Show Posts
1
5x00 Hardware / suggestions for cheapest (!) WiFi card for 5500
« on: March 29, 2004, 10:55:15 am »
I\'ve got a couple of WCF12s. They are a lot better than the flimsy 660w and I\'ve found them to be good cards
They worked out of the box on my 5600 but I had to edit /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.conf on my 5500. Below is a quote from Amazon reviews on the card posted on HallMP3.com from 2 users who had to make edits to get the card to work. It\'s very straightforward and I only had to do the edit suggested by the first user. think I found a link to this article on the old DevNet site. If you use the Sharp text editor note that it will change the name of the file. Make sure you remove the .txt extension or better still, edit it in vi in the first place
<quote>
How to get this to work with the Zaurus SL-5500
I purchased this card to work with my Zaurus SL-5500 and had a difficult time setting it up. There was a user that gave some advice in a review of the product and made it sound so easy. Well, his method did not work for me. Here is the method that did work.
Hard reboot the system. When the reboot is finished, install the terminal ipk file. Once that is installed, use vi to edit the /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.conf file. Add an entry that says:
device \"prism2_cs\"
class \"wlan-ng\" module \"prism2_cs\"
at the top of the file. At the end of the file, ad an entry that says this:
card \"Linksys WCF12 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card\"
version \"Linksys\", \"Wireless CompactFlash Card\"
bind \"prism2_cs\"
Once you have done this, reboot the Zaurus and once it has restarted, insert the WCF12 card. The link light should flash and the ifconfig eth0 should return useful information.
Other than the difficulty that I had setting up the card and getting it to work the first time, I\'ve not had any problems with the WCF12. It\'s a great card but it\'s hard to get it setup on the Zaurus if you don\'t know much about Linux.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good with Sharp Zaurus SL5500...
I bought the Linksys WCF12 WiFi card for my Sharp Zaurus SL5500. It\'s worked flawlessly so far in my wireless network (with SMC Barricade 7004VWBR Access Point/Router).
Keeping the Sharp Zaurus with LinkSys WiFi card by my bedside, I am able to browse Roger Ebert\'s movie reviews from bed!
There are two reasons I am rating it a 4 and not a 5:
1. My first Linksys WCF12 card was defective and did not connect to the internet. I exchanged it for a new one and have been a happy camper since.
2. This card is a bit power-hungry in my Sharp Zaurus.
A note about getting the Linksys WCF12 card to work with the Zaurus. Another reviewer (see firecrafter695\'s review , Jan 15, 2003) gave details about getting it to work by editing the \"wlancfg.conf\" file found in the \"/etc/pcmcia\" directory, and adding the necessary lines. This should get the card working in most cases.
However, apparently, there are chipset differences between batches of WCF12 cards (or so we are told, reading the postings in the Zaurus community website forums). So, you may also need to do the following in addition to editing the \"wlancfg.conf\" file:
1. Create a new file called \"wireless.conf\" in the \"/etc/pcmcia\" directory and add the following exact lines:
device \"prism2_cs\"
class \"wlan-ng\" module \"prism2_cs\"
card \"Linksys WCF12 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card\"
version \"Linksys\", \"Wireless CompactFlash Card\"
bind \"prism2_cs\"
2. Copy the file \"sq_wlancfg.conf\" from the \"/etc\" directory to a new file called \"wireless.opt\" in the \"/etc/pcmcia\" directory.
(NOTE: Do not overwrite \"wireless.opts\". It is an existing file and not to be confused with \"wireless.opt\").
This should get the Linksys WCF12 WiFi card working with the Zaurus after rebooting.
</quote>
They worked out of the box on my 5600 but I had to edit /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.conf on my 5500. Below is a quote from Amazon reviews on the card posted on HallMP3.com from 2 users who had to make edits to get the card to work. It\'s very straightforward and I only had to do the edit suggested by the first user. think I found a link to this article on the old DevNet site. If you use the Sharp text editor note that it will change the name of the file. Make sure you remove the .txt extension or better still, edit it in vi in the first place
<quote>
How to get this to work with the Zaurus SL-5500
I purchased this card to work with my Zaurus SL-5500 and had a difficult time setting it up. There was a user that gave some advice in a review of the product and made it sound so easy. Well, his method did not work for me. Here is the method that did work.
Hard reboot the system. When the reboot is finished, install the terminal ipk file. Once that is installed, use vi to edit the /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.conf file. Add an entry that says:
device \"prism2_cs\"
class \"wlan-ng\" module \"prism2_cs\"
at the top of the file. At the end of the file, ad an entry that says this:
card \"Linksys WCF12 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card\"
version \"Linksys\", \"Wireless CompactFlash Card\"
bind \"prism2_cs\"
Once you have done this, reboot the Zaurus and once it has restarted, insert the WCF12 card. The link light should flash and the ifconfig eth0 should return useful information.
Other than the difficulty that I had setting up the card and getting it to work the first time, I\'ve not had any problems with the WCF12. It\'s a great card but it\'s hard to get it setup on the Zaurus if you don\'t know much about Linux.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good with Sharp Zaurus SL5500...
I bought the Linksys WCF12 WiFi card for my Sharp Zaurus SL5500. It\'s worked flawlessly so far in my wireless network (with SMC Barricade 7004VWBR Access Point/Router).
Keeping the Sharp Zaurus with LinkSys WiFi card by my bedside, I am able to browse Roger Ebert\'s movie reviews from bed!
There are two reasons I am rating it a 4 and not a 5:
1. My first Linksys WCF12 card was defective and did not connect to the internet. I exchanged it for a new one and have been a happy camper since.
2. This card is a bit power-hungry in my Sharp Zaurus.
A note about getting the Linksys WCF12 card to work with the Zaurus. Another reviewer (see firecrafter695\'s review , Jan 15, 2003) gave details about getting it to work by editing the \"wlancfg.conf\" file found in the \"/etc/pcmcia\" directory, and adding the necessary lines. This should get the card working in most cases.
However, apparently, there are chipset differences between batches of WCF12 cards (or so we are told, reading the postings in the Zaurus community website forums). So, you may also need to do the following in addition to editing the \"wlancfg.conf\" file:
1. Create a new file called \"wireless.conf\" in the \"/etc/pcmcia\" directory and add the following exact lines:
device \"prism2_cs\"
class \"wlan-ng\" module \"prism2_cs\"
card \"Linksys WCF12 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card\"
version \"Linksys\", \"Wireless CompactFlash Card\"
bind \"prism2_cs\"
2. Copy the file \"sq_wlancfg.conf\" from the \"/etc\" directory to a new file called \"wireless.opt\" in the \"/etc/pcmcia\" directory.
(NOTE: Do not overwrite \"wireless.opts\". It is an existing file and not to be confused with \"wireless.opt\").
This should get the Linksys WCF12 WiFi card working with the Zaurus after rebooting.
</quote>