Belkin WIRELESS ACCESS POINT ( F5D7130 )

by Belkin

Product Details

Product Manual [1.47mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 10.2 x 4 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008I9ID
• Item model number: F5D7130
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 5, 2003

Product Description

Belkin High Speed Mode (HSM) Wireless Network Access Point for PC and Mac F5D7130 / BLKF5D7130

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Product works well, watch out for firmware updates, November 16, 2003

By 

Carlos Santiago (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belkin WIRELESS ACCESS POINT ( F5D7130 ) (Personal Computers)

First of all, the installation of this product is relatively straightforward but the default factory settings will leave your system open (unsecure). In these times of increasing cases of hacking and with more and more wireless products being available, security is a major concern and you should make your first assignment to secure your system from attacks.
There are several options available for securing your connection that include eliminating the broadcast of your wireless network name (SSID), setting up encryption manually or automatically (either 64 or 128 bit) by using an optional passphrase and filtering out MAC addresses.

Now, setting up the Wireless Access Point is not as straightforward as it seems, and here's where the documentation should be a bit clearer. The WAP setup has a web-based interface that requires an Internet browser such as MSIE or Netscape.
The default IP address (and URL) of the WAP is 192.168.2.254 with a Class C subnet mask (255.255.255.0), you could care less about it, but it is very important to know. In order for you to configure the WAP, you must set up your PC IP address (either the wireless client or the host PC that you will use to connect to the WAP) on the same subnet as this default address on the WAP. In my case, my DSL router belongs to a 192.168.1.xxx subnet, so I had to change my address temporarily to a valid one(192.168.2.100) as explained in the manual. Fortunately, the WAP setup allows you to change the WAP's default IP address to suit your needs.

About applying firmware updates:
Problems arise when you apply new firmware, a common procedure that everyone should do when acquiring these kind of equipment, but should be very careful when doing so.
Firmware updates bring improvements, fixes and new features to your WAP and keeps it up to date. The problem I had was that the firmware changed the WAP's default IP address to 192.168.2.1, something I found out after researching networking.belkin.com.
The second issue was that my security settings were erased and my saved settings were not completely recovered, apparently because of some format compatibility issue not documented anywhere. Luckily, I put everything on paper and I was able to set everything back the way it was but believe me, looking at a "page not found" error after a firmware update is not for the faint of heart.

Now about client connectivity. I own a DSL router connected to a simple 8-port 10MBps hub. I connected my WAP in one of the ports on the hub. My laptop (with a PCMCIA wireless card) immediately found the WAP. Reception should be fine if your wireless clients reside across open areas. Closed rooms are another story. In my case, although my bedroom (closed area) is much closer in distance to the WAP, there was no reception initially and noise was higher than in the living room (open area). For this reason I had to place the WAP in a more direct line of sight to my bedroom and in a higher position to allow for better reception. This required a longer patch cable than the 6-inch UTP cable included with the WAP.

In summary, if you are familiar with networking PCs and know how your network is set up then you shouldn't have any problems installing and using this product, otherwise I'd recommend bringing someone with networking experience to help out.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does what it says on the tin, July 28, 2003

By 

Paul E. Harrison (Stuart, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Belkin WIRELESS ACCESS POINT ( F5D7130 ) (Personal Computers)

There's a firmware update at Belkin's site (you need to navigate the site directly rather than use the automatic check built into the box) which brings full 'g' compatability plus some sophisticated relaying and encryption features.

What's it like to use? Well, it's pretty simple to set up. It needs a Javascript enabled web browser - so Linux, Mac, and PC users will have no problem setting it up. Follow the instructions and you can't go wrong.

This box is intended for use with an existing network - machines connecting wirelessly will act as if they've been plugged into your network directly. For the more technical of you, the wireless MAC addresses appear as standard Ethernet addresses which means you can use your existing DHCP servers, etc, to administer your network. Security features offered includes a MAC whitelist, WPA and WEP encryption/login standards, plus the ability to hide your network so it doesn't automatically appear on network selectors. The system is fully compatable with Apple's AirPort (and presumably AirPort Extreme) cards as both use the same 802.11b and 802.11g standards. Range is difficult to test in my apartment - certainly, it is powerful enough to cover my home and half of an adjacent/one floor up apartment with a strong signal when situated on a bookcase in the middle of mine, without any tuning on my part to get it to an ideal position.

It isn't a router (except between the wireless network and the wired network.) You cannot (usually) plug it into a cable modem or DSL modem directly. Belkin has a seperate box available that will do this that also incorporates the wireless functionality. More sophisticated boxes, such as Apple's AirPort hubs, include features like printer servers - this doesn't, it's just a wireless access point, something to connect your 802.11b/g devices to your Ethernet network.

The device is a large plastic box, resembling a TV dinner you'd put in the Microwave. It has two positionable antennae permanently attached to the outside of the box but no socket to plug in a more powerful antenna. It comes with a mounting stand that allows you to position it vertically, or you can sit the thing down flat. Or you can put two screws in the wall and hang it from that. Happily the power supply is not a "pregnant plug", but a small box into which you plugged an A/C cable and out of which came the standard DC line.

What's more to say? It's exactly what it advertises itself as being. It's inexpensive, at the time of writing, I have no qualms recommending it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars F5D7130 works fine with Linksys WRT54G, March 4, 2006

By 

Nestor Ale "nale" (Paraguay) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Belkin WIRELESS ACCESS POINT ( F5D7130 ) (Personal Computers)

Just got the Belkin F5D7130 and was about to send it to trash cause seemed to work *only* with Belkin routers...but then I found out how to make it work with my WRT54G.

As stated in the F5D7130 manual, you need to set up the F5D7130 MAC address into your Belkin router in order to use the F5D7130 like a range extender, since you cannot do this in a Linksys router, I tried the inverse...just loaded my Linksys MAC address into the "Wireless Bridge" configuration section of the F5D7130..and its working perfectly.

Finally, as stated in the Belkin manual, WAP is not supported in extender mode, but WEP works fine...so, better WEP than nothing...

Regards.