For any of you interested in wireless but not on the TCWUG list, Orinoco
RG-1000 gateways are available for $59 now.

Description below.

-- 
Nate Carlson <natecars at real-time.com>   | Phone : (952)943-8700
http://www.real-time.com                | Fax   : (952)943-8500


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 20:42:23 -0600 (CST)
From: "natecars at real-time.com" <natecars at real-time.com>
Reply-To: "tcwug-list at tcwug.org" <tcwug-list at tcwug.org>
To: "tcwug-list at tcwug.org" <tcwug-list at tcwug.org>
Subject: Re: [TCWUG] [Fw: RG-1000 special]

On Sat, 8 Dec 2001, Thomas Eibner wrote:
> What exactly is it a RG-1000 is?

http://www.orinocowireless.com/template.html?section=m59&page=129&envelope=95

It's a wireless access point with an integrated 40-bit PCMCIA card (it's
actually an Orinoco Silver.. you can take it out and use it in a laptop,
if you want to void the warranty of the RG-1000). With the default
firmware, it can either run as a bridging AP (jsut a standard dumb access
point), or you can run it in NAT mode (it has a 56k modem that it can NAT
out to your clients, or else it has an ethernet port it can use).

You can also load the firmware from an AP-500 onto it, which adds 128-bit
WEP (and, as I understand it, upgrades the PCMCIA card to a Orinoco Gold
in the process!), and some other cool features.

AP 500 URL: http://www.orinocowireless.com/template.html?section=m58&page=1407&envelope=94

Another option is firmware from KarlNet (www.karlnet.com), which can turn
these things into Wireless Bridges and Access Point Clients, making them
ideal for the Customer Premise Equipment for a WISP.

I've also seen people booting Linux/BSD on these (X86-based hardware), and
the hardware is identical to the Apple Airports (if you so desire, you
can put the Apple firmware on them).

(Wow, I sound like a market droid!)

It doesn't have a built-in external antenna jack, but you can easily
rip it apart and use a standard Orinoco PCMCIA card -> N cable.

Best price I've seen on these before now is around $150 on Ebay; this is
insanely cheap. If you don't have any wireless networking gear yet, this
is a great way to get started.

I haven't actually personally used one of these before, but I know plenty
of people who have, and I will be using one in a week or so when it gets
here.. :)   (I'm planning on using at least one of them to expand the
network in my house. I'm going to set up a separate "wireless" network,
where each of the access points jack in to, which then hooks up to a
ethernet port on my firewall that only allows encrypted access through.
Right now I just use 128-bit WEP, tsk-tsk.)

So now my AP collection will have 1x D-Link DWL-1000AP, 2x Linksys WAP11
(highly recommend these for bridging/PtP/PtMP applications!), and 2x
RG-1000's.. fun! :)   Heh, I'll have more AP's than I have cards..

-- 
Nate Carlson <natecars at real-time.com>   | Phone : (952)943-8700
http://www.real-time.com                | Fax   : (952)943-8500


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