Poor wireless range in laptop

I recently purchased a used HP Pavilion ze4610 (ze4600) laptop. The
problem is that I have a terrible wireless range. The internal wireless
card is an IBM High Rate MiniPCI Combo Card 802.11b. The range....from
about 3 to 5 feet from my router was the best. I then upgraded the
driver from a 1.04 to 1.07 it was about 8-10 feet from the
router...still deplorable. What do I do about this problem? I am
considering getting a wireless card (PCMCIA/USB) but don't know which
is best. At this point it isn't the speed that matters it's all in the
range. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

On 24 Nov 2006 23:01:02 -0800, "Rory Deol" <rdeol85@gmail.com> wrote in
<1164438062.289747.17310@l39g2000cwd.googlegroups. com>:

>I recently purchased a used HP Pavilion ze4610 (ze4600) laptop. The
>problem is that I have a terrible wireless range. The internal wireless
>card is an IBM High Rate MiniPCI Combo Card 802.11b. The range....from
>about 3 to 5 feet from my router was the best. I then upgraded the
>driver from a 1.04 to 1.07 it was about 8-10 feet from the
>router...still deplorable. What do I do about this problem? ...

See if the antenna(s) is/are actually connected to the card (for which
you'll have to open up the machine).

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

"Rory Deol" <rdeol85@gmail.com> hath wroth:

>I recently purchased a used HP Pavilion ze4610 (ze4600) laptop. The
>problem is that I have a terrible wireless range. The internal wireless
>card is an IBM High Rate MiniPCI Combo Card 802.11b. The range....from
>about 3 to 5 feet from my router was the best. I then upgraded the
>driver from a 1.04 to 1.07 it was about 8-10 feet from the
>router...still deplorable. What do I do about this problem? I am
>considering getting a wireless card (PCMCIA/USB) but don't know which
>is best. At this point it isn't the speed that matters it's all in the
>range. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. HP laptops normally do not come with IBM wireless cards. Looking
at the driver list on the HP site, the ze4600 series came with
Broadcom wireless cards. Actually, I'm suprised that the IBM card
functions as the current HP BIOS checks for a supported wireless card
that has been FCC type certified with the laptop. Anything else gets
a nasty pre-boot error message. While the IBM card could work,
there's a possibility that antenna connector and the pigtails on the
antennas are not exactly matched connectors. Visually inspect the
connectors. Sometimes, all that's wrong is that the connectors are
not snapped together.

2. If possible take the laptop to a different wireless access point
or wireless router and try again. If the symptoms are identical, then
it's not the router. However, if it works with a different router,
then it's your wireless router.

--
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

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> 1. HP laptops normally do not come with IBM wireless cards. Looking
> at the driver list on the HP site, the ze4600 series came with
> Broadcom wireless cards. Actually, I'm suprised that the IBM card
> functions as the current HP BIOS checks for a supported wireless card
> that has been FCC type certified with the laptop. Anything else gets
> a nasty pre-boot error message. While the IBM card could work,
> there's a possibility that antenna connector and the pigtails on the
> antennas are not exactly matched connectors. Visually inspect the
> connectors. Sometimes, all that's wrong is that the connectors are
> not snapped together.
>

I did purchase this used. So does that mean that the IBM card is a
replacement for the original stock card? Or, could the computer be
displaying the wrong driver for some reason? Also, because I am
hesitant to open the machine to look for something completely foreign
to me, is there and external card that would be recommended?

"Rory Deol" <rdeol85@gmail.com> hath wroth:

>
>Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>
>> 1. HP laptops normally do not come with IBM wireless cards. Looking
>> at the driver list on the HP site, the ze4600 series came with
>> Broadcom wireless cards. Actually, I'm suprised that the IBM card
>> functions as the current HP BIOS checks for a supported wireless card
>> that has been FCC type certified with the laptop. Anything else gets
>> a nasty pre-boot error message. While the IBM card could work,
>> there's a possibility that antenna connector and the pigtails on the
>> antennas are not exactly matched connectors. Visually inspect the
>> connectors. Sometimes, all that's wrong is that the connectors are
>> not snapped together.

>I did purchase this used. So does that mean that the IBM card is a
>replacement for the original stock card?

Yes. As I mentioned, I'm rather suprised that it works because the
BIOS is suppose to complain about non-certified cards. Note the
Broadcom name on the wireless drivers for the ze4610:
<http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=384 624&lang=en>
Looks like it comes with something called a WL450 card. I couldn't
find any data on this card on the HP web pile (except the drivers).
Nothing on eBay. Very strange.

>Or, could the computer be
>displaying the wrong driver for some reason?

It's possible. There are patches and tweaks to the BIOS (and MiniPCI
card flash image) that allow HP, Compaq, and IBM laptops to accept
non-certified cards. I can't tell from here.

>Also, because I am
>hesitant to open the machine to look for something completely foreign
>to me, is there and external card that would be recommended?

Flip over the laptop. There are several doors on the bottom. One of
them covers the MiniPCI wireless card. Remove screws, lift lid, and
there's the card. If you want to read the instructions, go to:
<http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/manualCategory?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00372736&dlc=e n&product=384624&lang=en&>
and grab the Maintenance and Service Guide. See 2-7 for wireless card
removal.

My guess(tm) is that there's nothing wrong with the MiniPCI card. The
problem is probably the antenna connectors. Open and inspect. I'll
also guess(tm) that the antenna leads are not even connected and
possibly not present. Don't panic as there are aftermarket antennas
available on eBay, or you can get an external USB or PCMCIA wireless
card.



--
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

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> hath wroth:

><http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/manualCategory?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00372736&dlc=e n&product=384624&lang=en&>
>and grab the Maintenance and Service Guide. See 2-7 for wireless card
>removal.

Argh. See Page 2-58 for antenna removal and placement. The type of
antennas in the ze4100 are the same type as a repair job I did a while
back. See:
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/laptops/slides/compaq-2120us.html>
This is from a Compaq 2120US but the antennas are the same. I took
the photo as an example of a miserable antenna location.

If you look carefully at the photo, you'll see where the hinge has
crunched the coax cable and shorted the antenna. I cheated and
shortened the coax cable at both ends and resoldered the connections.
The problem is that even without a shorted coax cable, the location of
these antennas at the hinge points is awful. It should be located
high up on the LCD display. Range was lousy as compared to other
laptops in the office. The position of the LCD display made a huge
difference in signal strength.

You can check for a short by unplugging the u.FL connector and using
an ohms-guesser. It should read open circuit.

You previously asked what I recommend as a suitable replacement. Due
to the marginal internal antennas and possible impending repair job, I
suggest something other than a replacement for the internal MiniPCI
card. My favorite of the week is a Buffalo Tech WLI-CB-G54S.
<http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=47&categoryid=30>
There is also a higher tx power version for more money:
<http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=110&categoryid=29>
I've only recently been playing with one each of these and am rather
impressed. The external antenna connector should be handy when I
bother to find a suitable connector or pigtail.

--
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

Thank You for your advice! I opened panel on the bottom to expose the
wireless card and what looks like two unconnected antenna ports. Will I
need to purchase some cable to attach to this. Or is the wire on the
right of the first image the antenna cable?

http://www.imagefap.com/gallery.php?gid=428956

Rory Deol wrote:
> Thank You for your advice! I opened panel on the bottom to expose the
> wireless card and what looks like two unconnected antenna ports. Will I
> need to purchase some cable to attach to this. Or is the wire on the
> right of the first image the antenna cable?
>
> http://www.imagefap.com/gallery.php?gid=428956

Oh, and how to I take this thing apart further?

On 27 Nov 2006 14:45:56 -0800, "Rory Deol" <rdeol85@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>Rory Deol wrote:
>> Thank You for your advice! I opened panel on the bottom to expose the
>> wireless card and what looks like two unconnected antenna ports. Will I
>> need to purchase some cable to attach to this. Or is the wire on the
>> right of the first image the antenna cable?
>>
>> http://www.imagefap.com/gallery.php?gid=428956

No picture. I get:
Warning: connect(): Can't connect to localhost:10000, Unknown
error (0) in /usr/local/lsws2/DEFAULT/html/gallery.php on line 54
Could not connect
Can you find a better non-porno photo gallery to post the photo?

As I recall, there are two black coaxial cables with tiny crimp on
connectors (Hirose u.FL). They snap onto the two connections labelled
"MAIN" and "AUX". It doesn't matter which cable goes to which
connector.

There's a real possibility that the laptop never had antenna
connectors and cables. This looks like the right antennas:
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180054207766>
but I'm not sure as the model numbers are different. Installing the
antennas is NOT easy and should be done by someone with laptop repair
experience. Before you attack, look around the hole (remove the
MiniPCI card) and see if the cables aren't dangling around loose in
the bottom of the laptop.

>Oh, and how to I take this thing apart further?

Well, I don't think you'll need to go any further. Just find and
connect the antenna cables. HP and IBM both use compatible u.FL
connectors, so they should just snap in place. However, if you want
to dive in deeper, the disassembly destructions are in the service
docs URL that I previously posted.

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

Hi I can see the image and there is nothing near the antenna
connectors. The resolution is too low to tell what is happening with
that cable on the right.

You can buy antennas and snake them in if you are into working on your
laptop. Check out ebay for kits for your model. I saw one suggestion
for running antennas under the keyboard- easier to install, but
probably poor range. But then, maybe you don't need so much range.

Or get a pcmcia card as suggested. Certainly the easiest thing to do if
you don't mind something sticking out a bit.

On 28 Nov 2006 08:59:01 -0800, "seaweedsteve" <seaweedsteve@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Hi I can see the image and there is nothing near the antenna
>connectors. The resolution is too low to tell what is happening with
>that cable on the right.

Yep. I tried it with my office computah and it finally displayed
something after the 3rd try. Nothing connected to either antenna
connector and no cables in sight. Probably no antennas.

>You can buy antennas and snake them in if you are into working on your
>laptop. Check out ebay for kits for your model. I saw one suggestion
>for running antennas under the keyboard- easier to install, but
>probably poor range. But then, maybe you don't need so much range.

I saw those instructions for installing the antennas under the
keyboard for older IBM laptops as redirected from eBay vendor. They
were nice instructions. However, when a friend tried it, he noted
that the instructions forgot to mention to remove the big metal shield
on the base of most laptops. Doesn't work and don't bother.

>Or get a pcmcia card as suggested. Certainly the easiest thing to do if
>you don't mind something sticking out a bit.

Yeah, that's probably the easiest way. Taking apart the laptop is
rather challenging. My first one took all day and ended up with spare
parts. It's a chronic bad habit when replacing broken USB and power
receptacles. I hate doing it, but with practice, I no longer end up
with spare parts.

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