Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England - France - USA
Posts: 22

Xircom Wireless Ethernet Module

With all the hype about 802.11 Wireless Ethernet and Warchalking, I'm thinking of getting the Xircom Wireless Ethernet SpringPort module for my Visor Pro (yes - toys for boys or is it mid-life crisis?).

If any of you have used this module (especially for anything except work), could you let me know what you think/experiences?

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 29

with no external antenna the range must not be good. not good enoguh for war driving. I use a Ibook for that.

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England - France - USA
Posts: 22

That's good to know. I've only got the Visor Pro - no other portable PC.

Xircom tech spec claims that the Typical Range at 11 Mbps is "Up to 300 feet (90 meters) in open environments and 100 feet (30 meters) in office environments" and at 1 Mbps it's range is " Up to 1000 feet (300 meters) in open environments and 300 feet (90 meters) in office environments."

From your experience might the folks at Intel (Xircom) be slightly exagerating? Is it possible to add an external antenna (though it would have to be descrete) to the unit?

Thanks for the quick reply and help. Unless anyone else is more optomistic, I think I'll give this Springboard Module a miss.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 29

i dont know if u can add a external antenna. But u would also need scanning software for it to constantly scan for access points to connect to. Which i havent seen any.

Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England - France - USA
Posts: 22

Doesn't really sound like a viable option. Oh well, guess I'll give this a miss.

Thanks for all the help WinHac17

Registered: Jun 2002
Location: 3rd planet, Solar System
Posts: 112

I have it and it works. It works VERY good as a matter of fact! I recently installed a small app to take remote control of my desktop - I can scroll through the screen fairly fast and view my Windows desktop on my palm prism . Internet asspect of it is a little bit wierd. Works fine at work with Cisco AP and no encryption but doesn't like encryption on my home AP (Linksys AP, router and 4 port switch). When connecto the my home Access Point - I can do remote control of my desktop yet getting to the internet doesn't always work . Internet access works EVERY time when at work on Cisco AP. I bought it as a bundle with a prism and some other stuff from ebay so the price wasn't bad at all (especially after I sell the extra prism and most of the other goodies that I got with it )

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 2

Having Problems with my 802.11b

I'm having problems with mine too. First of all if you play around with the settings, please start by using a backup module to backup your visor. I frequently end up doing a hard reset.

So here what I've got. I have a LinkSys AP (BEFW11S4). In my Mac I have a Farallon (now Proxim) Skylane PCMCIA card in a PCI mount. 40(64) bit encryption up and running. Mac to AP works great!

With the Xircom in the Visor I can get a great link to the AP, AS LONG AS I TURN OFF ENCRYPTION. With encryption on, it looks like I get a link to the AP, status looks good, but I can't get any traffic to move across the link.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Bruce

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 3

From other forums, and reports on the subject, try updating the firmware in the linksys router... Let us know the results.. I too have the wireless router in question and would love to get one of these cards, as everything else I have is wireless and the Minstrel is just not cutting it at home...

Troy

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 2

Linksys Report

I'm writing this from my Visor with the Xircom 802.11b module working. I upgraded the software on both the Linksys Router/AP. Everything is working great.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 6

everything works fine with my module and Linksys router WITH WEP turned on. I just inputed to excryption key and it works fine. You need a username to logon but youcan leave the password blank. Now we need a palmOS sniffer program..

Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Melbourne, FL
Posts: 42

I know this is a little off topic, but can someone point me in the direction of where I could find a good sniffer. I just got a wireless card for my laptop for work, and I know there are some access points on my college campus. I tried Boingo, but it said my card was not compatible or something like that. I have a linksys.

Thanks,
Andy

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 3

Unfortunately, I have not found a sniffer that works with Linksys... Get another card, then get netstumbler.com or boingo works great for me with a cisco card in my laptop.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 70

SSID???

I am trying to connect with a wavelan wireless network, and no one at my job seems to know what the SSID is. Is there any way I can retrieve this from an existing wireless client on the network, or some other method? I really want to make this work and the only thing I am missing is the SSID. I am leaving the field blank presently, and when I initialize, I get the correct dhcp server, but invalid ip address & netmask. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!!

__________________
tuffy

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 6

funny, netstumbler works fine with my linksys card.

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

I bought Linksys cards for my PC's at home and their utility software tells me the SSID's of active networks in the area. I did not have to install any sniffer programs.

I am trying to get my SpringPort working with my ActionTec DSL/Router/WAP. I rented it from Qwest for $5/mo instead of spending lots of money on something that may be obsolete in a year or two. I got my wifes Visor Deluxe to wireless hotsync with WEP once and then nothing after that. I get a good connection, but Hotsync tells me it failed to connect with the desktop. I just upgraded the firmware of the SpringPort from 1.10 to 1.15 and will test it this evening. I will let you know what happens. The only other thing I can think of right now to try is maybe the the letter case of my Primary PC's name. It shows up in the Hotsync manager's IP settings for the network hotsync as all lower case. I don't want to turn off WEP because I just KNOW my neighbor's kid is computer savy enough to hop on and mess things up.

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

I upgraded the firmware and nothing. I could sync once, but after reconnecting, nothing. I could connect to the network, but not sync to the PC. Then I manually entered the DNS settings into the host PC and it worked! The key was entering DNS numbers instead of leaving them as automatic. Now I can surf the web from my couch, sync from the bathroom, you name it. I have also discovered Blazer which I am liking much more than AvantGo.