Wireless PCMCIA to PCI Adapter Question

[UTmtnbiker]

Just started setting up my WLAN and am having a dilema setting up some desktops in other rooms. I want to put in a wireless PCI adapter into these computers. I've been looking around and it looks like D-Link, Linksys, Netgear and some others make PCI adapters that have a PCMCIA slot in them that you stick a PCMCIA wireless NIC into and then plug that entire unit into the PCI slot of a desktop.

Well, me being the cheapy-cheapy that I am though I could kill 2 birds with one stone with this solution. When I'm on my laptop, pull out the PCMCIA card out of the PCI adapter in the desktop and put it into my laptop (I'm sure this is what these devices are marketed towards). My question, will the PCI adapter of one brand (say Linksys) work the PCMCIA card of another brand (say Netgear)? I figure this way I can get the PCMCIA card that I want (Netgear) and find whatever cheap adapter is being sold off of Ebay or is this all a pipe dream and they're all proprietary.

Second, would it be possible to use a wireless CF card, plug that into a CF to PCMCIA adapter, and then plug it into one of these PCI adapters? This would cover all my bases (PDA, lappy, and desktop).

Lastly, can you just get any PCMCIA adapter, say ones that are out on the market for plugging in any type of PCMCIA adapter to connect to the desktop or do you need these special wireless PCI adapters?

Any input (including "you're smokin' crack") would be helpful.

TIA

 

[JackMDS]

If you have a big imaginary store that has all of these hardware by many brands, what you describing can be done, with a lot of trying and returning.

Most Wireless Client cards are PCMCIA, which work very well with Laptops.

For Desktop, it is usually better to use USB Wireless Card. Most PCI Wireless Cards with fixed antenna (stuck behind the PC) yield inferior results versus the Flexible Antenna on a USB card.

PCMCIA Desktop Adaptors are going for about $40, they suppose to be inter-brand compatible, but it not always so.

PCMCIA to Wireless CF need to be the type II they are more expensive, and most of them don?t have the drivers for Laptop, or Desktops.

To the best of my knowledge D-Link offers such a set. Wireless CF, PCMCIA and Desktop adapters, with Drivers for the iPaq, and Win XP.

However, YMMV.