D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G Wireless
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Richard Poelling
Kurtis
D-Link
Oct. 17, 2004
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First Looks
The D-Link router looks like an ordinary wireless router, no real surprises here. It has all the requisite lights, a single antenna, a port labeled WAN for the connection to the Internet, and 4 switched 10/100 ports. Also included you will find a quick start guide, a CD-ROM, some legs, some small rubber things, and two screws with wall anchors.
   
What really impressed me about the D-Link router before I even fired it up was the thought that went into its physical design. Unlike standard switches, a wireless routers' performance is directly related to its location and setup. With this in mind, the DI-624 has many mounting options. First the device can be set on its side with the included legs. Second, those little rubber feet can be inserted into the various holes on the device to give a padded, vibration free setup. Finally, with the included screws, you can pretty much mount the device onto anything, including drywall if you use the included wall anchors. When viewing the DI-624 from the back, you will notice that the two mounting holes are at an angle, this enables the device to be mounted in any orientation the user wants, very nice.

The PCI adapter is also your standard wireless adapter. The wireless antenna just screws into the back, after the card has been installed. Also included is a half-height adapter to convert the card to a smaller form factor to fit into slimmer cases. Otherwise, not too much can be said about its physical characteristics. I would have liked to see a longer antenna on the PCI. The back of a computer case is not the best place for great reception. Having an antenna with a substantial wire to allow good placement would a greater addition.
 
The PCMCIA card is pretty ordinary as well. It has two lights that enable you to monitor its activity. As with the PCI card, nothing truly fantastic about its physical design.
 
1 - Posted by
Rich
on October 27, 2004 - 8:19 am
I probably didn't go into too much detail about the fact that this router has a cable test feature. Although nice, it kind of got overshadowed by some of the the other items such as the wireless. I just got a chance to fully utilize this nice little addition. We had internet failure with our existing router and I figured the thing had just died, so I hooked up the dlink to test it out. Sure enough it told me the WAN cable was disconnected. Further information then told me that the Tx pair was OK but the Rx pair had a break at 28 meters. Tracking down the line found a major rip in the cable that was caused by a careless ladder, and sure enough half the wires were intact, the other half weren't so lucky. I would definitely rank that feature up their with the "don't know how good it is until you need it" catagory. Now if they could just get that setup wizard fixed,..... :wink:
2 - Posted by
scott
on November 11, 2004 - 12:28 pm
I have used the g520 card on XP and 98 machines with no problems connecting to a 624. However, trying to use the cards on win2k at a users has proved out to be misserable. There tech support has only suggested reloading the operating system, 3 times and no help. All in All I would say that it is not usable with win2k and that there tech support is not helpful having clocked up more than 12hrs talking to them.
3 - Posted by
Guest
on February 12, 2005 - 11:19 pm
I have now spent 5 days trying to get a DI-624 and DWL-G650 functioning on an XP laptop. I also bought a D-Link print server. Level 3 D-Link tech support can't solve the problems. What a mess.
4 - Posted by
Rich
on August 9, 2005 - 11:36 pm
I would like to post a quick update to this initial review. D-Link has new Firmware for this router which now enhances the virtual cable test feature and adds the WPA2 standard to the security setup. The setup wizard still blows (hint hint). They also removed the speedboost with static turbo to better conform to the WiFi Alliance specifications. All-in-all, I would still recommend this router. It is currently holding its own as my primary gateway. That is saying something since I have fried some gateways too.
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