[CUWiN-Dev] Re: Recommendations on 802.11b PCI 2.1 cards for CUWin ?

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hi James,

Folks on the -dev list may be able to help you (I've cc-ed the list -- if 
anyone has ideas where James can get an appropriate wireless card, let us 
know.  The problem about changing chipsets is a big one -- I'm hoping 
someone can provide a URL where you can get a fully supported card online.

--Sascha

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005, James A. Stori wrote:

> Sasha,
>
> Thanks again for the help, and for entering us into the database.
>
> I have been looking for a 802.11b wireless NIC that will work in our old 
> Pentium PC, and I am having a fair amount of trouble.
>
> I believe that we need a card that will work on PCI 2.1  (our PC uses the 
> Intel 430HX chipset which supports 2.1 not 2.2).
>
> The CUWin Supported chipsets were listed as follows:
>   * Intersil Prism II, 2.5, 3.
>   * Atheros a/b/g chips --- need more testing in ad hoc mode.
>   * Lucent/Orinoco/Avaya/Agere/Proxim/whatever 802.11b: might have problems 
> w/ ibss splits, need to find out the best firmware version.
>   * Cisco Aironet: might have problems w/ ibss splits, need to find out the 
> best firmware version.
>   * ADMtek ADM8211A
>   * ADMtek ADM8211C/CR support anticipated.
>   * Realtek RTL8180 support in progress.
> From the above, I gathered that the "safest" bets would be Prism II, 2.5, 3 
> or ADM8211A. I realize that CUWin was also encouraging use of the Atheros 
> cards, however these mostly seem to require PCI 2.2 support.
>
> I have been looking at the Belkin F5D6001, Netgear MA311, DlinkDwl520,  and 
> Linksys WMP11 cards, but the search appears to be complicated by the fact 
> that many of the cards seem to keep changing the chipset used (different 
> versions), and there is conflicting information about which ones will work on 
> a PCI 2.1 system.
>
> One card that looked promising was the Belkin F5D6001.  However, I couldn't 
> find anyone selling the v.1 Prism-based card. Version 2101 listed the chipset 
> as ADM8211 rather than ADM8211A (is there a difference?). Then, the V.3 uses 
> RTL8180 which is listed as "support in progress."  Should I stay away from 
> these cards?
>
> Would you happen to know of any specific PCI NICs that might fit the bill? 
> (and would be available via ebay or retail)
>
> Thanks very much !
>
> - Jamie

-- 
Sascha Meinrath
President                 *   Project Coordinator   *   Policy Analyst
Acorn Worker Collective  ***  CU Wireless Network  ***  Free Press
www.acorncollective.com   *   www.cuwireless.net    *   www.freepress.net