Great Buy For First Time Buyers Looking To Set Up a Wireless Home Network II
Written: Mar 31 '05 (Updated Apr 01 '05)
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Pros: Easy and fast installation and configuration.
Cons: Dropped connections in the beginning, heats up pretty hot.
The Bottom Line: Setting up this adaptor to work with our wireless home network was a piece of cake. Some problems when we first used it but it has redeemed itself.
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| lynus's Full Review: Linksys WUSB54G Wireless-G USB Network Adapter |
INTRODUCTION
You can read all about the trials and tribulations I went though in setting up my wireless router by checking out - “Great Buy For First Time Buyers Looking To Set Up A Wireless Home Network I”.
Once you have purchased and set up a Wireless-G Home Network your very next purchase should be a Network Adaptor like the Linksys WUSB54G. Like the Linksys WRT54G router the WUSB54G is backward compatible and will work with users who have a Wireless-B home network. And, with the release of version 7.1 owners of Tivo’s can now use the WUSB54G although Tivo has stated that there will be no advantage between using a Wireless-G and a Wireless-B adaptor in terms of speed. In our case I needed an adaptor to hook up to my wife’s computer so she could use the Internet in the living room while I could still use the Dell in the bedroom. And, like our router, Santa delivered this product so we couldn’t complain about price.
INSTALLATION
After completing the installation and configuration of my Linksys Wireless Router I broke open the box for the Linksys WUSB54G Network Adaptor. Measuring in size not much larger than a deck of cards, the Network Adaptor is perhaps the most straightforward device since the invent of the floppy disk. Honestly, if you have Windows XP/2000 then the installation of this device can be started and completed in a single breath.
Linksys provides all the necessary tools out of the box. Actually, there are only two items needed for the WUSB54G to work besides a laptop or a computer. In the box I found a USB cable which had a small almost square looking end on one end and the standard looking USB rectangle on the other. With the laptop off (I always believe in plugging things in and/or out with the computer off) I plugged one end of the USB cable into the Network Adaptor and the other into the laptop. Powered back on the laptop, Windows recognized the new hardware, and the Network Adaptor was up and running.
CONFIGURATION
You may have noticed that at the end of the last paragraph I (on purpose) ended the sentence with “and the Network Adaptor was up and running” this in no way meant that my Internet connection was up and running. In fact, it wasn’t.
As part of the installation I noticed that on my wife’s computer there was now a bright green icon located down by her clock. The icon was the shortcut to the configuration for the WUSB54G. For those of you how have set up a Wireless router like the WRT54G – this configuration is a cinch.
The only configurations the WUSB54G will accept are those that are needed to communicate with the WAP (Wireless Access Point) aka your Wireless router. The main screen will display all the wireless receptions the Network Adaptor is currently able to see. In this list my router appeared along with two other broadcasts coming from other individuals in my apartment complex.
After selecting my router I entered in the Passphrase which is a fancy word for a password and then clicked connect. No more than two seconds later the connection graphic changed and now said that besides being connected to the access point it was now connected to the Internet.
PERFORMANCE
I am not a technical wizard with the tools to measure how good of a reception the WUSB54G receives and granted that the distance between the WRT54G (router) and the WUSB54G (adaptor) is approximately only 20 feet through one door – but using the Internet on my wife’s computer is just as fast as using it on my computer in the bedroom that is wired to the router.
We have however had two dropped connections but both came when we were first using it. Still to this day I don’t know why the adaptor dropped our connections but the first one came after I tried to install AOL Instant Messenger. After the install of AOLIM, the adaptor would no longer communicate with the access point. I tried multiple restarts and everything I could think of but I couldn’t get it to work. After uninstalling AOLIM everything was back to normal. Not to be discouraged I tested it one more time by reinstalling AOLIM and unlike the first time I did not have any problems connecting to the access point. Weird!
We haven’t tested how far away we can take my wife’s laptop and the WUSB54G from the router but I’d imagine that the two other wireless connections I can see being broadcasted are at least from another apartment building.
QUICK NOTES
► It may look a little flimsy in the pictures, but the blue antenna that pops up is actually pretty sturdy. However it can only be moved up and down, it cannot be swiveled. To accomplish this you must move the entire device.
► On the bottom of the adaptor is a piece of tape you can pull off to expose a sticky substance that you can use to stick the adaptor to your laptop or table/desk to keep it in place. To remove the adaptor you can pull it to the left and it will unsnap from this docking port allowing you to take the adaptor with you if needed. Simply line them back up, to dock it back to the table/desk.
► After prolonged use the unit can heat up to a pretty warm temperature.
► The WUSB54G runs on the 2.4Ghz band as do many telephone devices. Although we haven’t experienced a big issue with this (primarily because we use cell phones all the time) it is important to point out that some devices in a home can get in each other’s way because they all share the same frequency band.
► The WUSB54G is designed to work for the USB 2.0 standard although it is backward compatible with USB 1.1 but connecting it to a USB 1.1 port would severely limit the connection speed since USB 1.1 tops out at 12MB/s.
► Unlike my Tivo which tells me what the signal strength between its wireless adaptor and the router is – the software for the WUSB54G does not have this feature. The graphic shows you when it is connected and when it is not. Not how good of a connection it is.
OVERALL
We are very pleased with the performance of the WUSB54G. Installation for us was a breeze primarily because we have both a version of Windows that did all the installation for us and a USB 2.0 port making a fast connection. Besides a couple of dropped and frustrating connections when it was first installed we have had no long term problems using it. I cannot tell you much in terms of if the connection “fluctuates” since my wife is primarily using it for surfing the web and using her online grade book for her elementary school. For what we needed it for, the WUSB54G worked out perfectly.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 0.00
Driver Availability: Don''t Know
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lynus
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Location: Las Vegas, NV
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Slowly trying to get back to the thick of things.
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