Pros: Connect is solid and date transfer is as advertised.
Cons: Range appears to be extremely limited.
The Bottom Line: I have experienced poor range with these cards, but it could also be the access point. I would recommend the card for smaller houses and or apartments.
vemartin's Full Review: Linksys Instant Wireless WPC11 Network Adapter
The power to roam free throughout the house and surrounding grounds of my home while staying connected to my small home network is one of the main reasons I switched our wired network to a hybrid wireless/wired configuration. Of course another reason is that I did not want to drill holes and run multicolored Cat-5 cable throughout our new home.
When it came time to purchase our new wireless equipment (Linksys), I did my research and decided upon a package that made economic sense for us, but still delivered the performance I would need. In a wired network the Network Interface Card (NIC) provides the communication between the different computers attached to the network. In wireless networking the same principles apply, only the NIC is wireless; in this case the Linksys Instant Wireless WPC11.
Because wireless networking started out as a way to connect notebook computers to a wired network, giving the user the ability to roam freely throughout a corporate campus, most wireless Ethernet adapters are in the form of Type II PC Cards (PCMCIA for the old school set). The Linksys Instant Wireless WPC11 is such a card. The WPC11 is a fully functional Ethernet NIC that conforms to the 802.11b standards for performance in interoperability with other 802.11b equipment. The card operates at a frequency of 2.4Ghz, and utilizes the same protocols as wired Ethernet adapters; i.e. TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, Microsofts’ NetBEUI, etc.
In order to satisfy our networking needs I purchased two WPC11’s, and mated then with two Linksys Instant Wireless WDT11 PCI adapter cards, and a Linksys Instant Wireless Access Point (WAP11) (see my reviews @ http://www.epinions.com/content_2059837572, for a complete overview of wireless networking and http://www.epinions.com/content_38700355204 for a look at the WDT11),which I then installed in the two desktop PC’s used by my spouse and me. A word of warning: pay close attention the way you insert the card into the WDT11, ; it only goes in one way. The manual gives detailed step-by-step instructions for inserting the card the right way, so follow them. If the WPC11 card is inserted wrong it will not work!
Once the card was inserted into the WDT11, both installed into the PC, and powered it up. Both Windows 98 and Windows 98 Me, auto-recognized the NIC and prompted me for drivers, which were provided by Linksys. Included in the driver setup is a handy little utility which tells you if you are connected to the access point(WAP11), as well as the signal and connection quality of the NIC to the access point.
Performance:
When I originally install all of the wireless equipment we stilled lived in an apartment and the separation between rooms was nominal. In the apartment the setup worked fine and I had no problems maintaining a strong signal strength and connection between the access point and both WPC11 NIC’s. Now that we’ve moved into our home, the situation has changed somewhat, and I must say I am rather disappointed in the performance of the wireless equipment.
I set up the access point in an upstairs closet in the front of the house, connected directly to the hub that services the three remaining wired computers in our network. I put the access point up on a shelve in the closet and directed its antennae up and lateral to get the best transmission and reception. One desktop is in the loft not 25 feet away, and yet the connection often reads poor and the signal strength, good to poor! The other desktop is downstairs in the living room and the connection to it is poor, and the signal strength always reads poor, and I can sometime lose the connection altogether!
The house is made of wood framing, with medal studs and aluminum siding, so there is no structural reason why the connections are so bad. And the house is not that big, so there is not more than 35 feet of space between the access point and any one NIC. I have noted that both the connection quality and signal strength increase in the mornings and decrease in the later afternoon and throughout the night. At this point however, it hard to pin-point the reason for the less then desired performance, because it could be either the NIC’s or the access point. I will do some experimentation and update this review with the results.
Just the Specs Man:
* Card Type PCMCIA Type II
* Standard IEEE 802.11b (with automatic scale back)
* Interoperable with IEEE 802.11b (DSSS) 2.4GHz-compliant Equipment
* 11 Mbps High-Speed Transfer Rate
* Compatible with Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT and Millennium
* Plug-and-Play Operation Provides Easy Set Up
* Advanced Power Management Features Conserve Valuable Notebook PC Battery Life
* Metal Design with Integrated Antenna
* Up to 128-Bit WEP Encryption
* LED’s Power, Transfer/Receive
I suppose the real question is am I satisfied with my purchase? The short answer is yes I am, because I am able to access my data files from the file server from anywhere in the house. The long answer is, we’ll have to wait and see. I have yet to really test the portability of my notebook, which has a Cisco wireless NIC installed. So far I have been able to connect to the access point from the downstairs master bedroom with the notebook, but have yet to try and connect from outside the house. Time and experimentation will tell weather or not my wireless setup can meet all my expectations. Stay tuned, updates to come…
Linksys WPC11 v.4802.11b Wireless-B Notebook Adapter General Features: 11 Mbps high-speed transfer rate in 2.4 GHz radio band Wireless-B (802.11b) con...More at Amazon Marketplace
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