802.11b - Any cheap (~$100) high powered NIC's for a desktop?

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Chu

Banned
Jan 2, 2001
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Hello all. My school provides internet access in the dorms via 802.11b. The problem is, I am in the room furthest from the reciever, and my Orinoco Gold on my laptop can BARELY get a signal in one half of the room that drops frequently, and cannot at all in the other half.

I don't really care too much about this since I don't use my labtop much at home, but with my desktop it is a much larger problem. Is there an 802.11b card with a powerful antenna that will work with my desktop? I am willing to spend up to $100, and possibly more if it is truly necessary.

Another possible solution might be to use my wireless router as a repeater, but it does not provde this option natevetly (it is a first generation belkin), and I doubt there is any way to upgrade the firmware. Please tell me if I am wrong here.

Thanks in advance,

-Chu

P.S., PLEASE don't suggest the pringles can -- this needs to be bidirectional for obvious reasons.
 
JackMDS

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
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Antenna does not add power; it is using the power that comes from the Wireless AP/Card transmission.

Some Antennae are better constructed and thus more efficient and produce more gain.

Unless you are looking for an ?extremely? directional Antenna, I would not worry about the power of Entry Level 802.11b Wireless.
 
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ApacheXMD

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
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also check out the Netstumbler hardware forum. You'll find many people there who have built antennae. I've built one based on this, only without the dish. I can get a usable signal from a neighbor's Access Point, where before, I couldn't even detect the access point. I'm using an Orinoco Silver PCMCIA, so this would probably work for you.

There's also the venerable Cantennas, which would probably work in your case too and they're easy to build.

Everything you need to put one together can be found at FAB corp including a pigtail cable for your orinoco gold, which by the way, is the card of choice for net stumbling.

-patchy
 
C

Chu

Banned
Jan 2, 2001
2,911
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0
Originally posted by: JackMDS
Antenna does not add power; it is using the power that comes from the Wireless AP/Card transmission.

Some Antennae are better constructed and thus more efficient and produce more gain.

Unless you are looking for an ?extremely? directional Antenna, I would not worry about the power of Entry Level 802.11b Wireless.
Click to expand...

Ok, thank you for clearing that up. Since I am essentially buying a new 802.11b card for this (I don't want to share my orinoco between my desktop and labtop), any suggestions as to what brand/model will give me the most oomph after I attach the Antenna, preferrably for ~$50 or less?

-Chu
 
C

Chu

Banned
Jan 2, 2001
2,911
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0
Originally posted by: ApacheXMD
also check out the Netstumbler hardware forum. You'll find many people there who have built antennae. I've built one based on this, only without the dish. I can get a usable signal from a neighbor's Access Point, where before, I couldn't even detect the access point. I'm using an Orinoco Silver PCMCIA, so this would probably work for you.

There's also the venerable Cantennas, which would probably work in your case too and they're easy to build.

Everything you need to put one together can be found at FAB corp including a pigtail cable for your orinoco gold, which by the way, is the card of choice for net stumbling.

-patchy
Click to expand...

Thanks for this nfo too. I think I really do prefer just buying something though, since my access to even basic tools is very limited.

-Charles

 
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