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Author Topic: Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g  (Read 5357 times)

trickofperspective

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« on: September 27, 2005, 08:45:19 am »
Hey, all!

I'm thinking about picking up a 5500 for use as a handheld wifi scanner... was wondering if anyone had any information/experience using a CF to PCMCIA expander to get an 802.11/a/b/g PCMCIA card running thereon.  Would this be supported in the current version of OZ?  Any links or advice?

Thanks!

~trick
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lardman

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2005, 09:05:59 am »
The PCMCIA expander should work fine, but you may well have troubles finding a PCMCIA (as opposed to PC-CARD) wifi card.

If you do find one, you'll need to see if it has Linux drivers; if these exist and can be cross-compiled (and will work on the 2.4.18 kernel, or can be back-ported), then you'll be okay.


Si
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trickofperspective

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2005, 09:19:33 am »
I was under the impression that those terms were essentially interchangable... aren't PC cards all PCMCIA compatable?  Do I need to be disillusioned of this?

Quote
The PCMCIA expander should work fine, but you may well have troubles finding a PCMCIA (as opposed to PC-CARD) wifi card.

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« Last Edit: September 27, 2005, 09:59:56 am by trickofperspective »
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lardman

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2005, 11:30:32 am »
They are different.

On a laptop PC-CARD means PCMCIA will also work (afaik), but the pin outs are different, so a pure PCMCIA slot (which is the same as a CF slot) won't support PC-CARD. You should get the same effect on old laptops (from before the age of PC-CARD cards).


Si
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trickofperspective

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2005, 05:00:50 pm »
Ahh... thanks for the clarification.  And in fact, looking at several of the products I plan on buying, they do indeed seem to support CF to PC-Card.  So, provided I can muster the savvy to compile the linux drivers.... oh what are the odds of that?  =)  Well, it's not my money, so I'll try anyway.

Thanks again!
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lardman

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2005, 05:47:51 pm »
Let us know what they are, and we might be able to tell you how difficult it might be...


Si
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arniel

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #6 on: September 28, 2005, 08:04:49 am »
Quote
Let us know what they are, and we might be able to tell you how difficult it might be...


Si
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=97293\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Don't know about -g cards, but I have been able to plug in a 802.11b card and get connected with no additional tweaking.  Hentges 3.5.3, OpenZaurus 3.2 and Sharp ROMs all include basic chipset drivers for older cards.
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trickofperspective

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #7 on: September 28, 2005, 09:59:36 am »
Well, I'm probably looking at an Orinoco Gold a/b/g if I can get my hands on it, which I'm told works under Linux with the MADWIFI drivers.  Any thoughts on my likelyhood of getting that running under OZ?

UPDATE:  Although, now that I'm looking at it, it seems to be a 32bit card, which I believe won't work in a CF adapter... right?  So I'm going to need to find a 16bit a/b/g card.  Which I'm guessing is the holy grail.

Thanks!

Quote
Let us know what they are, and we might be able to tell you how difficult it might be...


Si
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=97293\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
« Last Edit: September 28, 2005, 10:24:13 am by trickofperspective »
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suaveant

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #8 on: October 12, 2005, 04:16:40 pm »
You could also just get a CF card... though probably costs much more  (that and I'm not sure if there are any a/b/g cards)
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Storm

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #9 on: October 12, 2005, 08:47:00 pm »
Quote
They are different.

On a laptop PC-CARD means PCMCIA will also work (afaik), but the pin outs are different, so a pure PCMCIA slot (which is the same as a CF slot) won't support PC-CARD. You should get the same effect on old laptops (from before the age of PC-CARD cards).


Si
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=97230\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

In addition to that, I also just found out (having never needed anything compact flash before buying my Zaurus) that there are type 1, 2 and 3 CF slots. (The SL-5500 has a type 1, btw.)

Quote
You could also just get a CF card... though probably costs much more  (that and I'm not sure if there are any a/b/g cards)
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=99089\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

An 802.11g card will not only be more expensive, but more power hungry. I have an Ambicom "b" card, and although I haven't done any proper testing, from empirical evidence, using the wireless card cuts my battery life by 30-50%. I can't see a "g" card doing any better. The other thing is that CF networking cards are getting harder and harder to find. I'm looking for a wired 10/100 card (the Hawking is the only one I have found on eBay or locally), and there is only one place locally (Northern VA) that even sells this type of card.

I would be interested in your results.

Thanks,
--Storm
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Hrw

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2005, 02:20:51 am »
Type3 CF? You sure?

type1 and type2 exist for sure. All Zaurus models has type2 slot which is a bit thicker then type1.
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Lurker

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Cf/pcmcia For 802.11a/b/g
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2005, 10:19:37 am »
The CompactFlash 2.0 interface is 16-bit. PC Card (aka, PCMCIA) can describe both 16-bit and 32-bit cards. CardBus, which is also a PC Card, is always 32-bit. Unfortunately, the PCMCIA group never coined a term just for the 16-bit cards to differentiate them from the 32-bit CardBus cards.


Additional Info:
http://www.pcmcia.org/
http://www.pcmcia.org/faq.htm

http://www.compactflash.org/faqs/faq.htm
« Last Edit: October 13, 2005, 10:40:25 am by Lurker »
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