Belkin Dual-Band Wireless A+G Networking

Reviews: Networking

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Richard Poelling
Kurtis
Belkin
Mar. 27, 2005

Specifications

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Adapter Setup

PCI Adapter

The Belkin PCI card installs like most standard PCI cards. On the package a large yellow sticker instructs the user to install the software before installing the card. In my testing I have found that you can use either the software provided by Belkin or use the Windows-based Wireless Zero Configuration interface. By inserting the card and then pointing the "Found New Hardware" wizard to the CD-ROM, the necessary drivers were still installed, but without the Belkin interface. I had no problems connecting to the network with just the windows components. The only time that the Belkin software would really come in handy is if you are using WEP, since the windows-based software does not use the passphrase to generate a WEP key; rather, you would have to enter in all 26 characters to connect to a 128-bit WEP encrypted network if using only windows.

Note: If you didn't catch it, I mentioned earlier that the PCI Adapter antenna isn't removable; well, Kurtis wanted me to make absolutely sure that it wasn't removable, so I tried a bit harder. The good news is I was successful in removing the antenna. The bad news is that the antenna only had a one-way ticket. And in case you are wondering, yes I waited until after I tested everything to break the adapter...

Physical installation was not hard, although by having the antenna hardwired to the card, you will need to maneuver it into the PCI slot with a bit more care. I personally prefer antennas that detach, not only because installation is easier, but also moving or shipping the computer with the antenna still attached can cause severe damage.

PCMCIA Notebook Adapter

The laptop card was a breeze to setup. Like the PCI card, you can use the Belkin software or choose to do a simple install by just pointing the installation to the CD-ROM. Installation went smoothly and I was up and running in no time.

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Page 4 of 6

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Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Network Setup
Page 3: Network Setup Cont'd...
Page 4: Adapter Setup
Page 5: Testing
Page 6: Quick Note on Tech Support & Conclusion

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1 User Comment

1 - Posted by Guest on July 15, 2005 - 5:38 pm

Thankyou for a through review. The only question I have is will a 2.4 ghz phone interfere or will the router automatically adapt the right band. Thanks Tim

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