Linksys WDT11 Instant Wireless-B PCI Adapter

Other products by Linksys

Product Details

Product Manual [3.12mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005854E
• Item model number: WDT11
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 15, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

For those wanting to install the Linksys Wireless Network Card in a desk top PC, the Wireless-B PCI Adapter is the "PC card reader" necessary. This adapt er is only used with Linksys wireless cards.

The unit, when combined with the wireless card, offers the same networking power as a wired network with the ability to roam and the luxury of not running cables. The unit is of a standard size, and it even has handy "R" and "L" reference points on the network card tracks to make sure you place the card properly in your machine.

Installing the unit is straightforward: plug your wireless network card into the adapter's slot, open up your computer, place the adapter into an open PCI slot on the motherboard, secure (with a mounting screw that is not included), and power up. The computer recognizes the new hardware, and with the installation of drivers from both the Linksys CD and your Windows CD, the installation is complete. The card is not hot-swappable, so if you ever want to remove the card and replace it, be sure to do this while the machine is off.

The adapter itself needs no configuration as it serves only as a home for the wireless card. The accompanying paperwork provides clear instructions for the installation of the adapter, and includes the toll-free number for technical support should you run into difficulties. Adapter users should be aware, however, that both the Linksys customer support and the Web site will only help make sure that your hardware is properly in place: neither resource will guide you in configuring your network. In fact, technical support will refer you to another Web site. However, for those constructing a small office/home office network, the wireless route can be a painless way to sharing resources without having to worry about stringing cables.--Emily Dirks

Pros:

• Easy installation with plug-and-play operation

Potential Cons:

• Only works with the Linksys Wireless PC Card
• Customer support of little help

See a comparison diagram of the different wireless technologies.

Wireless networks are rapidly becoming more popular and coming down in price. Since they don't require cables, you can use the devices anywhere in an office or home, even out on the patio. There's no need to roll out an Ethernet network cable to each room of a house; you can network anywhere -- without wires. Outside of the home, wireless networking is available in hotspots at coffee shops, businesses, airports -- great when you're on the road and need to get some work done. For convenience, wireless networking is the answer. What Wireless Standard is Right for Me? Now that you've decided to create a wireless network, the next step is to figure out which wireless standard to use. Basically, a standard is a set of specifications for a device. All devices that follow a specific standard share operating characteristics, such as the radio frequency used and maximum data transfer speed. For wireless networking, there are three standards to choose from at this time: 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g To learn about the differences between the standards and select the right one for your network, click here for an easy-to-understand chart.

Product Description

Whether you're at your desk or in the boardroom, the Linksys Instant Wireless PCI Adapter (with the Linksys Instant Wireless Network PC Card inserted) allows you to share printers, files, and more within your wireless LAN infrastructure, increasing your productivity and keeping you on the network.The Instant Wireless PCI Adapter gives you the freedom to work your way, from wherever you want. Just plug the Network PC Card into the PCI Adapter and you can take full advantage of a wireless network. A high-powered built-in Diversity antenna means that you're covered - at distances of up to 500 meters. Ready to run in any PCI-equipped desktop PC and compatible with virtually all major operating systems, the Instant Wireless PCI Adapter from Linksys is truly a "must-have" for all PC users.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Running on Windows 2000 Desktop, July 6, 2001

By	"astronaut2be" (Yorktown, VA USA) - See all my reviews

I installed the PCI Adapter in an IBM Intellistation Pro running Windows 2000. As another reviewer pointed out, the drivers that ship with the card do not work on all systems. They did not work for the Intellistation. I had to download the latest drivers from the Linksys web site. But, here's the catch. You won't find the latest drivers listed under the WDT11. Instead, download the latest drivers for the Wireless PC Card (WPC11). This driver set has INF entries for both the WPC11 and WDT11. Once I removed the old driver files and ran these new ones, everything worked.

The card works great. I keep the Intellistation three rooms away from the access point (a Linksys WAP 11), and the computer still acheives Internet download speeds of 300 kilobytes/second. (My home network shares a cable modem connection.) I am amazed with the performance of this card. I was skeptical that anything close to 11 Mbs could be achieved under real-world conditions. I was prepared for real-world performance more like 300 kilobits/second than 300 kilobytes per second. This card actually performs as well as many wired 10 Mbs Ethernet cards. However, Linksys does lose a star for the responsiveness of their tech support.

When I first could not get the card to work, I contacted Linksys tech support. I recommend calling. I first sent e-mail and did not receive a response for five days. In the interim I called them and after ten minutes got a person who provided reasonable suggestions. However, none of the suggestions worked. Then, I got the bright idea to try the WPC11 drivers. When Linksys finally answered the e-mail, they provided the correct solution by sending me the new drivers. So, I'll give them some credit for coming up with the correct answer but one that was very late. I replied to them that they should correct their web site. I was told that my suggestion was forwarded to the webmaster. That was a month ago and the defective drivers are still listed under the WDT11.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Did not meet expections., July 29, 2001

By	Jimmy Jackson (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

The Linksys system router installation went well, with the exception of the client. The router came up and accepted the setup instructions. Problems began when I setup up the adapter and instant wireless network pc card from Linksys (WPC11). First, the 1998 Compaq 400/12gig, Win98 desktop would lockup everytime I booted it up with the Linksys card installed. I installed the software first, then the hardware, the Compaq computer would freeze and refuse to work. To verify the card was not defective, I moved to my Toshiba laptop and inserted the card in one of the pcmcia slots and installed the drivers. After reading futher I determined that a configuration program needed to be installed from the CD provided by LinkSys. This is a required program which is not automatically installed during the setup of the drivers. After waiting 24 hours for a return call from LinkSys, the technican quickly prompted me to make one change in my configuration and we were up and running. The laptop under Windows 98 worked perfectly. After determining that the device (LinkSys network card)was not defective I returned to the Compaq unit. This time I installed all of the software, then the hardware, again the compaq refused to accept the LinkSys wireless adapter and card. By now I am thinking there is something wrong with the Compaq computer.

I then decided to try a different vender. I went to CompUSA and picked up a D-Link adapter and card for the test. Guess what! The D-Link instruction wanted the software first, which when installed setup the config program and the drivers all in two passes, a reboot was required before the second pass. It was clear on how to do the install, the install screen had additional information making going thru the documention unecessary.

The D-link unit worked perfectly with the Compaq computer. I was pleased, I could use the LinkSys in my laptop and a D-link adapter in the Compaq. The next big test was to come. During the installation, all of the devices were in my office at home, but the Compaq was my wife's computer and needed to move across the house to her office about 60 feet away. The write up shows distances of over 400 feet will work with these wireless devices - NOT SO. Granted there are 4 walls and part of the kitchen between my office and my wife's, the actual distance is about 60 feet at most. Complete rejection followed, after spending one full day installing and testing this new wireless router, I still can not get the link up to my wife's compaq in her office. I am going to keep the router, to work with my laptop in the den and on the patio out back, but it looks like a hard wired connection will be the only way a computer link will work at my house.

Jim Jackson Programmer

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't work, Linksys recommends the WMP11 instead., April 24, 2002

By	Reginald H. Henderson (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The WDT11 will work if you buy the WPC11 version 1. The problem is, no one sells the WPC11 version 1. The current version of WPC11 is version 3, and Linksys customer service told me that version 3 doesn't work with the WDT11 (it works fine in a laptop). Linksys customer service recommended the newer WMP11 card which is made for desktops. This WDT11 is an adapter to get the laptop peripheral WPC11 to work in a desktop.