LF: PCMCIA Wi-Fi w/external SMA connector

I've been flipping through some of the posts in this forum on the subject, and must compliment those of you who have undertaken the soldering route to attach antennas to PCMCIA and USB NIC's. Certainly a fun way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. ;-)

Myself, if possible, I'd like to avoid that route until the simple option is explored. Essentially, as per the title, I'm just after a PCMCIA wi-fi NIC with an external SMA connector so I can attach a D- Link +7dbi antenna to it. I have the same antenna attached to one of my wi-fi access points, and the goal is to be able to hit that signal from the coffee shop down the road. I can hit the pub down the road just fine, however, that's not going to help me get much work done. LOL!

So, if anyone has a good list of Wi-Fi cards on the market that will support an SMA antenna, could you please toss me a recommendation or two.

TIA,

Paul

Reply to
Paul Mathieu
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On 11 Feb 2007 08:04:49 -0800, "Paul Mathieu" wrote in :

Buffalo Wireless-G 125 High-Speed Notebook Adapter WLI-CB-G54S

Reply to
John Navas

"Paul Mathieu" hath wroth:

Those are from pre-ROHS solder. The new and un-improved unleaded solder is really awful to work with. Sniff.... I miss my lead.

Y'er no fun. Soldering is easy. You need someone to show you how, a really good iron, some new tips, a tip cleaner, and some e-Waste circuit boards to practice upon. Some burn grease, band-aids, and gas mask might also be helpful. After a few days of practice, you'll be ready to attack the real thing.

If it were that easy, it would be no fun. There are several cards that have external connectors. There are a variety of manufacturers with cards that have external connectors:

etc. There are others. In general, the "high power" PCMCIA cards all have external antenna connectors. However, don't assume that all the connectors are the same. They vary by manufactory. You'll need a "pigtail" adapter to a standard connector such as an SMA, TNC, or Type-N.

Use a directional antenna, not the cheap 2dBi omni found on the access points.

I've only used the Buffalo card on a customers system. It worked well enough on Windoze XP, but I've done no real testing and only with the internal antenna.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Easy..Not a card..But 5 foot USB data cable lets you orient the R.F. No obstructions..2 Miles..piece of cake.

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Reply to
Jack Daniels

John, Jeff, Jack...

Thanks for the feedback. I've started looking into the Buffalo cards per your comments. From what I see on the 54gHP card the SMA connector looks like the one I'll need. Have checked some stores in town for stock but no go; will probably either have my wholeseller order one in or break down and buy from Tiger Direct. Looks like it's goin to run me ~$60.00 which seems fair.

With respect to the soldering once again: I'm just looking to take the simple route for this project. But Jeff your right, I should take a run at it. I've played around with a kit from Radio Shack +/- 15yrs ago, but never with any specific project in mind - mainly just used the iron to do minor electronic repairs (and even those were hack jobs). Will get in touch with the local electronics shop in my area and see what equipment they have, as well see if I can get a copy of "Soldering for Dummies" (or find a time when it's not busy and get one of the kids/clerks to ante up some pointers) ;-)

I'll drop another line back in due course, after I get my hands on the above mentioned card. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out

- i.e.: If the coffee shop crew think that I'm trying to crack into the bank beside them, instead of just accessing my home connection.

~Cheers,

Paul

Reply to
Paul Mathieu

On 11 Feb 2007 21:02:03 -0800, "Paul Mathieu" wrote in :

$40 at Newegg.com, a much better reseller IMnsHO:

Reply to
John Navas

cake.http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewproduct.asp? I second that. USB is worth considering as well as PCMCIA. This product has more antenna, less amp than the above. With an external RP- SMA jack, it lends itself to really high gain directionals if needed.

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Overall adavantage over a pcmcia card is: zero cable loss, no pigtail between antenna and jack. Works on any pc, laptop or desktop.

Reply to
seaweedsteve

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