Netgear WG511T 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card

Clicks into place and works out of the box
Installation is extremely simple. You just load the drives on your notebook from the disc provided, then click the card into its slot (like a floppy disk) and you're good to go. The firmware upgrade is best downloaded from netgear.com and installs a breeze.

The card itself recognised my wireless network instantly. The new firmware offers WPA security as well as the existing WEP and also other improvements. If you have no security features enabled on your wireless network you will be online instantly. There is also the feature of setting up different profiles for different networks. For example, if you have a network elsewhere and that network requires different settings to connect (maybe a different passphrase), you can give each profile a different name and use the drop-down menu to switch.

The signal strength and range is excellent. I have a Netgear DG834G ADSL Modem/Router/Access Point at home. Even on the other side of my house with four very thick concrete walls, it still...
Easy so long as you install the driver before the card....
I bought this card because of the promised range and not its throughput- my gateway is only 54mbps. Previous NETGEAR PCMCIA cards and USB dongles I have bought only achieved an effective range of 40m into my garden with a couple of flat spots to drop my VPN connection on the way for good measure. This card lets me get to the top of my garden, nearly 100m from the DG834M router, and overcomes a dead zone in my house. Easy install and improved management interface (never seen the full 54mbps, 36mbps more common but easily enough to cope with my ADSL throughput) at a decent price. Best wireless card I've used yet...
Excellent coverage, recommended!
I completely recommend this card, but want to offer my story to give guidance to others.

I bought this card to replace my 54Mbps Cable & Wireless card, as I wanted faster connectivity.

When I first installed the card, using the installation CD it comes with, there were two options:-

1.) Use the Netgear Smartwizard. (recommended)
2.) Let Microsoft Windows configure the card.

I chose the option that was highlighted as being recommended, Netgear, but in doing this upon "successful" installation, I had no IP address, but somehow I was still accessing the internet, then it kept crashing and then eventually it didn't work. I rang my ISP but because the internet was working through my modem, they would not help. I phoned Netgear, they didn't help either.

So, I un-installed the card and then re-installed it, this time choosing Windows to configure the card.

It worked instantly and perfectly. I have excellent signal...

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