[Cialug] wireless PCI adapter

[Kenneth Ristau]

Matthew Johnson wrote:
> Hello All,
> I would like to set up a home wireless network, and
> was hoping for recommendations regarding a Linux
> compatible PCI wireless card for a desktop machine.
> prism54.org only lists one card, there has to be
> others...? Just to complicate the situation further,
> 802.11g is the goal, along with avoiding the USB
> attached adapters. Thank you for any suggestions.
> 
> Matthew

I have an Asus Wireless AP WL-330 which I use as an access point when
I'm on-site at clients who don't have wireless (very handy).  It also
has what it calls a "client mode."  This is essentially bridging mode.
The unit was about $50 online.  It is only 802.11b, but I think Asus
makes a g model for a bit more.  Froogle it if you're interested.

For awhile, I had an old Linksys WAP11 in my upstairs office, configured
for bridging mode, uplinked to a small Netgear switch.  Worked good for
the two systems I have up there.  Eventually, I put a Linksys PCI card
in the Windows box and got an Orinoco Gold PCMCIA card for my laptop.

The advantage of bridging is you can place the access point for optimal
reception, then run CAT 5 from that point over to a system or hub.  You
have a bit more flexibility than with a wireless card, and it is cheaper
than buying an internal card ($40-$80) + an external antenna ($50-$100).

later,
kristau
-- 
Tired programmer
Coding late into the night
The core dump follows

My GNUPG public key is available at http://www.kristau.net/public_key.asc