FLAT 802.11 wireless PCMCIA card

[Matthias99]

I've been looking for a particular piece of hardware for an older laptop. It's an older IBM Thinkpad that doesn't have Ethernet, and I'm trying to add both an Ethernet and 802.11 card through PCMCIA (it has two Type II 32-bit slots). However, I'd prefer to use an ethernet card that doesn't need a dongle -- thus, that card has to go in the upper slot, and I need an 802.11 card that is *flat* -- it can't stick up at all (although it could stick down). I bought one that *looked* flat, but it actually has about an 1/8" lip, and it's just enough that the Ethernet card won't fit at the same time (though it's very close). I tried Googling, and searching several forums, but nothing's turning up. Does anyone know of a perfectly flat 802.11 card of any kind?

 

[n0cmonkey]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=33-317-101&DEPA=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-315-014&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-156-127&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-150-005&depa=0

Can't tell for sure, but they look like they might be flat... Personally, I'd use them at different times.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=33-317-101&DEPA=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-315-014&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-156-127&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-150-005&depa=0

Ah. I've only been looking at "name-brand" cards (although I must have missed that Netgear).

Can't tell for sure, but they look like they might be flat... Personally, I'd use them at different times.

If it was for me, I wouldn't have a problem switching out the cards (although it would still be a huge PITA to do it all the time). However, this is a laptop that belongs to a less technically adept friend of mine, and making her yank PCMCIA cards from a running machine (or shutdown and restart) every time she wants to switch from wired to wireless is not a good solution.

In any case -- for anyone else with this problem, you want a PCMCIA card with a 5mm or .2 inch maximum height. Cards that will block the second slot are 7/8mm or .3 in.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Ahhh, gotcha.