Note: This is a review for the RG-1000 only, even though I bought the RG-1000 in kit form, which includes both the RG-1000 and one silver wireless PC Card. A separate review for the silver wireless PC Card shell be forthcoming. Thank you for your patience.


If you have read my past reviews, you may have come across a review titled " This Symphony Hits Bad Chords ". It is a review telling of the abuse and torture I had to put up with, using the Proxim Symphony system. If you have not read it yet, and would like to see how not to buy a wireless network system, please check it out; me and my Epinions royalties will thank you for it. *grin* If, for some odd reason, you choose not to read the fore mentioned review, I shall try to sum up what happened:

I bought the Symphony network.

I installed the Symphony network and it was an easy install.

I ran the Symphony network. It runs poorly. Why?

The Symphony network conflicts with both my Siemens and my Panasonic 2.4 GHz telephones.

The Symphony cordless modem loses dial up signal at the top of a hat.

The Symphony cordless modem drops signal from it to the cards often, probably due to the fore mentioned 2.4 GHz conflict.

That just about sums it up. I knew it was just a matter of time before I replace this faulty wireless system, I just didn't realize how quickly it was to come to pass. The last nail in the Symphony Network's coffin happened around a month ago, when I was making a firmware update to the cordless modem. I was hoping that with this update I would be able to get some sort of enhancement with the that would be a stronger signal to compensate for the telephone conflicts or perhaps Proxim had solved the issues regarding why the modem drops its dial up. Unfortunately, what I did get I was not too happy about; after the update loaded, it rendered the cordless modem useless. When that happened, I knew it was time to look for another wireless alternative.

When I first started researching all of the wireless networking products out there, the Lucent RG-1000 Kit was one of the few high speed wireless systems on market. However fast it may be, I avoided it because of its price and because of the low-rated reviews it was receiving in Epinions. Since I do not have much networking experience, I found that taking on a networking system that is difficult to set up to be a fearful and undaunting task. When I decided that my Symphony system must be replaced, and I start researching wireless networks once again, I found there were several alternatives to the Lucent Kit and most had very favorable reviews. I'm sure you're asking yourself, if you knew the Lucent system is more difficult to set up and there are others that are easier to set up, why did you pick the Lucent Kit after all? My selection was due to one reason; the Lucent RG-1000 is the only unit that has the ability to connect a DSL or cable modem to it and have the flexibility of a built-in 56K modem for dial up purposes. All of the other companies that sell wireless access points assume that you only need to connect to a DSL or cable modem. There is one exception to this; The Buffalo Air Station can accept either a DSL/cable modem or they have a unit with a built-in 56K modem for dial up, but not both in the same unit; if you currently have a dial up like I do, and if you plan on updating to DSL or cable broadband in later days, the RG-1000 is the only unit that is set up for both. Realizing that this was my cheapest option, I bit the bullet and bought the RG-1000 Kit, hoping that it would 'be gentle' so to speak.

Like many hopes, wishes and dreams, they do not always come true.

The hardware installation was very easy. The RG-1000 only requires that you remove the back cover, write down the RG-1000's ID, (this is an important step because any wireless device that communicates with the RG-1000 will need this ID) then plug the power-supply and the data cable whether that be a RJ-45 Ethernet (that cable you will have to supply yourself, by the way) or the supplied RJ-11 phone cable into the back of the RG-1000. After that, all you need to do is plug the other end of the RJ-11 into the phone outlet and the other end of the power supply into the wall and you're ready to go.

(Note: since I did not have to use the Ethernet side of this device, I can't give you any details as to how difficult that hardware installation is, but if I have read correctly all you need to do is connect the cable modem or DSL modem to the RG-1000 as you would connect to a NIC card Please, anyone that knows if this is not the case, leave a not in this review. Thank you.)

The hardware hook up is not the problem that you'll encounter, it's the software that is a bear to install. The manual, if you want to call it that, consist of a small " Getting Started " booklet, which when I first read it, it led me to believe that the engineers at Lucent Technologies believe that the software installation is a no-brainer. There are two software loads to install, the Client Manager and the RG Setup Utility. The Client Manager installed without a hitch, but after installing the Setup Utility, I tried to run the program but it is programmed in Java and is not an executable program. I found out the hard way that my Java program is not working, so I had to uninstall both my Java runtime environment as well as uninstall the setup utility, then reinstall the setup utility and let it install its included Java runtime environment. After doing that, the setup utility would run, but that was just a momentary victory; I had won one battle but the war was not over.

I ran the setup utility, and the first thing it did was lockup when it tried to identify the RG-1000. I canceled the procedure, closed the program and tried again and this time it recognized the RG-1000. Any software that operates iffy tends to scare me, so I knew this was only the beginning. The next thing I had to try to accomplish is setting up the dial up information for my ISP which should of been an easy task as well, but the setup utility did not and would not send the setup information to the RG-1000. Eventually, I had to unplug my Silver Card, plug in my Xircom modem, download all of the updates that pertain to the RG-1000 and the silver card that came with it and after doing that the setup utility worked fine. Just a suggestion, if you buy this kit find out if it's the later version of software that comes with it and if it is chances are the install will load without a hitch.

Using the RG-1000 is a breeze. The dial up function could be more detailed, such as including a timer to tell you how long how have been on-line and at what speed you connect at. Also, the setup utility could have allowed for call waiting, but other than those two details it works like a charm. I've yet to lose the wireless connection from interference by my phones, thanks in part to being able to change to frequency of the RG-1000. (BTW, if you read my review on the Panasonic phone, that clicking noise is gone now that the Symphony is dead and gone) Also, I have not have any problems with interference from the microwave, nor have I had the RG-1000 disconnect from my ISP for no reason whatsoever. In short, this Kit is rock solid and works just the way it is supposed to work, A novel idea, eh?

In short, if you need a wireless network system, can afford the expense, and have the need for a modem with the possibility of broadband in the future, I can recommend the Lucent, Orinoco RG-1000 Kit under two conditions:

1. Be sure to read the other Epinions regarding this product. There are others that have covered the technical side of this kit far better than I have. (in fact I haven't really covered any of the technical aspects since I am very green in regards to the network side of things) There are a few that have instructions and directions on what to do and what not to do with this product.

2. If you are sure the you'll be able to get the latest version of the software that comes with these units, or if you are knowledgeable with downloading software updates, my suggestion is that you do one or the other. The newer version eliminates most, if not all of the bugs the older versions have, thus making installation and setup much easier. If you get an older RG-1000 or the older version of the software, be warned and be prepared to beat your head against the wall for a few days.

None of that sounds very appealing to you? Believe me, I do understand. If you do not have the need of a built-in modem, or you know you will not be switching to a cable or DSL environment soon, you may want to check out one of the Buffalo Air Stations instead. From what I've read, Buffalo's access points are much easier to set up and install software wise. At any rate, good luck, and happy hunting. *smile*

Recommended: Yes