?

$59.88 at jandr.com

?

?

?

?

Trendware TEW-221PC

PCMCIA

?

$30 at tigerdirect

?

?

ADM8511

By req. only, except maybe Linux

UsRobotics? 2410

PCMCIA

30mW

$40 at Frys or Jandr.com after rebate as of 5/10/02

None

UsRoboticsComments

Prism 2.5?

Windows9x/ME/2k, XP(Beta), CE(Beta), Linux

UsRobotics? 2415

PCI

30mW

?

None

UsRoboticsComments

Prism 2.5?

Windows9x/ME/2k, XP(Beta), CE(Beta), Linux

Wave2Net? by Ambicom (WL1100B, etc.)

PCMCIA/PCI

13dBm ~ 20 dBm

$130

No*

looks like no ext ant connector on PCI card, but pry open the PCMCIA card "wongle" (black extension) and expose a mini coax connector - type under investigation

IntersilPrism2

Linux, WinCE

YdiCard?

PCMCIA

?

?

?

YdiCardComments

?

Linux

XircomSwe

springboard

30 mW ?

$100

None

Dosen't support the 'ANY' SSID

?says cisco on back?

PalmOS 3.5.3+

ZoomAirCard

PCMCIA/ISA

?

?

?

ZoomAirCardComments?

?

Linux

ZoomAirCard

PCMCIA/PCI

25mW

~$200 / 178 ?

4105 with PCI Bridge Card (Elan with TI1440 chip) has

Looks like ReverseSma (male thread on card)

IntersilPrism

Linux

ZcomaxCards xi325H/xi626

PCMCIA/PCI

100mW

$89/$149

xi325H1 is the 200mW version

MMCX reverse/SMA reverse, detachable antenna included for both models

IntersilPrism 2.5

FreeBSD/Linux 2.4 hostap_cs(requires cardbus)/hostap_pci. hostap can be configured for client(BSS), IBSS and also as an access point

ZcomaxCards xi325HP

PCMCIA

200mW

$179

-

MMCX reverse/SMA reverse, detachable antenna included for both models

IPrism 2.5

FreeBSD/Linux 2.4 hostap_cs(requires cardbus)/hostap_pci. hostap can be configured for client(BSS), IBSS and also as an access point

*Unless otherwise noted, Windows drivers are available. LinuxDrivers are provided by the linux-wlan project http://www.linux-wlan.com/linux-wlan, the PCMCIA-CS package and the kernel. There are both a Linux Wlan linux.grmbl.be/wlan FAQ and a Linux Wireless Lan HOWTO available for support.

Software is available to let you use your Prism client card as an access point under Linux.

Note: The D-link card requires your laptop to have the 32-bit CardBus slots, not just 16-bit PCMCIA standard. This really screws owners of 486 and older Pentium-class machines! If you can verify the bus of other cards here, please change "PCMCIA" to indicate "16-bit" or "Cardbus". (All 16-bit cards will work in CardBus slots. If you're machine's recent enough to have CardBus, no worries.) -- Myself (who hasn't created a name yet)

Also: Can people update the chipset's to distinguish between prism and prism2? (There are Prism, Prism2, Prism2.5, Prism3 chipsets now)

Also also: are these prices recent? Fry's in Portland sells SMC, Netgear, Linksys etc. cards for $99 or less, and they're not the cheapest - Pricewatch lists some good deals, and our own buy.com could use the business too.....

You can find more information about Prism2 Card on: http://www.personaltelco.net:80/index.cgi/Prism2Card

COOL UTILITY for Lucent/Orinoco/Enterasys cards at www.enterasys.com in the Drivers section for Wireless RoamAbout?. The "WSU" workstation utility (current as of Apr 02 ver 6.06) allows easy flashing of different firmware images onto the cards. Enterasys and Orinoco both post current and archived drivers on their sites as well as a selection of access point managers. Card drivers appear to be completely compatible despite different names. Small differences in features. AP managers do not interoperate between brands.

If using a Lucent/Orinoco/Enterasys card under linux, you should flash your card to firmware 6.06 or later, to ensure you have IBSS ad-hoc support.

http://martybugs.net/wireless/ppro.cgi has some info on getting RoamAbout? cards working in RedHat? 7.3.

Macintosh drivers for tens of client cards - http://www.ioxperts.com

802.11b Access Points

Manufacturer/Model

Price

Transmit Power

External Ant. Connector

Internal Ant. Connector

Services

Integrated Stuff

Config Interface

Comments

Discussion

MAC Control

Apple Airport

$100-$299

30mW (15dBm)

None

1xLucent

DHCP/NAT/Bridge

1x10bT,56K

Windows/Apple/SNMP

Flash upgradable to...

AppleAirport

yes

Compaq WL400

$100 on e-bay

18dBm

?

MCX?

None

1 WAN port

Windows

Very Reliable except for power adapter

Comes with 2dBi omni diversity, Prism based

?

Deliberant WAP-100-A

About $150

18dBm

SMA (dual)

N/A

AP, AP Repeater, Bridge

Filtering

Telnet/http/SNMP

WDS enabled

N/A

YES

Deliberant WAP-100-D (dual radio)

About $250

18dBm

SMA (dual)

N/A

Dual AP, AP Repeater, Dual Radio Bridge

Filtering

Telnet/http/SNMP

WDS enabled

This is a dual radio device allowing repeating w/ no throughput loss

YES

Demarc ReliaWave 500mW AP

$799

500mW (27dBm)

RP-SMA

N/A

Bridge, AP, AP to AP Mode

Filtering

SNMP

-87dbm 11Mb / -96 1Mb

N/A

YES

Demarc ReliaWave 200mW AP

$499.99

200mW (23dBm)

RP-SMA

RP-MMCX

Bridge, AP, AP to AP Mode

Filtering

Telnet/Http/SNMP

-91dbm 11Mb / -96 1Mb

FCC Cert w/ high gain antennas

YES

Demarc ReliaWave 100mW AP

$479.99

100mW (20dBm)

RP-SMA

RP-MMCX

Bridge, AP, AP to AP Mode

Filtering

Telnet/Http/SNMP

-91dbm 11Mb / -96 1Mb

N/A

YES

DlinkAccessPoint

$179

30mW (15dBm)

RP-SMA

2x DIY

?

?

?

DlinkAccessPointComments

DlinkAccessPoint

Dlink Air DWL-900AP

$80 on sale at Fry's

+15dBm

Reverse SMA

?

DHCP/Bridge

10 Base-T

SNMP/Windows USB

Atmel based same as WAP11

N/A

DLink DI-614+

$129 ($30 rebate available at Best Buy 12/02)

??

RP-SMA

??

Router, WAN Port, 4 Switched LAN ports

Filtering, Forwarding, etc.

Web

Had one die w/i 24 hours, replacement works great though

??

No

Enterasys RoamAbout? CSIWS-A

$500?

30mW+ (15dBm+)

Uses CSIBD-AA or Lucent PCMCIA Card

N/A

Multiprotocol Bridge

Filtering, Authentication, Client Monitoring

Serial, BootP, SNMP, Dedicated App

N/A

yes

EST Model 192E

about $2,000

1.00 W

RP-TNC

?

Industrial grade, operates as: client, access point, bridge , or repeater

?

serial

Highscreen AccessPoint

ca 110$

65mW (18dBm)

none

2x DIY

none

1x10bT

Web, SNMP

mainboard equal to D-Link DWL1000AP and Acer WarpLink

LinksysBefw11S4

$165

32mW (15dBm)

ReverseTNC

N/A

DHCP/NAT

4-port 10/100 switch, router (1 WAN port)

Web

Limited to /24 ip address space

15dBm Pout -90dBm sensitivity Prism 2.0 ARM7 processor 128bit WEP

LinksysBefw11S4 v2

$160

80mW (19dBm)

ReverseTNC

N/A

DHCP/NAT

4-port 10/100 sw, router (1 WAN port)

Web

differs from original that SNMP not supported / web config only

19dBm Pout -80dBm sensitivity Prism 2.5 ARM9 processor 128bit WEP

LinksysWap11

$105 $80

13-20 dBm

ReverseTNC

MCX

Bridging/AP Client

SNMP

SNMP/Windows USB

LinksysWap11Comments

WAP11 info Wap11Hack (only on old pre-v2.2 model)

yes

Linksys WET11

$106

?

?

?

Bridging/AP Client (more flexible than WAP11)

RJ45 with selectable xover

Web

Netgear ME102

$129

15-20 dBm

No

No, but see http://www.nodomainname.co.uk/me102/me102.htm and http://wireless.pollaknet.at

Bridging/AP Client

SNMP

SNMP/Windows USB

IDENTICAL TO WAP-11

USE Wap11Hack

Siemens Speedstream 2623

$164-$240

13dBm-20dBm (50mW Max)

no

no

DHCP, NAT, VPN, IPSec, Firewall

Print Server, 3-port 10/100 switch, 1 WAN Port

Browser

?

?

??

Siemens Speedstream 2624

$179

13dBm-20dBm (50mW Max)

yes, TBD

no

DHCP, NAT, VPN, IPSec, Firewall

Print Server, 4-port 10/100 switch, 1 WAN Port

Browser & Wizard

?

?

yes

SMC MC2652W

?

?

ReverseTNC

?

Bridging/AP Client

NO

NO

SmcReview? Smc2652W

You can flash linux on it: http://opensource.instant802.com/hardware.php

NO

SMC MC2655W version 1 (version 2 is a completely different unit)

150$

13-20 dBm

none

MCX

Bridging/AP Client

SNMP

SNMP

IDENTICAL TO WAP-11

USE Wap11Hack

SMC MC2682W

$450

100mW (20dBm)

ReverseTNC

?

Bridging/AP Client

SNMP

SNMP

Review

?

NO

OrinocoRg1000

$100-$299

30mW (15dBm)

None

1xLucent

DHCP/NAT/Bridge

1x10bT,56K

Windows/SNMP/ Apple

Flash upgradable to AP/Airport

Orinoco Silver Card inside

yes

OrinocoBg2000?

?

30mW (15dBm)

None

1xLucent

DHCP/NAT/Bridge

1x10bT,1x10/100

Browser/SNMP

Orinoco Gold Card inside

yes

OrinocoRg1100?

$150-$299

30mW (15dBm)

None

1xLucent

DHCP/NAT/Bridge

1x10bT

Windows/SNMP/ Apple

Flash upgradable to AP/Airport

Orinoco Gold Card inside

yes

OrinocoAp500

~$200 Ebay / ~$400 Retail

30mW (15dBm)

None

1xLucent

Bridge

1x10bT

Windows(GUI) / Linux(CLI) / SNMP

see discussion

OrinocoAp500

?

SENAO/EnGenius SL-2511AP1 Plus

$175 Provantage 12/28/02

200mW (23dbm)

none

2x MMCX PCMCIA

DHCP, AP

2 10/100 LAN ports, Print Server

HTTP

-87dbm 11Mb / -93 1Mb

Lots of power for the price, EnGenius? claims a "no hassle exchange" during the warranty period, SENAO NL-2511 (ext ant, PRISM 2.5) PC card inside, there is no tamper/void tag on the case

YES

Tailyn FW-604

$110

depends(30mW)

depends(2xRP-MMCX)

AP, DHCP, CLI, TELNET, NAT, Bridge, Gateway, 4Port Switch, Firewall

5xRJ45, 1xPCMCIA

Web, Telnet, SNMP

FW-604Comments

Yes

Tekram AP104

$250

30mW (15dBm)

?

2xMMCX

DHCP/.../?

4xRJ45

Browser

?

?

?

US Robotics 2450

$150

>+ 13dBm

ReverseTNC

?

DHCP

RS232/RJ45

Web

Flash upgradable

You can flash OpenAP linux distribution on it

Please fillout the table (alphabetically) for any other APs in CategoryAccessPointHardware.
You can find more AP reviews: http://www.personaltelco.net:80/index.cgi/AccessPointReviews

802.11a Client Adapters

Manufacturer/Model

Bus Type

Transmit Power

Modes

Price

External Ant. Connector

Comments

Chipset

Drivers*

Review

Proxim

Cardbus

40mW /200 mW (low/mid band)

802.11a and 2X

$199 (CDW)

none

ProximComments

Atheros AR5000

Linux

ProximReview

Intel

Cardbus

40mW /200 mW (low/mid band)

802.11a

$159 (CDW)

maybe?

Atheros AR5000

SMC2735

Cardbus

40 MW /200 mW (low/mid band)

802.11a and 2X

$139

none

Atheros AR5000

NetGear HA501NA

Cardbus

?

802.11a

$135

maybe

Dedicated Routers

Manufacturer/Model

NICs

Other Ports

Power

Size

Price

Notes

Soekris Engineering net4501

3

PCI, mini PCI, serial port, Compact Flash

5V, 10W, wall-wart

4.85" x 5.7"

$230

SoekrisNet4501

Soekris Engineering net4521

2

2 CardBus, mini PCI, serial port, Compact Flash

5V, 12W, PoE

9.2" x 5.7"

$220

SoekrisNet4521

VIA Epia mini ATX based computer

1

1 VGA, 1 PCI, 2 USB, serial port

ATX power supply

9.2" x 5.7"

$100

VIA C3 800 Mhz processor

802.11b bridges

smartBridges airNIC

USB Client

30mW

$179

http://www.smartbridges.com

Very High Receice sensitivity

Windows, Liux,

smartBridges airBridge

Ethernet Client

100mW

About $239

http://www.smartbridges.com

No driver required and work with any ethernet ready device

all OS

smartBridges airBridge Outdoor

Ethernet Client

17.8 dBm

$389

Ideal client device for WISP

Very Long Range - Can be up to 34 Km with appropriate antenna. Can only bridge one address

All OS

EST Model 192E

Ethernet

1.00 W

about $2,000

Industrial grade, operates as: client, access point, bridge , or repeater

All OS

LinksysWET11

Ethernet client

WET11 User Manual: 19dB (~80mW)

About $100

-83dB Receive Sensitivity. You CAN connect WET11 to Linux systems using Orinoco WaveLAN in Ad-Hoc mode

Windows Config/any OS

802.11g Hardware (NEW!)

Manufacturer/Model

Price

Ant. Connector

Tx Power

Receive Sensitivity

Services

Integrated Stuff

Config Interface

Comments

Discussion

MAC Control

Apple Airport Extreme

$199, $249 with USB print server

optional ($249 model only)Apple prop. connector

15dBm (30mW)

?

?

?

?

?

802.11g

yes

Linksys WPC54G (PCMCIA Card)

$69.99

no

10 mW (measured)

?

?

?

?

Complies with IEEE 802.11g draft standards,backwards compatible with IEEE 802.11b products, +10 dBm at onboard antenna b/g spectra

802.11g

yes

Linksys WMP54G (PCI Card)

$69.99

detachable antenna

?

?

?

?

?

Complies with IEEE 802.11g draft standards, and is backwards compatible with IEEE 802.11b products

802.11g

yes

Linksys WAP54G (Access Point)

$129.99

detachable antenna

15dBm (30mW)

11Mbps: -80dBm 54Mbps: -65dBm

?

?

?

none

802.11g

yes

Linksys WRT54G (Router)

$129.99

detachable antenna

?

?

?

?

?

none

802.11g

yes

Belkin Wireless Adapter 54MBPS

$??

?

?

?

?

?

Web

-

802.11g

?

Buffalo AirStation? 54Mbps Broadband Router WBR-G54

About $125

Lucent Connector

15dBm (32mW)

?

?

?

Web

WDS support

802.11g

Yes

D-Link DI-624 AirPlus? Xtreme G Router

$133.99

Dual R-SMA

15 dBm

-89dBm for 1 Mbps

DHCP WPA

Router AP

Web-based

NOT for bridging

802.11g

CSMA/CA with ACK

D-Link DWL-2000AP AirPlus? Xtreme G Access Point

$129.95

R-SMA

15 dBm

-89 dBm for 1 Mbps

DHCP WPA

AP Bridge client

Web-based

4 funct including bridging 2 networks

802.11g

CSMA/CA with ACK

D-Link DWL-G650 AirPlus? Xtreme G PC Card

$66.99

?

?

?

?

?

?

-

802.11g

?

ISA/PCI adapters

See PcmciaBridges

Belkin F5D6001? PCI Wireless lan card

IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

Complies with PCI 2.1 standard

64bit & 128 bit WEP

Operates in Peer to Peer and Infrastructure modes

External Detachable Rubber Antenna unscrews to SMA connector

Blekin also supplys a nice desktop omni antenna with a 5 foot cable ( F5D6900? )
Driver Windows 95 , 98SE,Me, 2000 , NT , XP
NOTE:- No Linux drivers supplied by belkin

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Product_Id=125962

or go to

http://www.belkin.com/

and product search for F5D6001?

Prices as of 1st October 02 direct from Belkin

$104 F5D6001? PCI Card

$24.99 F5D6900? Desktop antenna

Note: the current retail version (ver.2) of this card that is not prism based, it is AdmTek ADM8211 based.

Note: I picked up a F5D6001? that was labeled 'ver.2101'. The internals of this particular card version no longer seem to be Prism2 based, and as a result neither the wlan-ng or hostap linux drivers work with it.

Client Card Recommendations

There have been numerous questions on the mailing list as to which card is best.

There are two primary chipsets used in cards today. Prism2 based cards, and Hermes based cards.

The best (IMHO) card for general wireless networking: Lucent Silver/Gold. Being that SeattleWireless doesn't use WEP,
the silver card will work well. They have excellent receive sensitivity, and all (most?) of them sport an external antenna
connector it's easy to find PigTails for. Hermes chipset.

The other class of cards: Prism2. Many different cards use this chipset.
Pros: You can use hostap under linux to setup a DIY AccessPoint. There is also a debug mode that lets you see raw
802.11b frames. Very cool.
Cons: It's hard to find a card with a good receive sensitivity. Also, cards with external antenna connectors are somewhat
hard to find. I hear the zycomax works well, and has external connectors on it. Anyone care to comment? And if i am notwrong 3com Airconnect have also external MMCX connectors as we can see on AirconnectComments
Another good Prism2 solid performer (and some reviews give it the highest rating of all cards) is the Senao of which two models have 200mW: SL-2511CD Plus with internal diversity antenna and SL-2511CD Plus EXT2 with two external MMCX connectors (no internal antenna).

The 'uber' card: The CiscoAironet card is one of the few you can purchase that have 100 mW. I'm told they work well,
but they can be costly. Last I heard, the model with external antenna connectors can be only ordered in 40packs, but I've
seen few folks on ebay sell them for sub $170. CDW sells the Cisco AIR-LMC352 external antenna PCMCIA card for
$149 qty 1(2-9-2002) 4-17-2002 AIR-LMC352 available at CDW now for $120: http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?EDC=322827

Q. A question regarding mW ratings and how they affect the quality of the card? There is a large range from20 up to 100
mW. What difference does this make to the function of the card?

A. Milliwatts are the amount of power the cards transmit with. The higher the power, the easier it is for the other end to receive. Higher power does not equal higher quality. Antennas, pigtails, and cables make a huge impact on signal quality. Also, keep in mind that receive sensitivity also impacts the 'quality' of the card. If you compare a cheapo prism2 card (eg dlink - poor RX sensitivity) with a Lucent silver card (great RX sensitivity), you'll see that the lucent card will blow it out of the water. Note that these cards have the same (rated) mW output.

Keep in mind these are just simply opinions from a few Seattle wireless users. Feel free to update this page with other recommendations.

good news

...

I second the above recommendation on Lucent cards for two big reasons: 1) they're more sensitive (better range), 2) the external antenna connection is great, and most software works with them.
dsasd
...

WARNING: Some software installations may attempt to flash their own firmware, but instead damage your computer. The D-Link DWL-650+ software would not install on my target HP Omnibook, so I tried it on my newest HP Omnibook, which already had built-in wireless. The DWL-650+ worked irratically. After I un-installed the D-Link software, my laptop's internal wireless no longer functioned. I am a SW/HW engineer, and after 20 hours of work and calls to D-Link support, I believe that the laptop's original wireless firmware has been corrupted beyond repair -- a sickning price to pay.

... Warning: I've seen many sites advertising older D-Link products that only have 40 bit WEP as having 128 bit WEP. To check actual specs, go to D-Link's support page and look up product specifications. The original DWL-650 (not the plus) only has 40 bit.

...
Just to add that not only Seattle people are looking at this page it's becoming a good wireless card reference for all.

...
You can view older versions of the Hardware Comparis

Macintosh Drivers/Advice

For MacOS drivers see http://www.ioxperts.com - These blessed folks have, for the price of a large pizza and a six pack, < radically> increased the choice Macintosh users (both 9 and X) have in client cards. thankyou thankyou thankyou.

Also checkout http://wirelessdriver.sourceforge.net/ - These drivers are free and MacOS X only.

Another universal driver for MacOS 9/X is the AeroCard? Universal Mac Driver $25 - http://www.macsense.com/product/broadband/aerouni_b.html

...

If you want to get an unsupported USB wireless access point working on a Mac, read thisSlashdot discussion and read this advice page

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