Sabrent PCI-PCMCIA PCI to PCMCIA CardBus Host Adapter Controller Card Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)OS auto-installed the driver for the Richo chip that this card uses, on first boot, without feeding it the driver disk. If whatever pcmcia card ye use, can't find the resources to play nice, just swap this card to a different PCI slot and you'll be fine. Sometimes yer computer's nit-picky where it likes which cards to be. One small Caveat: This picture's wrong. It shows a double height slot for taking double thick cards. That's why I bought this'n over the others. But, that isn't what I got. Twas only single height slot. I had to remove the bracket & widen the slot out with a dremmel to fit my double thick Xircom card. Not a deal-breaker, but should be noted. Amazon's product descriptions are a bit skimpy where it counts sometimes . . . YMMV
Bottom line: A solid inexpensive solution to offer a second life to your extra PCMCIA cards.

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Linksys by Cisco Wireless-G Router For Mobile Broadband For Use With Verizon Review

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(More customer reviews)About EVDO card compatibility:
Other reviews and several Internet forums discuss compatibility problems with Verizon's EVDO cards (e.g., wireless broadband cards).
According to Linksys, the newest version of the WRT54G3G-VN's firmware only supports three Verizon Wireless EVDO PC cards: Audiovox PC5750, Novatel V720 and Sierra Wireless AirCard 595. (As of this writing, Amazon sells the PC5750 and the AirCard 595.) Other sources suggest five cards work with this router; that was once the case, but only for previous firmware versions, which are no longer available from Linksys. (My router, purchased in April 2009, came with firmware version 2.01.6, dated May 6, 2008 and likely the last firmware release Linksys will offer.)
If you insert a PC card other than those into the WRT54G3G-VN, the card will receive power but the router will not recognize the card or connect to Verizon. I had to visit my local Verizon Wireless store to change cards (I went with the PC5750); they called it an "upgrade" and gave me the card for free in exchange for extending my service contract by two years.
About technical support:
Linksys places a large orange sign in the WRT54G3G-VN's documentation, suggesting customers call Verizon Wireless for support. Verizon will not support this product, don't bother calling.
Linksys will provide tech support for this device, but only over the phone (i.e., no live chat via the Web site). Expect several transfers and to be on hold for a while. It took three support people and about an hour to get from Linksys tech support the compatible cards for this unit.
About the unit:
The WRT54G3G-VN's best selling point is that it's a standard Linksys WRT54G wireless-G router that happens to have a PCMCIA slot on the top, into which you stick an EVDO card.
That means the familiar Linksys administration panel and approach to home routers is in full presence. If you want simple routing, the guided setup CD-ROM will have you up and running in five minutes. If you want advanced routing -- port forwarding, VPN tunneling, MAC address restrictions, DMZ, etc. -- they all can be set in the admin panel as they would on any other Linksys router.
The back of the WRT54G3G-VN has four standard Ethernet switch ports and an Ethernet uplink port to connect to a DSL or cable modem. Therefore, you could use this router for network failover; simply connect it to a cable / DSL modem via Ethernet, add an EVDO card and configure the router to connect to Verizon only when the cable / DSL modem doesn't work.
This unit only provides 802.11g wireless LAN access. Most laptops made in the last five years or so use wireless-G; older computers that use 802.11b and newer ones that only support 802.11n will not be able to connect to this router wirelessly.
Overall assessment:
Linksys has the lion's share of the home networking market for good reason: they build reliable, affordable equipment, and the WRT54G3G-VN is no exception. It's simple to administer, has more configuration options than most people need and runs rock-solid.
I purchased this unit to replace a Kyocera KR-1 EVDO router purchased five years ago, when it was the only game in town. There's no comparison: the KR-1 (manufactured by D-Link), while adequate for the simplest home networking application, may have settings for port forwarding and VPN tunneling, but the router simply will not support either feature. The Linksys WRT54G3G-VN is hands-down a superior unit, one made by a familiar manufacturer with a proven track record.
In short, there may well be other wireless broadband routers that are as good, but there sure aren't any that are better, so why risk using something that isn't familiar?
Final notes:
-- As others have noted, you need to activate your EVDO card in a laptop PC before it will work with the WRT54G3G-VN. The only way to activate the card is in a PC Card-equipped computer with a fresh install of the VZ Access software. Verizon Wireless will not activate the card for you.
-- It's becoming increasingly difficult to find PC EVDO cards. You'll want to ensure you can purchase a compatible EVDO card first, and keep in mind that in two or three years, you may not be able to easily purchase a replacement PC EVDO card if your card suffers a malfunction.
-- The unit comes with a wide, sturdy stand; it can also be wall-mounted by screws, which are not provided.
-- There's a 3-foot-long, yellow Ethernet cable included in the box. In spite of the odd jacket color, it's a standard, T-568B straight-through patch cord.
-- The power supply cord is about four feet long. The cord has an inverter built into the plug; while it's not heavy or hefty, it may take up two outlets on a power strip.
-- The WRT54G3G-VN is basically the same as the WRT54G3G-ST (Sprint) and WRT54G3G-AT (AT&T Wireless). The only difference is the firmware, which controls what EVDO cards work with the router. It is possible, therefore, that you could use a WRT54G3G-ST with a Verizon Wireless PC EVDO card, or a WRT54G3G-VN with a Sprint card, provided the router's firmware supports the EVDO card you use.
It is also possible to download, for example, the Verizon Wireless firmware from the Linksys Web site, then "flash" a WRT54G3G-ST router with the Verizon firmware, basically turning it into a WRT54G3G-VN. I don't advocate doing that, especially if you are not skilled in computer hardware and networking, but it is possible.

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Quatech PCD-X/U142-E - CardBus adapter - USB Review

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(More customer reviews)This product is useless for me and wasted $180. It does not work for any wireless cards from the major wireless carriers, like AT&T, Verizon & Sprint. Totally disappointed!

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USB MODEM UTSTARCOM 175 BROADBAND ACCESS PHONE CARD VERIZON CDMA Review

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(More customer reviews)Living out in the sticks, dialup internet access was what I had to live with for ages. When Verizon added a tower that improved my cell phone coverage, I started wondering if it was an option for my PC as well. I'm not an early adopter of new technology and waited until neighbors had tried various options before I was willing to try this service. I've been using an extra phone line for the computer, the removal of which will save me half what this service costs monthly. Still it's an extra thirty bucks, so it has to be worth it to me.
Some neighbors are using the satellite service but aren't completely satisfied. The only negative comment I got about this little modem and the service was that there is a limit on how much access you get--5 gig/mo--which means you won't be downloading movies or playing internet games much, if at all. Since this isn't an issue for me, I decided to give it a try.
It is definitely faster than dialup access even at the fastest dialup modem speed. I use AOL and the TCP/IP connect is about 3-5 times faster, then all that stuff they display loads much faster as well and I can go about my business without waiting for more than a few seconds. That said, the transfer rate doesn't compare with the Comcast speed of my daughter's setup in town. This service is faster than dialup, but not 'blinding' by any means. As an example, in the past when I tried to download something, I noted the transfer rate on dialup was something like 4-6k per second. Sigh!! Things took forever and sometimes wouldn't download at all. I downloaded the update for my Kindle last night with this little modem and noted 50k/sec transfer rate. Certainly a lot better.
The speed does seem to depend on 'how crowded the air waves' are (or however you'd say that in technospeak :) and how many bars you get. I've found the number of bars is the same as what I get on my Verizon cell phone. Where my desktop PC is located, it varies from 0 to 2. I have ordered the antenna in hopes of boosting that.
Installing the little modem is as easy as running the CD installation disk that comes with it and then plugging the modem into a USB port when prompted to do so. It also comes with a cable in case you want to plug into a port on the back of a desktop PC and set the modem somewhere with easier access. You can leave the modem attached all the time if you want. It turns off when you turn the PC off. When on, it flashes a blue light, which means it's ready to pick up a signal. To connect your computer to the broadband service, you use the modem software (push the 'connect' button), which to me, seems to be equivalent to turning your cell phone on (the modem has a phone number). It is then ready for you to 'make a call', i.e. connect to the internet using some software such as Internet Explorer or AOL.
You can leave the modem connected all day like you would leave your cell phone on and not affect the data limit since that only happens when you are connected to and using the internet. If you use the internet with your cell phone, you know there is a data limit with it as well. This is sort of the same thing.
The modem software will show you what your usage is each time you connect so you're aware of what you've used so far. Sending emails, Facebook updates, photos, etc uses part of your allocation, as well as downloading files, photos, etc. Various internet screen refresh activities uses some. Watching streaming video or playing games uses a lot. Listening to internet radio uses enough that you probably won't want to do that all the time. For me, after 5 days of email, Facebook postings, attempting to watch some short videos and listening to the AOL radio one day just to see what impact it would have, plus downloading the Kindle software update, posting a few Amazon reviews, and the like, I've used about 225mg, or about 50mg a day, so I should be able to stay within the limit easily with no change to my regular internet activities.
I still cannot really watch streaming videos such as those on YouTube with my 1-2 bar connectivity, without breaks while it reloads the next bit. Even though it reloads faster than before, I have to want to see it pretty badly to put up with that.
One concern: This morning there seemed to be a problem with the modem connecting to Verizon. It was resolved within half an hour and it is Black Friday, which may or may not have anything to do with it. I will update if that happens again, but otherwise it has connected fast and remained connected without problem.
Bottom line: It is definitely better than dialup--for me about 5 times faster. That's not seriously fast, but acceptable and worth the extra money to me, especially since I don't have any options other than satellite which is affected by weather, trees, and costs more as well.

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Zonet 56 KB V.92 Fax Modem - Intelchipset/hardware Review

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(More customer reviews)I do not typically write product reviews, but for this one I made an exception. The product spec sheet from the vendor's web site and which is on other retailer's web sites is in my opinion very misleading. Here are some of my issues:
1. This pcmcia fax modem card is really only V.90 when installed even though it is marketed as V.92
2. The card is also marketed has being able to do MOH (modem on hold) - NOT the case.
3. If you want the features listed in items 1 and 2 above, you have to enter "ATT" commands into the hyper terminal application. How kludge is that?! Not meant for any one who is looking for "true" plug-n-play.
The V.90 feature worked just fine and was plug-n-play - but I did not buy this product for V.90 - I wanted it for V.92 and MOH.


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MBR1000 Mobile Broadband Router Review

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(More customer reviews)Had a linksys, fought with it for over a year.
Got this and WOW! super easy setup...I pluged it in, inserted my aircard and I was online in 5 min!
Good range....covers the entire house (All 3 floors)
Performance...perfect...100% happy!

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Cisco-Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook Adapter Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a review I wrote for the router hub and the PC Card. I had already submitted it for the hub and am submitting it here also for the card. The entire review is relevant to both parts of this system. One thing I forgot to mention was that I had called Dell to see what they had available,and they were using a mix of Linksys parts as well. So I decided to go direct with Linksys equipment. Here is the review as submitted.
For an item that was not even available in Best Buy and the other major stores when I first bought it from Amazon, and that I received it in only a couple of days is knowledge enough to make this a winning situation.
What about hookup and use? Another 5 star performance. If you have never hooked up a wireless network before, take the advice of the quick start guide that comes with the unit, and use their included CD. They strongly recommended that you use the CD rather than manually configure it. Having seen the problems that some others were having with setup, only to be resolved (some of them) by exactly following the directions, you can see, that is the best way to go. The setup using the CD is about as easy as learning how to open a refrigerator door for the first time. Shutting off what they tell you to shut off, and turning on what and when they tell you to turn things on, results in a delightful install. Not even one glitch. The CD determines your internet connection, then it determines your system configuration, asks a few questions, and bingo you are up and running.
I install the PC Card for laptops as well, and that is just as easy to install. Within 10 minutes your surfing the web from all over the house. No Wires !
Pertaining to the speed issue: Remember when I discuss this that their is a difference between the speed inside of your network, and the the speed you are connecting to the web. I got 54MBps while I was in the same room. When I went into the living room, it went to very good, instead of excellent, and gave me 37MBps. Let's get a perspective here. A standard modem works at 56kbps tops. This router works at 54MBps that's megabyte not kilobyte. Their are 1024 kilobytes in every megabyte. So 54 Megabytes per second is about a thousand times faster than a standard modem. When hooked up to a Verizon DSL basic connection, you are running at a maximum of 700 plus kilobits on the download end, and 100 to 150 upload speed. I know I am getting specific, but the point I am making is that it does not matter what the connection speed you are running at any given moment, based on how close the base unit is to the PC card. What is important is that your internet connection will never even approach the speed capabilities of this router, so don't hassle yourself with any concerns over varying connect speeds of the wireless network.
Broadband hooked up to this wireless setup flies. As soon as you click on a site, it appears on the screen.
Faster connect speeds are important when communicating across the network, between machines, like when backing up drives across the network. For that reason, the faster N designated wireless is a little bit more expensive, but a lot faster than G. To go a step farther the ultimate in inter network communications, a hard wired gigabit or 2 gigabit connection rules. So the ultimate is to use an N connection for your router, which is your connection to the slower web, and use the faster N to a portable device, then hook up a gigabit switch, to run your hard wired connections between your devices in the network. I guess I am getting off on a tangent here, so back to the device at hand, which is still the most popular selling adapter.
Anyhow, just for reference, hooking up a DSL, or a broadband cable modem that was supplied by Comcast, with the Windows XP operating system, installation was as near automatic as can be. They do supply instructions when using Windows ME, 98 etc, that includes one more step than XP.
All in all this is a 5 star piece of equipment. Follow the directions exactly. It is easy. Hope this helps. This is the reason why I have a website, to help people with their installations. Did you know that as much as 30 percent of the wireless network products are sent back, because people give up trying to install them? Let's all save Amazon from the return product blues. I am here to help.

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Early Adopters Pick, January 2003. The first high-speed wireless networking PC card for laptops to use the 802.11g standard, which is four times faster than the current standard (802.11b) and backwards compatible.
The new Wireless-G notebook adapter (PC Card adapter) from Linksys has both the 802.11b and newer 802.11g standards built in, so you can connect your notebook to existing 802.11b infrastructure and also the new, fast Wireless-G networks. The included setup wizard walks you through configuring the adapter to your network's settings, step by step. Then just slide the adapter into your notebook's PC Card slot and enjoy network access with your notebook computer, while retaining true mobility.
Wireless-G is the 54 Mbps wireless networking standard that's almost five times faster than the widely deployed Wireless-B (802.11b) products that are found in homes, businesses, and public wireless hotspots around the country. But since they share the same 2.4 GHz radio band, Wireless-G devices also work with existing 11 Mbps Wireless-B equipment.
Once you're connected, you can keep in touch with your e-mail, access the Internet, and share files and other resources such as printers and network storage with other computers on the network, wherever you wander. At home, you can surf the Web or use instant messaging to chat with friends while sitting out on the patio.
You'll also be able to connect to any of the growing number of public wireless hotspots springing up in coffee shops, airport lounges, hotels, and convention centers. And as those hotspots upgrade to the new high-speed Wireless-G standard, you'll be ready to take advantage of the increased speeds.
Get connected to current standard 802.11b networks today, and be prepared for the future with the Wireless-G notebook adapter from Linksys.

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