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Date:  Mon, 01 Sep 2003 15:51:02 -0400
Sender: os2-wireless_users-owner <os2-wireless_users-owner@2rosenthals.com>
Reply-To: os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com
From:  Ray Hyder <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com>
To:  os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com
Subject: [OS2Wireless] NetGear MA311



Lewis G Rosenthal wrote:

> Hi, Ray. Congrats on your new Wi-Fi hardware!
>
> Ray Hyder wrote:
>
>> I realize the IBM driver was designed to run on a ThinkPad  but it 
>> does recognize the MA311 and works okay as far as I can see.
>
>
> It's all a matter of chipsets... 


It is a Prism 2.5 chipset. 

>> Performance...   When transferring a 10 meg file between the systems 
>> I'm getting a 450 KByte rate with WEP disabled.  350 KByte with 128 
>> bit WEP enabled.   Does the  128 bit WEP really have a 25% overhead?
>
>
> It varies between manufacturers, but there is a definite, measurable hit
> by turning on WEP. 25% doesn't seem unreasonable. 

Ahhh, the cost of security! 

>>   Are these transfer rates normal for WiFi at 70 feet?
>
>
> There's no universal yardstick. You could try using a parabolic
> reflector to increase gain at either (or both) end(s) of the connection. 

Lewis, that's true  but parabolic antennas are really expensive and for 
less money I could simply dig a trench  between the two buildings and 
drop in a Cat 5 cable and run at 100 Mbps.   It would be less than half 
the price and 10 times the speed...  Why not?  Don't need the speed for  
the application  I have and I'm now fascinated with WiFi...  :-)

>>   I have a 5db gain omni-directional antenna on order for the MA311.  
>> Will that help? 
>
>
> Probably. Also try adjusting the placement of the antenna/AP. It's
> amazing how even a few inches can improve transmission. Also, try
> adjusting the relative positions of the antennae at the AP (like TV
> rabbit ears).

I've done that  so many times I'm worried about wearing out the antennae! 

>> The driver...  It looks like the driver boots up with the radio off  
>> or something.
>
>
> This indeed sounds like an option in the NIF which may not be well
> documented. Jens can probably speak to this. 

Jens did help me fix that problem!   Thank you again Jens!


>> Stability...   With all of the above considered,  the MA311 somehow 
>> decides,  after about an hour,  that it is time to quit work and it 
>> goes "unavailable".   Nothing will bring it back short of a reboot.  
>> Please!  What am I missing here? 
>
>
> Hehehe... Welcome to the brave new world of Wi-Fi power management (or
> mismanagement, as the case may be). It sounds like the card's power
> management functions are being enabled, and unfortunately, Wi-Fi cards
> of today's vintage(!) are notorious for being unpredictable when power
> management is enabled. As there are no standards for power management


Lewis, it turns out not to be a power management problem.  For some 
reason the MA311 likes to receive data but when it has to transmit data 
it falls into an unrecoverable coma... 


>> Any help with the above will be appreciated!  - ray
>
>
> No problem! That's why we're all here! (Of course, you could try calling
> Netgear..."OS/2? Is that something like OS X?..."


Don't get me started...  Positive and sunny thoughts are  now being 
replaced with negative and dark thoughts... 
.
.
.

Back in control...  I think...  ;-)
.
.
.
Lewis, thanks for your input!  - ray


-- 



Ray Hyder
PO Box 448
Georgetown, Georgia 39854-0448


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