Billionton Systems GCBWLARL Cardbus Wireless LAN 11a / b / g card User Manual GCBWLARL Manual
Billionton Systems, Inc. Cardbus Wireless LAN 11a / b / g card GCBWLARL Manual
Users Manual
CARDBUS WIRELESS LAN CARD
User’s Manual
1.0
Federal Communication Commission Interference Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If
this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can
be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to
correct the interference by one of the following measures:
- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
- Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
- Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver
is connected.
- Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
FCC Caution: To assure continued compliance, (example - use only shielded interface
cables when connecting to computer or peripheral devices) any changes or modifications
not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's
authority to operate this equipment.
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference.
(2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This module is restricted to mobile configuration. To comply with FCC RF exposure
compliance requirements, the antenna used for this transmitter must be installed to
provide a separation distance of at least 20 cm from all persons and must not be
co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter. This
transmitter module must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other
antenna or transmitter
Industry Canada Statement
Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
1) This device may not cause interference
2) This device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause
undesired operation of the device
This device has been designed to operate with an antenna having a maximum gain of
2.58 dBi. (Antenna gain)
Antenna having a higher gain is strictly prohibited per regulations of Industry Canada.
The required antenna impedance is 50 ohms.
To reduce potential radio interference to other users, the antenna type and its gain should
be so chosen that the EIRP is not more than required for successful communication.
To prevent radio interference to the licensed service, this device is intended to be
operated indoors and away from windows to provide maximum shielding.
(Equipment (or its transmit antenna) that is installed outdoors is subject to licensing).
Manual Information That Must be Included
The OEM integrator has to be aware not to provide information to the end user regarding
how to install or remove this RF module in the user’s manual of the end product which
integrate this module.
The users manual for OEM integrators must include the following information in a
prominent location “ IMPORTANT NOTE: To comply with FCC RF exposure compliance
requirements. The antenna must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any
other antenna or transmitter
Index
Introduction 1
CHAPTER1
Specifications 2
CHAPTER2
Setup for Windows 98/2000/ME/XP 5
CHAPTER4
Troubleshooting 18
1
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing this CardBus Wireless LAN Card. This card is a wireless
network client that complies with IEEE 802.11a/b/g standard on wireless LANs. The
IEEE 802.11b/g standards compliance means this adapter gives you the flexibility to
connect it to any 802.11g network. The IEEE 802.11b/g standard allows you to connect
computers and devices at speeds up to 54Mbps, dependent upon the distance
between wireless adapters, the configuration of your working environment, or the
capabilities or limitations of your computer systems.
Package contents
• One CardBus Wireless LAN Card
• One CD (Driver/Utility/User’s Manual)
NOTE:
If any of these items are missing from the retail package, contact your supplier
immediately.
i
2
Specifications
Features
- Fully Comply with IEEE 802.11a/b/g Standard
- Fully Comply with IEEE 802.11j (Japan J52,W52,W53) Standard.
- 2.4GHz and 5GHz ISM wireless system technology
- 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps for OFDM; 5.5, 11Mbps for CCK;
and 1,2Mbps for Barker Modulation.
- Support antenna diversity
- Support Complete Security Features: WEP 64/128, TKIP, WPA, WPA2, 802.11i
- Support Advanced Quality of Service (QoS) – 802.11e, WMM
- Supports peer to peer communication among any wireless users, no Access Point
required.
Specification
1. Interface:
- CardBus
2. Mechanical
Dimension: 59.6 x 44.6 x 1 mm (L x W x H)
Function
- Protocol : Compatible with IEEE 802.11 a/ b /g Standard
- Modulation Technique :
802.11b： DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) with BPSK (1Mbps),
QPSK (2Mbps), and CCK (5.5 and 11Mbps)
802.11g： OFDM (BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM)
802.11a： OFDM (BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM)
- Transfer data rate : 802.11a : 54, 48,36,24,18,12, 9, 6 Mbps, auto-fallback
802.11g : 54, 48,36,24,18,12, 9, 6Mbps, auto-fallback
802.11b : 11, 5.5, 2,1Mbps, auto-fallback
- Media access protocol : CSMA/CA with ACK
- Antenna connection interface : Miniature build-in antenna .
1
3
- Output Power : 14~16dBm(CCK), 10~13dBm(OFDM)
- RF sensitivity : @PER <0.08 ,11Mbps < -84dBm(typical)
@ PER <0.08 ,54Mbps < -70dBm(typical)
- Security : Complete Security Features - WEP 64/128, WPA, WPA2,802.1x, and
802.11i
- Support :Cisco CCX V1.0, V2.0, and V3.0 Compliant
- International Regulatory Compliance - 802.11 d + h
- Comprehensive Operating System Support: Windows 98/SE/ME, Windows2000,
Windows XP
- WiFi and WHQL Certification
- Industry Leading Throughput - Packet-OVERDRIVETM Technology
- Channels Support :
802.11 b.g
US/Canada: 11 (1 ~ 11)
Major European country: 13 (1 ~ 13)
France: 4 (10 ~ 13)
Japan: 14 (1~13 or 14th)
802.11 a
US/Canada: 12 non-overlapping channels (5.15~5.35GHz, 5.725~5.825GHz)
Major European country: 19 non-overlapping channels (5.15~5.35GHz,
5.47~5.725GHz)
Japan: 12 non-overlapping channels (5.15 ~ 5.35GHz)
Environmental Operating Ranges
- Operating Temperature: 0 ~70° C, Humidity 10 ~ 90%
- Storage Temperature: -20 ~90° C, Humidity 10 ~ 90%
Power Consumption
- Maximum: Transmit: 350mA (max),
Receive: 227mA (max)
- Idle: 128 mA
Green Certification
RoSH-2002/95/EC
Certification
FCC, CE class B,
4
Driver support
Microsoft Windows 98SE, Windows ME/2000 /XP, Windows CE, Linux. Mac OSX
5
Setup for Windows 98/2000/ME/XP
1. Insert the CD into the CD-ROM device , the installation will auto-run, or user can
execute the "setup.exe" in the installation CD manually. The RALINK Wireless
Network Card Setup License Agreement box will appear, click "Yes" to continue.
2. The RALINK Wireless Network Card Setup Configuration Tool box will appear,
please select "Ralink Configuration Tool" and click “Next” to continue.
2
6
3. The RALINK Wireless Network Card Setup Configuration Tool box will appear,
please select "Optimize for WiFi mode" and click “Next” to continue.
7
4. Follow the instruction of the installation program. The program will install the
software for this device directly.
5. Click "Finish" to complete the installation.
6. When the Utility installation is completed, a new icon will display in the system tray
at the bottom of the screen. Double click the shortcut or the icon to start using the
CardBus Wireless LAN Card.
In the system tray
8
Windows XP
Due to Windows XP has built-in wireless network utility you may decide to use the
system’s utility or the one provided by this adapter. It is strongly recommended to
use the utility of this adapter.
A. Using the Windows XP’s Utility
Click the icon marked in red in the system tray and you may start using the Windows
XP’s wireless utility.
9
B. Using the Utility of this adapter
1. Get into Windows XP’s Utility, click “Advanced“ button.
2. On the “Wireless Networks“ tab in the “Wireless Network Connection
Properties“ screen, clear the “Use Windows to configure my wireless network
settings“ check box. If you want to enable the Windows XP built-in utility, select the
check box again.
10
3. Double click the shortcut or the icon in the system tray and start using the CardBus
Wireless LAN Card.
Note: If you don’t disable the XP’s Utility, you can still see the link status and statistics during
communication process from the adapter’s utility.
11
Configuration Utility
The Configuration Utility is a powerful application that helps you configure the CardBus
Wireless LAN Card and monitor the link status and the statistics during the
communication process.
This utility can be used to change the following configuration parameters when the
device is active.
1. Connect to the Wireless Network
Double click the shortcut of the icon on the system tray to open the wireless utility, then
you can view available wireless networks within range of your computer and access to
the network you intend to.
Note :If the network requires a Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) key, type the key in
the text box. The key should be 10 or 26 hexadecimal characters according
to the WEP mode setting (64-bit or 128-bit) of the network.
Rescan
To scan the available network within range of your computer once more.
Connect
Click the button to connect to the selected network.
12
Add to Profile
Click the button to add the network into list of the profile .
13
2. Configuration
This screen is for you to make advanced settings in order to connect to an available
network or create a new wireless network connection. You could also define the
connection order here.
Profile:
This list shows the preferred networks for the wireless connection. You can add,
remove, edit the preferred networks or set one of the networks as the default
connection.
Add Button
To configure a new profile, click “Add“ button.
14
Network Name (SSID)
The SSID (up to 32 printable ASCII characters) is the unique name identified in a
WLAN. The ID prevents the unintentional merging of two co-located WLANs. Only
the wireless devices with the same SSID can interconnect.
Delete Button
To remove a wireless network from the available profiles list, click the “Delete”
button.
Link Status:
Signal Strength
This bar shows the signal strength level. The higher percentage shown in the bar,
the more radio signal been received by the adapter. This indicator helps to find the
proper position of the wireless device for quality network operation.
15
Signal Quality
This bar indicates the quality of the link. The higher the percentage, the better the
quality.
Site Survey:
It will show all available wireless Network(s) within range of your computer. You can
double click the network listed in the table to make further configurations.
Configure Button
If you are unable to connect to an existing wireless network, click the network
name and then click this button. The “Wireless Network Properties“ will show
up for you to configure the adapter and ensure the settings are correct.
Rescan Button
To update the list of available networks, click the “Rescan“ button.
16
Statistics
You can get the real time information about the packet transmission and receiving
status during wireless communication from the screen. If you want to recount the
statistics value, please click “Reset Counter“ button.
Advance
This screen allows you to do some advanced configuration and some specific settings
for the adapter.
Note : You can enable the option of “Tx BURST” and “Enable TCP Windows Size”
to get better performance. (Recommend )
Ad Hoc wireless mode
Select the number of the radio channel used for the Ad Hoc networking. The
channel of all the wireless stations in the Ad Hoc network should be the same. The
parameter is not active in the infrastructure operation mode.
Note: The Infrastructure operation mode requires the presence of an 802.11
Access Point. All communication is done via the Access Point.
17
Turn Off RF
When the setting is checked, the wireless connection of the adapter will be
disabled.
About
This screen displays the version and the designer of the Utility.
18
Troubleshooting
This chapter provides solutions to problems usually encountered during the installation
and operation of the adapter.
1. What is the IEEE 802.11g standard？
The IEEE 802.11g Wireless LAN standard subcommittee which formulates the
standard for the industry. The objective is to enable wireless LAN hardware from
different manufactures to communicate.
2. What does IEEE 802.11 feature support？
The product supports the following IEEE 802.11 functions:
• CSMA/CA plus Acknowledge Protocol
• Multi-Channel Roaming
• Automatic Rate Selection
• RTS/CTS Feature
• Fragmentation
• Power Management
3. What is Ad-hoc？
An Ad-hoc integrated wireless LAN is a group of computers, each has a Wireless
LAN adapter, Connected as an independent wireless LAN. Ad hoc wireless LAN is
applicable at a departmental scale for a branch or SOHO operation.
4. What is Infrastructure？
An integrated wireless and wireless and wired LAN is called an Infrastructure
configuration. Infrastructure is applicable to enterprise scale for wireless access to
central database, or wireless application for mobile workers.
4
19
5. What is BSS ID？
A specific Ad hoc LAN is called a Basic Service Set (BSS). Computers in a BSS
must be configured with the same BSS ID.
6. What is WEP？
WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, a data privacy mechanism based on a 40 bit
shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802 .11 standard.
7. What is TKIP?
TKIP is a quick-fix method to quickly overcome the inherent weaknesses in WEP
security, especially the reuse of encryption keys. TKIP is involved in the IEEE
802.11i WLAN security standard, and the specification might be officially released
by early 2003.
8. What is AES?
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), a chip-based security, has been developed
to ensure the highest degree of security and authenticity for digital information,
wherever and however communicated or stored, while making more efficient use of
hardware and/or software than previous encryption standards. It is also included in
IEEE 802.11i standard. Compare with AES, TKIP is a temporary protocol for
replacing WEP security until manufacturers implement AES at the hardware level.
9. What is IEEE 802.1x?
802.1x, an IEEE standard that provides an authentication framework for 802-based
LANs. 802.1x will let wireless LANs scale by allowing centralized authentication of
wireless users or stations. Based on the 802.1x framework, any wireless stations try
to connect to the Access Point or Router should be authenticated by an
Authentication Server.
The Authentication Server identifies the wireless station by a set of user name and
password, only wireless stations provide correct user name and password can
connect to the Access Point or Router and access to the network.
20
10. Can Wireless products support printer sharing？
Wireless products perform the same function as LAN products. Therefore, Wireless
products can work with Netware, Windows 2000, or other LAN operating systems to
support printer or file sharing.
11. Would the information be intercepted while transmitting on air？
WLAN features two-fold protection in security. On the hardware side, as with Direct
Sequence Spread Spectrum technology, it has the inherent security feature of
scrambling. On the software side, WLAN series offer the encryption function (WEP)
to enhance security and Access Control. Users can set it up depending upon their
needs.
12. What is DSSS？What is FHSS？And what are their differences？
Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) uses a narrowband carrier that
changes frequency in a pattern that is known to both transmitter and receiver.
Properly synchronized, the net effect is to maintain a single logical channel. To an
unintended receiver, FHSS appears to be short-duration impulse noise.
Direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) generates a redundant bit pattern for
each bit to be transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or chipping code). The
longer the chip is, the greater the probability that the original data can be recovered.
Even if one or more bits in the chip are damaged during transmission, statistical
techniques embedded in the radio can recover the original data without-the need for
retransmission. To an unintended receiver, DSSS appears as low power wideband
noise and is rejected (ignored) by most narrowband receivers.
21
13. What is Spread Spectrum？
Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency technique developed
by the military for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communication systems. It
is designed to trade off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security. In
other words, more bandwidth is consumed than in the case of narrowband
transmission, but the trade off produces a signal that is, in effect, louder and thus
easier to detect, provided that the receiver knows the parameters of the
spread-spectrum signal being broadcast. If a receiver is not tuned to the right
frequency, a spread –spectrum signal looks like background noise. There are two
main alternatives, Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency
Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS).