Wi-Fi access

[thebigshow]

I just got my dell Axim 400mhz and I am ordering a Wi-Fi card (probably netgear). Is there any other way I can get net access without buying a wireless router?? I currently I have SMC 4 port router with 2 computers on it. Can I get a wireless network card for one of my PC's and connect directly to the PC from my Wi-Fi card in my PDA?

[gr1fter]

yes you could do that - its called Ad-Hoc.
I have the netgear wireless card and it works fine with my wireless router, but in the configuration you can configure to Ad-Hoc instead of Infrastructure which is what you want.

The only problem i found with my card is none of the WAP finders like PocketWarrior, Netstumbler and WINC work with my card.

[thebigshow]

only problem is.. I already have a network card installed in that PC, the one i'm on right now.. would i be able to have a wireless card aswell as the one i'm using now? will my range be hindered by the card? or is the range more dependant on the card in the PDA

[RobbyS13]

You might look into a Wireless USB device instead of an internal card. I think they are actually cheaper now.

[imported_Xeon]

Or you can buy just the access point, that plugs right into your hub. Sometimes theyre called wireless bridges.

[gr1fter]

you can get a 4 port wireless router for not much more then some PCI or usb wireless adapter - i would go that route as it would give you more flexibility in the future.

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=298420 - $69.99

[yuryg]

Ok a few things can be done!

1. You can get a wifi card for your system (if you system has PCMCI (laptop usually) they are around $40-60 or so.

You would set up the wifi card in to AD Hock mod which allows connections from one wifi to another wifi. You would want to hardware assign addreses on both of them (pick something that is legal, I usually like to use the 10 range. So 10.10.10.1 and 10.10.10.2 unless that is used on the other card (make sure it is different)

Then you would have to set up some kind of packet filtering with network address translation. There is a ton of software that do that out there so I am not going to recommend one unless asked. This would also include windows sharing software avaiable on your system (although that one is horrible).

Then you would browse and communicate as normal.

Then there is
2. And I would recommend this one. Get a wireless hub. They can be obtained cheaply (for around $60-$100). If you use network cards that are not wireless (pc cards) then you want one with a HUB built in. (The negear recommended previously is a good device). Simply plug the end in to the cable modem ( there is a port designed for that), then the other network devices with wires in to the hub portion. Then just set up the wireless connection.

Make sure you enable WEP (you do not want anyone connecting to your network) and change the SSID from default.

There you go a quick and dirty tutorial.