Originally posted by Diver
Over the past few months, I have been researching and testing wifi cards, antennas and combinations to try to determine the best set-up for travelling
in Baja and other places. I included use within buildings, city streets, rural rolling hills and treed flatlands.
Here is my 2 cents;
This is the best card you can get for the money today; $47.99 at Rokland.
SENAO Wireless 802.11b PCMCIA Card NL-2511CD PLUS EXT2 200mw
This cards comes with 2 external antenna slots so you can add the small stick ($6) for nearby or in-network use. The other port can be used either for
a directional to a specific source or to a high-gain omni ($15-50).
We chose an 11db ($18) omni stick antenna as it seems that the directional cans and yagis are kinda picky if there are any partial obstructions
nearby. The omni whip really helped even when parked under a few large trees, over 400 yards to the omni source.
I was replacing a Netgear 530 card and the difference is amazing ! Between two buildings, the signal went from "very low" with the old card to the
highest setting with the new card and 1.5db stick alone !!
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[Edited on 12-17-2006 by Diver] |