On the whole, the setup is very straight forward except for a few minor glitches with the enclosed software (the CD did not recognize the files it was supposed to be looking for and I had to manually re-direct it).

After spending about 20mins loading the necessary drivers (for both the NAP and the network card, also Linksys), I thought everything would be easy sailing. Unfortunately I could not get an Internet connection even though the card was communicating with the NAP. I called Linksys technical support and after about 15 mins of busy signals I got hold of a technical rep who showed me the light. Apparently one of the settings in Windows2000 TCPIP menu needed to be adjusted (I would never have figured it out on my own since there is very little documentation on this). Anyway, once that was done, abrakadabra, the Internet rushed into my laptop like a banshee on steroids.

I've got the NAP in my home office and so far, the laptop has been able to roam around freely in a 3,000 squ ft house without any problems. It's truly amazing to see uninterrupted high speed wireless Internet actually work.

Overall I'm giving this product five stars because I expected to spend an entire day getting it to work and ended up spending about 1 hour. Linksys does a very poor job documenting troubleshooting tips in either their manual or web site but overall they build a good product.

My only complaints are these: 1st- The range isn't all that Linksys touts, more like 30 - 40 feet indoors. 2nd- Talking with their Tech Support is difficult as you have to leave a message and then they will call you back. My first call took two days before I heard back from them. They are more responsive through E-mail, but I don't always like to do tech support that way.

Note, however, that I don't have a large house and I have not turned on the WEP protection.

MY I.T. department ordered a D-Link access point, but I'm going to send it back and get another Linksys instead.

All your range problems are related to the Linksys pcmcia card. Someone dropped the laptop on the wireless pc card from a table and the D-link card still worked. I still can't get WEP to function though, even with a Sr. Network IP engineer giving it a shot.

My successfull config: Linksys AP in infastructure mode with ESSID of 'linksys' DLink DWL-650 sameasabove, with DHCP and their link quality meter application running in the system tray.

Note: Turn off your 'standby-mode' on the properties/settings when you right click your desktop. The DLink card will cause your laptop to reboot EVERY time it goes to sleep. It's annoying, but turning off your power management will fix it.

The Linksys AP occasionally needs to be power cycled. If you lose your connection, unplug it and plug it back in. This has happened twice with two different units, in two separate offices.

If anyone knows where I can get a good wireless electricity product that delivers 110 vac, with a decent indoor range please e-mail

admin@libertywire.com

I went back and tried the Orinoco again with the fix to the access point, and it too worked great, except I still get the same flashing error message that it can't communicate with the access point, even though it was. I put the access point in the middle of a 2500 sq. ft. two-story house and both cards worked in every single room, although the Orinoco seemed to have a stronger signal. Both cards produce a lot of annoying noise in the laptop's speaker when they are communicating, but it's not unbearable. Since both cards worked as well as I needed them too, I returned the Orinoco since it cost more and because the flashing error message in the task bar is really annoying.

I think the Linksys access point combined with the Linksys wireless pc card (and the Linksys 4-port router), is one of the cheapest, most reliable wireless home solutions you can buy. I'm very satisfied with their products, and they all have a very professional, snazzy look which helps since the access point is working in our living room (in the corner).

If you DON'T have a router already and are just getting into building a home network, it looks like the new combination Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless Access Point & Cable/DSL Router w/4 Port Switch would be a great investment with less hardware to maintain. I like having the configuration I have at home because I have several computers all running on fixed ethernet lines for more stability, but my laptop is running off of the wireless pc card for mobility. Hope this information helps!

Installation was also difficult, particularly for a novice like me. I connected the WAP to the router and the router to the cable modem. It took me hours to figure out how to get each to talk to each other. Customer serviced was of no help - with either the distance issue or installation.

No worries! This thing set up so easily I didn't even have to call support for help. I did call up Linksys once for help on optimizing my speed, they called back in less than an hour and gave me the best tips on how I should arrange everything in my home to help the data transfer.

My PC Cards are great, and now I can hook up my laptop from work every night, no problem. It's helped me out with saving time more than any PC product I've bought in a long time.

I'm definitely recommending this to all of my friends, esp the ones with notebooks from work - it's a winner for sure.

It worked wonderfully in the same room and was easy to setup.

The phone at technical support was always busy. I have had email out to them for three weeks on a different product.

But a few reminders. First, make sure that the SSID for both card and access point are the same; mine weren't. (It doesn't matter what they are--"linksys" or "wireless" or something--just that they agree). Second, don't sweat the IP config too much. I left all the AP values at the default and it worked more-or-less fine (I can't access the AP with the network utility [although I can with the USB one], but it seems to nevertheless do its job as promised. Go figure).

Also, don't expect much from Linksys tech support. They've got nothing useful on their site, they don't answer email, and I couldn't hang on long enough for phone support. But it may not matter: this is not a product that you're going to tinker with once it's up and running.

Finally, on range: it's not great, but should be okay for most purposes. In our 3,000 ft house, I can reach most rooms but not one on the other side of the house, one floor up and five walls over. I would think that 100ft and/or 4-5 walls/floors would be a reasonable rule of thumb for a wooden home.

With regret,
-Bob

Then a friend loaned me an Orinoco (formerly Lucent) Wavelan Silver card....WOW! Great range, much better performance, my computer now goes on and off of standby correctly. I now get full signal strength everywhere in my house (maximum distance from WAP, 120 feet). It's raining, so I can't wander around the neighborhood to see how far the signal goes.

Also, if I ran the Linksys PC card with encryption on, my throughput reduced dramatically, but with the WaveLan card, I get full performance with encryption turned on.

I like the styling and utilities with the Linksys WAP, perhaps others are even better, but DO NOT buy the Linksys PC Cards...

A now satisfied Linksys WAP owner

I hope they increase the power of this unit...until then, I'm returning this one.

Good Luck