Maximum PC

Hey guys, I want to connect to my friends wireless connection. He lives down the hall and one floor down in an apartment complex. My questions include ...

1. What kind of wireless adapter card do you reccomend? USB, PCI, etc.

2. What sort of antenna do you reccomend? External, built-in, etc. Keep in mind this is a desktop I am trying to connect, it will not be moving.

3. What program do I use to "see" and connect to this connection? Is that what NetStumbler does?

4. Are most wireless networks based on the 802.11b, or 802.11g interface?

Sounds pretty far away and cluttered for the router to even reach your pc. What I would do to test the connection is to borrow a/your friend's wireless adapter. See if you pick up his/her specific SSID, and not anyone else's. If you do pick it up, make sure the connection is stable and doesn't drop off every couple of minutes or hours.



Quick answers:
1. I have the linksys WMP54G (PCI) and it works great.

2. I recommend the stock antenna unless you need better.

3. You either use Windows XP's wireless configuration or the software that's supplied by the manufacturer. NetStumbler is to see what wireless connections that are floating around - not to connect.

4. Most wireless networks are a mix of both. Newer routers support both, and G offers maximum compatiblilty with older (B) and newer (G) ones.

Ugh... cmon admin. I put this post in Hardware Heaven and not here because this Network Nook forum receives like two responses a week. It was a hardware question primarily and I would appreciate it if ya could move it back.

Traffic/popularity is not a justification.
The point of subforums is so that topics are of the same, so people don't have to filter what they are interested in.

Nothing attracts a crowd, like a crowd.
If you don't use it, no one will read here or ask questions in it.

I'm into networking myself, but wifi I haven't bothered with otherwise I'd have put my 0.02 in.

I'm far from an expert, but i can relate to you what I did. I put a U.S. Robotics router on my broadband connection upstairs to act as a hardware firewall and connect my computer downstairs to the web. The router is 802.11g capable but is also backwards compatible. On the computer downstairs I have a Belkins PCI card that has an external antenna that sets on top of the computer. It is 802.11b. It was on sale and had a rebate, so I got that instead of an 11g which is faster and more secure, neither which is an issue for me. All I did to get it running was to load the software, make the Cat5 connections from the modem to the router and install the PCI card in the other computer. It self configured and has worked extremely well. I don't live in an apartment so I'm not concerned about security issues or someone stealing my bandwith. If I were you though I would stick with 802.11G which I understand is more secure than 11b. Hope this helps....

Fold Until A Cure

1. PCI, WiFi cards have enough bandwidth to easily choke up a USB 1.0/1.1 controller.

2. Dump the stock antenna for something with a 6dBi gain or higher, also make sure it's omnidirectional. Make sure you match your antenna connector because different manufacturers have different connectors and try to get something with low loss cabling.

3. Netstumbler, Kismet, or WiFinder

4. Look for a WiFi NIC with 802.11g with the Turbo/Speedbooster Option, either way it's compatible with everything on 2.4Ghz from vanilla 802.11b to high speed 802.11g.