On the access point thing:
MOST (if not all) of the manufacturers offer drivers which will work
in
802.11b Ad-Hoc mode – it is just an option that you select in the
configuration
program.
Be careful if you want to use the PCCard in a PocketPC, not all
manufacturers have drivers available for Windows CE 3.0
(yet)
Don’t buy a card that doesn’t have the option of an
external antenna – I
found this to my cost. Metal boxes seriously degrade performance. I have a
Compaq
card installed (that actually has a rubber ducky dipole screwed directly
into a
connector on the back of the PCI card) in my full tower server case (steel
box!), and at some angles the propagation is reduced to about 10 feet! The
Compaq and Cisco cards are different than most, in that the PCI offerings
are self
contained cards in their own right – they don’t have a slot to
plug a PCCard
into. Compaq don’t offer external antennae, and their support
department
refused to give me the specs for the connector. Luckily after about a week
of
industrious web searching I managed to find a company that makes a suitable
connector, and have ordered some from the US. I will now be able to make up
an
extension cable using low loss RG223 (similar to RG58) cable and mount the
antenna remotely so that it clears
obstructions.
Be careful if you want to go between floors. Most of the antennae I
have
come across propagate through 360 degrees horizontally but only 75 degrees
vertically. It may be OK if the distances are small, and there is no
substantial
metalwork, which can potentially block the
signal.
You may ask why I have gone to all the trouble with the Compaq
cards? Mainly
because 128 bit encryption is free. Out of the box they come with 40bit (it
is
actually the same as 64bit – but that is another story), but you can
download a
firmware/driver update that enables 128bit
encryption.
Prices: WL100 (PCCard) £115
WL200
(PCI Card) £125
Available from Dabs and
Microwarehouse.
Once I have got the antennae sorted out, I’ll post further.
I’ve had to
order the minimum quantity of five sets of connectors, and only need two,
so I’ll
be in a position to offer three cables (at cost) to anyone on the list who
decides to go this route.
And Mark I haven’t forgotten you – I do now have the
PCCard sleeve for
the iPAQ, but my iPAQ is dodgy and will only load the Wireless card driver
when
it feels like it, so it has to go back to Compaq (in the US) to be fixed.
When
it does work it is great, I’ve been watching the live Bloomberg TV
feed at 300K
(via DSL) on it, and my nephew has been streaming Britney Spears videos
when
ever he can get his hands on it! Just like a Pocket TV, only more
expensive!
Tim.