On Sat, 08 Oct 2005 11:37:10 GMT, John Navas
<spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote:

So much for new and improved.

>* Range is significantly worse than the original WG511 (v1), on the order of
>10-20% less.

A bit of math in antenna gain, tx power, and rx sensitivity.
Rounding off a bit.
12dB is 25% of your range.
6dB is 50%
3dB is 75%
1.5dB is 87.5%
Therefore, for you 20% loss in range, there is about a 1dB difference
between the v1 and v2 incantation. I have no way to tell if it's in
receive sensitivity, transmit power, or antenna gain. My guess(tm)
would be antenna gain. 1-3 dB variations in product lots are all too
common.

>In some locations where the original WG511 (v1) can connect and
>hold a weak signal, the WG511v2 is too unstable to be usable

Different chipsets have different algorithms for dealing with
reflections. If the weak signal is the result of going through walls
or floors, you're really measuring how well the receiver can handle
multipath. How well does it work in a line of sight and minimal
reflective environment?

The v1 to v2 transition suggests a change of vendor so that two cards
may be completely different inside. Could I trouble you for the FCC
ID numbers so I can look at the inside photos on the FCC web pile?

>* Stability of the WG511v2 is much worse than the original WG511 (v1), to the
>point of losing connections even in strong signal conditions.

Ouch. Now, that's bad. When that happens, check whatever utility is
supplied with the card for the connection speed. If it has slowed
down to 1-2Mbit/sec, then the card and/or it's driver is doing a very
bad job of handling interference. They're suppose to slow down or
stop in the presence of interference, then speed back up when it goes
away. Some drivers do not recover very gracefully. If the speed
stays fairly high, then that's not the problem.

>These observations are based on extensive careful testing of more than one
>sample of both types of cards in multiple locations with the latest Netgear
>drivers under Windows XP SP2 on an IBM ThinkPad T30.

What access points or wireless routers were you using? Just curious
if you're mixing chipsets.

>Accordingly, my recommendation is for the original WG511 (v1) over the
>WG511v2, which didn't even perform as well as other (non-Netgear) 802.11g
>cards I've used and tested. Easy way to tell them apart:
>
> * The original WG511 (v1) has a silver antenna bulge.
>
> * The WG511v2 has a black antenna bulge.
>
>See also <http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/WG511.asp>.
>
>Although the original WG511 (v1) may be hard to find new, good used ones are
>readily available on eBay (as of this writing) at bargain prices.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558