Pre-N laptop cards

The signal doesn't magically stop at 300 feet, it just gets progressively weaker. You need something that can detect it and make something out of the "weak" signal. That's why people add antennas to improve the gain.

I found some information on the Belkin site that leads me to believe their laptop cards give a 20% improvement on a regular b/g network.

-Mike

No. Your old router won't be able to send signal any further then now... Regards, Martin

Increasing the WiFi range of my laptop on the road is the question. I don't have control over the router. Belkin claims that you can improve the range by 20% by simply having their Pre-N laptop card with a standard b/g router. The antenna technology in the card is improved so the range is increased.

Does this actually work? Are there other cards, with bigger antennas, that solve this problem better?

-Mike

I've used an Orinoco PCMCIA card with a 24dbi grid, but somehow I doubt that's what you had in mind. I've considered gluing a 13dbi panel to the lid of my laptop but so far haven't had the heart to start applying adhesive to the lid.

I recently bought the Belkin pre-n router after reading a favorable review about it in the Wall Street Journal. It works like a charm and has eliminated every no signal spot in my house. As a matter of fact, the signal it sends out is so srrong that I've lit up my whole neighborhood and now I have to use encryption when I never did before. Setup was a no-brainer....it was flawless.

I think I paid about $150 for the router, which isn't bad considering that I pissed away a few hundred bucks on Linksys' $100 range extenders, which never seemed to extend the range at all.

Also, d>If I get a Pre-N laptop card will this increase my range when

Mike:

But they would say that, wouldn't they..., I know not of a proof.

Often the problem is you can't use the laptop in a position where the signal is strong enough. You can get PC cards which have external antenna connector (e.g. Orinoco Gold), but I found that a USB adapter on 1.2m cable is cheaper and equally effective option. Regards, Martin