Laptop wifi on the desktop

[yehuda]

Hi,

This question has been bugging me for a while and I thought maybe Tim or someone else here can share an insight.

As it happens every second desktop I see goes wireless. This is usually done by USB adapters but when I need to buy I get a PCI card because I find these cards more reliable. Still, both types give me more trouble than they should.

I thought it would be best if I could use an adapter with an Intel chip inside it but can't find any. Today I saw this item on eBay: a mini pci-e to pci-e adapter for desktops which includes antenna attachments.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Wireless-Mini-P...ultDomain_2&hash=item27b48145ca#ht_3037wt_911

I was wondering if I could pair it up with a cheap and decent module like the Intel WiFi Link 5100 card for some DIY fun and a reliable solution in the end. I could also replace the short antennas with this for better reception. Has anyone tried doing that?
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[stevech]

Funny, I never use PCI bus WiFi because the antenna placement is disadvantaged and/or needs lossy coax, etc.

Best is a WiFi client bridge. Connect to PC via ethernet. No drivers.

 

[yehuda]

I'll be happy to try that out. What kind of equipment do you use? I see that Edimax routers are pretty flexible with how you can configure their wireless module (unlike D-Link for example) so you can take a router and set it up as a repeater or client bridge (or even both at the same time, if I understand the documentation correctly).

The BR-6226n router is quite cheap here but it is not officially certified so I'm a little wary. Then there's the good old EW-7206AP access point, and the BR-6424n router.

I don't mean to skimp on quality, just trying to come up with something I can recommend to common people, who would otherwise get the cheapest adapter they can buy.
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[tipstir]

I have only one Buffalo Fast G54 PCI with rubber ducky ANT sticking out of the back. That works great no issues on a desktop. Now with Windows 7 drivers load without using a CD or SD-card.

 

[stevech]

I'll be happy to try that out. What kind of equipment do you use? I see that Edimax routers are pretty flexible with how you can configure their wireless module (unlike D-Link for example) so you can take a router and set it up as a repeater or client bridge (or even both at the same time, if I understand the documentation correctly).

The BR-6226n router is quite cheap here but it is not officially certified so I'm a little wary. Then there's the good old EW-7206AP access point, and the BR-6424n router.

I don't mean to skimp on quality, just trying to come up with something I can recommend to common people, who would otherwise get the cheapest adapter they can buy.

For others, non-Geeks, a cheap thing is to buy a USB WiFi adapter dongle and a USB extension cord. Place the dongle in a somewhat better elevated location.

 

[Aluminum]

Yes, search back for some posts in this forum too

Yes, they work fine if your system is compatible. 5300/6300 require a semi modern intel chipset based motherboard such as 9xx or stuff after 2008 or so, atheros/broadcom chips don't seem to care as long as you have drivers.

The current minicard standard is nothing but pcie x1 slot combined with a single usb 2.0 port on an edge connector with power traces, though most cards only use one of those. Some laptops only bother tracing half, or will split a single card slot into two with one being active for pci-e and the other usb.

Almost all the wifi minicards only use the pci-e connection.

Almost all WWAN (evdo or gsm/hspa) cards only use the usb connection. Some of the early "usb" WWAN dongles actually had a minicard inside of them.

Most "simple" minicards (like bluetooth etc) are usb based.

The xx50 wimax cards will switch via software between using wifi on pci-e and wimax on usb, you need both buses connected to properly install it.

There are some cards that use the physical connector but are not electrically minicards, they are usually a proprietary power and SATA port for a SSD.

 

[yehuda]

@tipstir

Thanks for the tip, however Buffalo products are not available in my area. I see this card uses a Broadcom controller. Never used one before. I know Broadcom is a major AMD partner (in laptop platform launches) so maybe their chips are better than the likes of Realtek and Ralink.

@stevech

Thanks for the tip regarding elevation. Re client bridge, I like the idea and will try doing it soon. Can anyone say if the Edimax BR-6226n will work reliably for this purpose?

@Aluminum

Wow, it looks like you know a lot about these adapters. You've answered my question so many thanks. In case others are interested in this subject, check out this website: http://www.bplus.com.tw/ It's a company selling ready kits for the desktop and their website looks pretty decent seeing how they have datasheets and say the kits are FCC certified.
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