Is my Buffalo AirStation compatible?

[pottingshed]

Hi folks,

I've got my hands on a Buffalo AirStation 11Mbps PC Card WLI-PCM-L11GP, which I was sure would work with my Psion 7Book (the Series 7 with a netBook personality module installed).

But so far I can't get it to work, and I'm wondering whether this particular card is compatible, or whether I'm going to have to back-up and do a hard reset. Can anyone shed any light on this?

First, the WiFi card: the front of the card says WLI-PCM-L11GP. On the back it says that it's a WLI-PCM-L11GP/R, and further down the label it says:

Model PC24E-11-FC/RS

FCC ID: IMRWLPCE2411R

I have a Lucent Orinoco Gold (FCC ID: IMRWLPCE24H) which works a treat, but of course it blocks the stylus port, which is why I got the Buffalo card (it doesn't!).

Now, the Connection: with the Buffalo WLI-PCM-L11GP/R installed and Ethernet settings set (according to the guidelines at Pscience5) when I open Opera the Power light comes on and the Active light flickers but there is no connection.

In NetStatRF it says:

Connection status: Connected to ESS
Connected to: NETGEAR
Remote MAC: xx-xx-xx-xx-A8-B3 (which is the MAC of my WAP)
Remote rates supported: 11, 5.5, 2, 1 Mbps
Signal to Noise Ratio: 75dB
Average Signal level: 125 dB
Average Noise level: 52 dB
Tx rates in use: 11, 5.5, 2, 1 Mbps
Current Tx rate: 11 Mbps
Tx unicast frames / bytes: 4 / 1,458
Tx multicast frames / bytes: 0 / 0
Tx multiple retry frames: 0
Tx retry limit exceeded: 0
Tx discards: 0
Rx unicast frames / bytes: 4 / 2,448
Rx multicast frames / bytes: 68 / 7,010

And the Card Information gives me the correct information. Clicking on Network Information says that I'm not connected to a network.

Any thoughts, or do I simply need to hard reset and try again?

Thanks

Gareth J M Saunders

[MartinG]

Hi Gareth,

Just had a close look at my card and it doesn't have the "/R" suffix anywhere on it. I googled for it and interestingly the only hits it brings up appear to be in Korean (I think - I'm no expert!) - which makes me wonder if this was a 'regional' variant perhaps.

In any case, looking at the data you posted from NetStatRF it looks like the RF side of things is connecting okay. Which makes me think this is a network settings issue.

A couple of gotchas to check:

1) Is your Netgear AP filtering MAC addresses and if so, have you added the MAC address of this new card to the list?
2) Are you using WEP encryption on your network and have you remembered to enter the key(s) in your settings for this card on your Psion?

If neither of these get you anywhere, I'll see if I can suggest something else.

Cheers,
Martin

[pottingshed]

Thanks Martin,

I checked those -- I switched off both the MAC filtering and the WEP encryption and still no joy.

Thanks again,

Gareth

[MartinG]

Okay, a couple more ideas that might be worth a try and/or give some clues:

1) Do you have a laptop that you can try the card in on your network? This would enable you to confirm if the network is happy talking with the card.

2) Does your Netgear AP support a web browser interface? My Netgear DG834 does and I can log onto it quite happy with Opera on my nB - even if I don't have internet connectivity for whatever reason.

Cheers,
Martin

[cshandley]

My (working) buffalo is Model PC24E-11-FC/R (i.e. no "S" at the end).

[GJP46]

My working card is the same as Chris Handley's - ie no 'S' at the end

Originally Posted by cshandley

My (working) buffalo is Model PC24E-11-FC/R (i.e. no "S" at the end).

[pottingshed]

Do you know, are you able to switch between the Lucent Orinoco WiFi card and the Buffalo one without having to completely hard reset your machine -- I would imagine that you should be able to!

I'm now simply wondering if this card I have is different enough not to work -- I did get it from someone in Hong Kong, not Europe so there may be some kind of subtle difference that is preventing it from working with my 7Book. Which would be a shame since it's a lovely card and doesn't block my stylus port -- which would be a real bonus.

Thanks for your help so far, folks.

Gareth

[MartinG]

Hi Gareth,

I'm pretty sure that you should be able to change cards without having to reset, yes.

Another thought occurred to me. I think I've heard that WiFi cards in different regions of the world don't use all of exactly the same 802.11b channels. Have you tried a few different channels on your Netgear to see if the card might work on a different one?

Martin

[pottingshed]

Hi Martin,

I had tried that before, changing WiFi channels, but just tried it again and nothing works with it, channels 1 through 13. I even tried changing the WAP region to Japan and then Asia and those didn't work either. I also reset my WAP in the process, and that didn't have an effect.

Short of doing a full system reset my only conclusion is that this particular model (PC24E-11-FC/RS) doesn't work with the 7Book. Bah!

G

[MartinG]

Can your Netgear AP 'see' the card when it's trying to connect? Normally if you log onto your Netgear with a PC you can mitor everything else that's connected (or trying to connect)...

Martin

[pottingshed]

It can: the Netgear WG602 shows the following:

MAC
xx:xx:xx:xx:8D:4E

Channel: 11

Status:
Forwarding

But nothing came up on the DHCP table on the RP114 router until I rebooted the router. Now it shows that it is available. But I still cannot get anything on my 7Book, meaning that I cannot connect to Google, for example, or to my router (192.168.0.1) or WAP (192.168.0.2). The Power light is on on the Buffalo but the Active light flickers every now and then.

Swapping back to the Lucent Orinoco card I can connect immediately. Hmmm... that's odd. Could someone please post the settings they have in their Control Panel -- is it just Ethernet I need to set? -- that way I can see if I have anything set incorrectly. Thanks.

Gareth

[psimon]

wonder if you'd need a hard reset. maybe you can't use two cards with the same driver? (i read now others have similar problems)

just backup and do the hard reset. then test, before reloading any of your programs. would be an interesting new information... sorry if it isn't new and it's been confirmed you can use two cards

[pottingshed]

Hey folks! Thanks so much for your help. I now have that Buffalo card working on my 7Book.

That was the WLI-PCM-L11GP/R; Model PC24E-11-FC/RS; FCC ID: IMRWLPCE2411R, which answers the question about whether that card works in a Psion 7Book or not: it does.

I backed up and did a hard reset, rebooted the Operating System from a CF card, and set up the Ethernet and Internet (Dummy account) settings. And success!

The Buffalo card is so much shorter -- doesn't protrude quite as far as the Orinoco card -- and, of course, allows me access to my stylus. Now more unplugging and plugging in the WiFi card to gain access to the stylus, saving a lot of wear on the PC Card connector.

Thanks again -- I'm delighted. You folks are great.

[MartinG]

Excellent news Gareth!

[AnthonyLevy]

Does anyone have Costass telephone number, Please?
Anthony