# good long range wireless cards

## mikkoloo

Im pretty new to this wireless world, but if I understood it right I dont need special harware for wlan networks? I'm looking for a GOOD card that can scan for networks in my area for networks. Good supported chipsets and extra features etc. I have a crappy "sweex" card right now and it really sucks. I suppose the AP is the most crucial part in a wireless network but that the wireless card can be a great factor in how good connection you will get.

My goal is to make a connection to my schools network, wich is a 5 min walk. (or to use another network nearby)

Another general question, my school has a wireless network, but I really dont know if it will reach to my house. Is that dependant on their hardware, and can they decide how long range it shall have etc?

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## Mben

the only special hardware you need is the wlan adaptor card.

your school could control how far their network reaches, to get the best range you need to be able to see the access point (line of sight) or as close as possible to seeing it. excessive amounts of metal and other rf blocking substances can also reduce range when set in the right orientation. that said you can get eaither a good card or build a better antenna. the link below has info on how to build a quick auntenna out of card board.

http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000870032574/

http://www.seattlewireless.net/

has a lot of good wireless info

you could also google for the pringles can auntenna (this is a well known home made auntenna using a pringles can)

as for which card, i have few suggestions. i have a cheap belkin wich works using ndiswrapper to connect to my wep network but is not really supported by linux/kismet/etc.

prisim based and orinico cards are both reasonably well supported 

good luck and stay out of trouble (maybe you school wouldn't like this idea if they knew  :Very Happy:  )

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## mikkoloo

haha ok I will watch out  :Wink: 

but if i look in the kernel config under devices->network I see WAN Interfaces and then another called Wireless Lan, whats up with that? Right now i use a special driver for Atmel cards. Do I have to watch out to not buy a card that not supports WAN or something. I really need to read up on this, I know, its somewhat blurry right now.

I dont know if its really clear sight to my schools antennas but Ill give it a try. Its many high commercial buildings so might wanna try that too  :Wink:  Just curious, as always.

Do you know what companys using those chipset the most? Any model of 3com for example thats particulary good?

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## Mben

wan is something different, you are concerned with "wireless lan (non hamradio)" unless they have changed the name recently. like i said before, orinoco cards are suppose to be great, and are supported. and i know that the prisim chipsets are the other well supported group. other than that i dont have much experince with the different cards. i suggest reading reviews as far as range goes. maybe some one else can suggest a specific card?

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## naviathan

Orinoco cards are the best IMHO for linux wireless.  Their extremely hard find though, especially if you're looking for a specific card.  I've been searching for months trying to find an orinoco minipci a/b/g card.  I know it exists, I've seen it and I've read articles on it, but I can't find the damn thing anywhere.  Oh well, if you find anything decent let me know.

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## mikkoloo

Ive searched a bit and found that on this page http://prism54.org/supported_cards.php they say that D-LINK DWL G650 has the prism chipset.

further looking:

D-Link Air DWL-650H has the orinoco chipset: http://www.nongnu.org/orinoco/devices/

what would be a better one?

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## Mben

i expect both would work fine. one of them is a g card though and will be noticably faster if you find a g access point

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## mikkoloo

ah neat thanks for the replies. ill search in town for it tomorrow and let you know  :Smile: 

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## Mben

be sure to emerge wireless tools (wireless-tools i think but i am on windoze right now with my video capture stuff) and the driver for what ever card you pick. you could also google the card and see if there are any tips on getting it working quicker.

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## mikkoloo

yep already got that installed, in fact i already got a card in this maschine. found some in town today but it was a broadcom chipset. red on the net when i got home that its not supported. lucky i didnt get it. will look in a bigger town tomorrow.

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## Mben

broadcom chipsets can only be used with the windows drivers and ndiswrapper but wont do what you want to do.

(i use a belkin g card that has a broadcom chipset. it does what it needs to and not any more)

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## naviathan

I have an atheros card using the madwifi driver and it works great for everything imaginable.  Primarily I use it for kismet to scan and track down the wireless networks around here.  It seems to pickup networks as far away as 100 yards or more.

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## mikkoloo

i finally ordered an orinoco card from www.computerguy.co.uk with an antenna. Another question tho, it only supports 802.11b which is fine but its no speed over 11Mbit, right? But the card seems to be a very good one anyways even tho it doesnt support very high speeds, is this correct? Just have to wait for the delivery now then...

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## Mben

802.11b cards are compatible with b and g networks at <11mbit

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## stillman

regarding orinoco-cards - as far as i have seen the only difference between lucent orinoco silver and gold is the 152bit WEP encryption of the gold-card(while silver only has 128) - is that difference really significant?

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## sevo

 *mikkoloo wrote:*   

> Ive searched a bit and found that on this page http://prism54.org/supported_cards.php they say that D-LINK DWL G650 has the prism chipset.
> 
> 

 

IIRC only the first revision used a Prism. Later revisions are Atheros based. 

Sevo

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## mikkoloo

it really sucks that some brands changes the chipset sometimes cause in the stores no one knows what the chipset is and you have to rely on others experiences. Or as in my case get a card thats really supported.

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