USB-key wireless network adapters

[scaryjeff]

Hi. I'm setting up a friends broadband with a wireless network. Obviously I don't want them spending more than they need to (we are students), but at the same time, the thing is going to need to work. I saw that USB-key wireless network adapters are a fair bit cheaper than the 'box with an antenna' ones (e.g. the linksys WUSB54G) - has anybody used this kind of network adapter? Do they generally work properly, or is it best to pay a bit more and get a 'box' one?

Also, I am looking at the linksys WRT54G router - it says it supports wireless G and wireless B, but since there is such a thing as a dual band router, I'm guessing the WRT54G can't have G and B connections at the same time? Just wanted to double check that.

 

[JackMDS]

1. All the 802.11g Wireless Hardware is also 802.11b compatible it is part of the standard.

2. 801.11g and 802.11g can work at the same time, but the 802.11g connection would be reduced significantly in the presence of 802.11b.

3. The USB Key like Wireless works OK however being stuck directly on the computer reduces the flexibility to manipulate the Antenna in case of a poor signal

:sun:

 

[scaryjeff]

OK, thanks.

Do you think getting a USB extension lead and putting the USB key on the end of that would help? The distance from the router to any of the PCs is quite short, everything is within around a 10 meter radius of the router through up to I guess 2 walls.

 

[JackMDS]

Yeah, if you need the extra flexibilty get a USB extention cord.

:sun:

 

[n0cmonkey]

I have purchased both the boxy and the key versions of the 802.11b Linksys USB adapters. They both come with an extension cable (IIRC) so you do not need to plug them directly into the computer. The boxy one did not work for me, but it worked fine for a friend (it was the wrong version for me, but won't affect Windows machines). The usb key version worked just fine.