[rjt1000]

I will be spending several months in a remote area with my Aluminum PB 12 1.33 with built in airport and I will be need to connect to public wireless networks that I expect to be much too weak for my PBs modest built in wireless capabilities. I will not have access to the wireless access points, so any tweaking will have to be at my PB end of the connection.

I have been considering two solutions:

1. an external whip antenna for the PB such as the 2dBi Quickertek or the 4dBi Macwireless models:
http://www.quickertek.com/12-AlWhip.php
http://www.macwireless.com/html/prod...ters/whips.php and

2. a usb wireless dongle such as the 5dBi Hawking Tech:
http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/...mp;AppleComp=1

The whip antennas require some minor hardware modification (unplugging old connector, plugging in new, removing a screw, bending the airport extreme cover door a bit, threading cable around battery compartment and through the screw hole and then mounting the antenna on the back of the screen.

That sounds like a whole lot of trouble compared to plugging in a dongle, and since the dongle has higher gain than the antenna (if you can believe the manufacturers specs) it would seem like that is the way to go.

The drawback is these products range from $40 to $80 and may only give modest improvement. Another problem is that the Hawking Tech dongle is back ordered just about everywhere I've checked, and I will need a solution before I leave in 2 weeks. (compounding the problem is the fact that I dont know of any other usb dongles that have hi-gain performance and mac drivers.)

There is also a more expensive product from Quickertek, the Powerbook Connect, but as far as I can see, it functions as a transceiver which will decrease thoroughput by half (as it has to receive then resend each bit of data). And I am not ready to shell out $200 for this product.
http://www.quickertek.com/PBConnect.php

Searching these forums, I havent found much info on improving the range of the mediocre built in wireless on the aluminum PB's. Anyone have experience with one of these, or ideas for better solutions?

Thanks for any insights,

rjt1000

[rjt1000]

Although the lack of responces here seems to indicate that not many people need to increase the wireless performance on their Aluminum PBs, perhaps someone searching in the future will be interested.

In the end, I decided against the whip antennas because I don't want to deal with the hardware modifications, or continually connecting and reconnecting the internal airport express antenna connector.

The USB dongle seemed like it wouldnt be very effective at directing the signal in a specific direction.

The Powerbook connect product looks interesting, but given its price and the drawbacks of transceivers (reducing data thoroughput by half) I didnt go that route.

In the end, I decided on and ordered the Hawking Tech HWL2A which is both a hand held wifinder and a USB wireless card which connects with a USB cable and has 5dBi gain and a directional antenna.
http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/...mp;AppleComp=1

Once I get it and test it, I will post back about how it worked out.

[amazing]

Sorry about the lack of response, but I can't help but feel that you've had better results in the networking forum. That's where I'd be looking...because that's where the members with particular interest in wifi hang out.

With my Ti-400, there was an enormous increase in wifi signal when I got a PMCIA card, both a Cisco Aironet 350 (where the software allowed an increase to 100, vs the 30 that the internal card uses) and a Buffalo card (native.) The main gain came from having the antenna on the outside of the metal skin. I also tried attaching an antenna to the base station (which you can't do in your situation, natch) but the gains with a Buffalo basestation were insignificant.

Neither of these would work with my present 12", but I think you'd get the same results with any solution that offers an external antenna solution--anything that's outside of the metal cage. USB should work fine, but I'm interested in your eventual results, so please do report back, both when you get it and eventually when you get back from the remote area.

The only question is whether the gain in range is worth the extra carrying. I'm still wishing I knew someone with a 12" iBook, just so I could compare the reception to my 12" AlPb. The iBook is the wifi reception "standard" against which the metal cases of the PBs fall short.

[rjt1000]

Hi amazing,

Thanks for your responce. I am still waiting for the usb wifi adapter to arrive. As you mentioned, having the wireless adapter outside the metal case of the PB should improve the performance, and hopefully the directionality of the antenna will also help lock in on weaker signals.

I will post back with more info once I have tried it out.

Also, I will post a link to this thread in the networking forum as you suggested.

rjt1000

[michaelb]

Hi rjt1000, thanks for posting your findings.

I'm in a similar situation and am interested in the product you've decided on - it would be great to hear how it goes for you.

Do you think the Hawking products will work with an Intel-based MacBook Pro as well?

[rjt1000]

I have been using the Hawkings Tech HWL2A for about a week now, and have found it to make all the difference in being internet connected at my current location.

However my experience to date is mixed:

I sent email to Hawkings Tech support with questions prior to my purchase, and they did not respond at all. (so I certainly wouldn't count on much support from them after the sale when they cant get their act together to answer emails that might lead to a sale). Although annoyed at that, I decided to go ahead anyway, because as you have found, there is little choice in the market for USB WI-Fi adapters for the Mac.

I ordered from one of the on-line retailer links at the manufacturers website and paid about $90 with shipping.

The HWL2A is about the size and shape of a flip open cell phone, although it is lighter in weight. The build quality seems okay, but the very light weight and all plastic construction makes it seem flimsy and it doesn't look like it would survive much of a fall. (the top half is white plastic, the bottom half seems to be a metallic coated plastic and scratches easily)

The HWL2A has the ability to work as a stand alone wi-finder, although I have not used it enough in this capacity to give you much of a comment. It would seem to be useful in a location where there are very few wireless networks, and less so when there are multiple, only some of which you can or want to access.

The installation on my PB 12 inch was straightforward with the enclosed driver and brief install guide. You turn off your airport card, install the Hawkings driver first, then plug in the adapter. You then go to network prefs where you accept the recognition of the adapter. To control the adapter you use the Hawking Tech wlan system preference that has been installed.

In the "HawkingWLan" system pref, it notes the adapter as ZyDAS USB 2.0, which I assume is the name of the manufacturer of the wi-fi circuitry itself.

Using this system pref you can see the available networks, their signal strength, channel, type, SSID, and whether encryption is on. Once you select a network to link to it gives you a real time graphical readout of signal strength and "link quality" (although there doesnt seem to be an explanation of what link quality means and how its different than signal strength)

If you are used to using MacStumbler you should note it does not seem to work with this usb wifi adapter, you need to use the HawkingWLan system preference to see available networks.

I only need to connect to unsecured networks, but as far as I can tell this adapter will work with 64, 128 and 256 bit WEP encryption, however there does NOT seem to be a way to use WPA encryption, at least as far as the choices I can see in the software.

The adapter is nicely directional using the flip top antenna, and you can slowly rotate to find the direction that gives the best signal strength. But once directed, you need to keep the adapter in a place where it will stay properly aimed (its light enough to slide around very easily or be moved by the usb cable's strain).

One other factor is it can take a minute or so to fully establish the connection to the wireless access point. (from the time when the HawkingWLan system pref says you are connected to the time when you will see the Tx and Rx frame indicator ramp up and web browsing becomes possible). But once connected, it stays locked on.

In my current location, my PB 12 1.33 internal airport extreme card/ antenna shows NO available networks. Using the Hawkings Tech adapter, I can put the adapter on a window ledge (the USB cable is about 5 feet in length) and aim it at the source of signal down the street, giving me a moderate strength (55%-60%) signal and a good internet connection.

Potential problems: The unit has no off switch and apparently no way to reset it. It froze once so far, perhaps because I shut down the computer and left the wireless adapter plugged in to it overnight. In any event it wouldnt work for about an hour or so this morning. The power light glowed steady (which should mean a full charge) but it was unable to look for networks, unable to be recognized by the computer or to be charged by it and basically showed no signs of life except the steady glowing power light. The user manual gave no clue as to what to do. I thought it was a goner, but then after dozens of attempts holding down the locate button to get it to look for networks, the power light went out, and then upon plugging it back into the computer it began to charge and operate normally. Definitely a concern given that I am in an area where it is unlikely to find Mac compatable hardware in case it fails. In any event its back to working, and I will avoid leaving it plugged into the computer when shut down. I will update the thread if this problem returns. (Oh, and definitely don't unplug the adapter while the computer is on--that will cause a kernal panic.)

michaelb: I do not know if this product will work with intel based MacBook Pro or not, so you should find that out from Hawkings support--if they decide to start answering emails from potential customers. (If you are running Windoze on your MacBook Pro, there may also be the option of using the Windoze version of this product---another question for Hawkings.)

rjt1000

[rjt1000]

I have now been using the Hawking Technologies HWL2A for about 3 weeks and am happy to report that it has continued to provide me a good wi-fi internet connection in a location where my PB 12 aluminums internal airport extreme card and antenna pick up no signal whatsoever.

There have been no further glitches or any other problems.

So for those folks who need significantly better wi-fi performance than their aluminum PB provides I can give this product my recommendation, with the few caveats I mentioned in my earlier post.

[michaelb]

Thanks for the update and very useful review.

They also ignored my requests for info, so yes it's difficult to get useful information out of Hawking.

However, I've noticed on their HWU54DMA Hi-Gain Mini Wireless-G USB Adapter page, they now support Intel Macs, which was the question I asked them, so I guess they answered it indirectly!

http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/...mp;AppleComp=1

This seems like it would be ideal for a MacBook Pro owner wanting to get around the metal cage effect of their aluminum laptop.

Only problem now is it seems very difficult to find somewhere to buy it. They don't sell direct, they link to a PriceGrabber survey, and currently the only affiliated link is CompUSA which doesn't list it as available for online delivery.

The products look great, but the Hawking company seems very frustrating for actually buying from.

[amazing]

rjt1000: kudos for the excellent and thorough review--and the followup experience report! Sounds like just the ticket for certain situations where you know there are WAPs but the aluminum shell keeps the laptop from receiving anything.

'Course now that the MacBooks are out, many people are saying that the MB airport range is even better than the iBook's, both because of the antenna placement (horizontal on one side, vertical on the other side) and the case material. Makes a good argument for an eventual upgrade to the MB from a 12". My 12" is still adequate for my needs, so I'm waiting for rev B and for the option of getting a matte LCD.

[rjt1000]

Hi amazing & michaelb,

Glad you found my review useful.

Just as a comparison, my friend with a plastic case PC laptop pulls in the network (at 2/5 signal strength) that my G4 12 is unable to see at all unless using the USB Hawking adapter. So the metal case is indeed a major issue. (and no doubt the wi-fi range of the MB will be superior to the MBP.)

That said, its nice to have the directionality that the Hawking adapter provides: there are signals I can pickup if I carefully direct the antenna, that the plastic case laptop with non directional antenna cannot.

michaelb: I was also considering the HWU54DMA and was unable to find it at any reseller. I went with the HWL2A despite its higher price tag because of my time constraints. Also, it seemed like it would be easier to aim the antenna on the HWL2A. The HWU54DMA dongle does come with a USB cable and small stand and you may find that useful if directionality is needed.

You would think that Hawking Tech would be interested in providing good customer service, if for no other reason than their bottom line. When you cant get your questions answered and cant find a reseller with the product, it leaves you feeling like you want to do business elsewhere. Unfortunately the lack of competition in this marketplace allows them to get away with this. --> Anyone from Hawking Tech reading this? Feel free to respond ; )

michaelb: If you do indeed get the HWU54DMA, it would be great if you could post your experience with it to this thread.

And if anyone else with a metal case Mac laptop is using a wi-fi improvement solution, feel free to post your experience as well.

Enjoy,

rjt1000