Hawking Technology Hi-Gain 6db Wireless-G Laptop Card (HWC54D) Review

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(More customer reviews)Like another reviewer below, I got it because it claimed it would increase the range over the not-particularly-directional antenna inside my laptop (Vaio PCG-V505EXP, running the latest service pack of XP Pro). But I found LOTS of problems:
1. It did no better at picking up signals than my laptop's built-in, and if the antenna wasn't aimed optimally it did worse.
2. When the antenna was aimed optimally, it saw signals I can normally connect to, but this card had problems connecting to them consistently ("limited connectivity") whereas my laptop's built-in WiFi has that "limited connecivity" problem only occasionally and briefly (at the same locations, with the same signals).
3. If I tried to do a Repair (from the Wireless Connection icon right-click menu), it would hang on the "disabling the wireless adapter" step.
4. The Utility that came with this installed itself in the tray. But trying to use that utility from the tray would cause it to crash every time (volunteering to "Send Report").
5. When I tried the Safely Remove icon from the tray, then tried to Stop the card so I could remove it, that process hung forever, and I had to force a shutdown (the ugly way) to get it out of that.
6. Btw, even if it would work in SOME situations (tho what situations those might be I'm not sure!), it's no good in situations where you are moving the laptop around even when close to the signal. So for those you would want to move back to the built-in WiFi. But while I have a switch on my laptop to disable that (when I want to use another connection method instead), there is no switch (in hardware or software) that I could find to disable this card temporarily. Thus no easy way to switch back and forth between directional (using this card) and non-directional (using the built-in WiFi).
Btw, after I uninstalled all the software that came with it, my built-in WiFi still didn't work (it said other software had taken it over!). I had to do a System Restore (to right before I installed this card) to get my built-in WiFi back to working normally. So if you do get this card, make sure that you try it out quickly after installing it, before you install anything else (unrelated), so that you'll have a good System Restore point if you want to Undo everything that resulted from trying out this card.

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MODEL- H-WC54DVENDOR- HAWKING TECHNOLOGIES FEATURES- Hi-Speed Wireless-G Laptop Card Hawking Technologies' HWC54D Wireless-G Cardbus PC Card Adapter features the latest in wireless technology. Standard wireless cardbus cards use low power antennas that deliver a circular signal pattern. This type of pattern recieves interference from the metal components within the laptop resulting in a drop in wireless performance and distance. The HWC54D solves this problem with its advanced directional 6 dBi Hi-Gain Antenna that delivers a strong concentrated signal in the direction of the wireless access point to establish a strong wireless link resulting in a significant increase in operating distance (Up to 200%). The Hi-Gain antenna position swivels and folds to make finding an optimal signal easy and simple. When you are not using the card simply fold the antenna down for compact safe easy transport.The Wireless-G Cardbus Card is packed with features including support for true plug and play (hot swappable) high level security (WPA and WEP Encryption) and low power consumption to preserve your laptops battery life. The HWC54D uses the latest wireless standard for the fastest connection speeds (Up to 54Mbps - 802.11g). It is also backwards compatible with legacy wireless 802.11b products. Transferring data audio and even video files wirelessly will be easy and fast. Configuration and installation is simplified to get your wireless network up and running in a matter of minutes! Includes Hi-Gain Wireless-G Laptop card CD with drivers softwareutility and manual Easy to follow quick installation guide.-- SPECIFICATIONs --------------------------------STANDARDs - IEEE 802.11b 802.11gINTERFACE/BUS - 32-bit PC CardBus 2.2WIRELESS SPEED- 54/48/36/24/12

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