| D-Link DWL-5000AP 802.11a Wireless Air Pro Access Point |
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Model: DWL-5000AP
Brand: D-Link
Manufacturer: D-Link Systems, Inc.
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 14
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11a
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| Features: |
5 GHz, 802.11a compliant and WiFi5 compatible
Up to 72 Mbps in "Turbo" mode
152-bit WEP encryption
Eight non-overlapping channels
Web-based interface |
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| User Reviews (14 total): |
Page 1 of Total 1 Pages
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Range Monster, December 30, 2003
By unknown
I have read the other reviews about the 5000AP. For those who say the range is poor they are doing something wrong. I have tried two other Access Points from other manufacturers and could not get the range the 5000AP gives me (one was a 802.11a and one a 802.11b). I have a 3500 Square Foot 25 year old Ranch that was built with thick walls. It reaches end to end with a 36% to 50% signal strength using a Proxim Harmony PCcard. The Bios is lacking some major features (DHCP is missing what were they thinking...) but for me range was most important and this is the best I found.
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No DHCP - depressed feature set, March 19, 2003
By unknown
Up and running in 10 minutes, this is completely compatible with my Linksys WPC11v3 and WCP51AB cards with and without WEP, MAC ACL, etc. It is next to my Netgear ME102 WAP and neither one affects the other. The DWL-5000AP works as advertised with excellent range and throughput. 152 bit WEP and 72 Mbps Turbo are cool.Important considerations before you decide to purchase it: The Atheros AR5000 chipset supports DHCP, bridging, DFS/TPC, 802.1x and QoS, but none of these are implemented. (This WAP will not lease its own IP address from a DHCP server on the network. IP addressing is strictly static.) And D-Link won't be doing anything about any of that. Firmware upgrades require it be connected via CAT5 crossover and RS-232 cables to a computer running an FTP server. You pay strict attention to a meticulous 32 step process involving connecting via a terminal program, creating and logging in to an FTP account, configuring the Web browser utility for FTP, entering console commands and assuring the upgrade file is in the root of the FTP server, and multiple reboots. The v1.3 firmware works well for most users. The v1.4 on D-Link's FTP site adds 256 WEP and fixes a reset problem - each and every time you make a change to this WAP, it needs to be reset (rebooted). And depending on your computer, sometimes it fails to "come back" unless you stop and start the setup utility. Password setup requires extreme caution. There is only one field for entry and you can't see what you type. So, a typo (i.e. "mypasswird" instead of "mypassword") locks you out until YOU SEND THE WAP BACK TO D-LINK FOR A FACTORY RESET! Otherwise, if you're interested in the "clean air" and slightly better security of 5 GHZ, this is an excellent 802.11a WAP at a great price, which is sure to continue to plummet with the increasing popularity of 802.11g. Finally, even though this is a "current" product, D-Link has completely abandoned any support or upgrades. When you buy this, what you get is what you get; there will never be any enhancements - no SSID supression, no ANY block, no WPA.
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excellent, works as advertised, January 10, 2003
By Gibbs (United States)
Not much else to say. Set one up in my office and one in my house. No problems with range, it's on the main floor and I get fast connections three rooms over and one floor down or three rooms over one floor up. No problems setting it up. It also worked out of the box with a Netgear 802.11a adapter I have in another machine.
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Good Distance, nice web interface, December 10, 2002
By Joe (San Antonio, TX)
Great product. I set this up for a customer in his house. He had a downstairs den that was like half a story lower than the rest of the house. Where is computers were, the signal wouldn't even go twenty feet. Moved the AP to the next room on top of the frig. and suddenly access was available inside the whole house. I could walk around listening to radio on the web without disturbance. (This is using the pcmia .11a card in turbo mode). The problem was in his computer room he had some aluminum file folders that were blocking the signal.
Pros: Great web interface and distance.
Cons: Passphrase in WEP not as easy as linksys. I've heard D-link only works with D-link. No uplink ports on the switch. Not for networking amateur.
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Cool product, poor implementation, December 4, 2002
By rsteffler (Plano, TX USA)
I read all the reviews and couldn't wait for my access point to arrive. I consider myself a fairly techie person but I haven't dabbled in networking much. It took 5 hours and 2 phone calls to D-Link tech support to get this setup. The quick install directions are horrible. They leave out many important steps, such as setting up the DNS server names. There are errors (you need a crossover cable, not straight through to communicate with the wireless point directly). The manual isn't much better. But, I figured that once set up, who cares how long it took as long as the product works.
Here's where I had problems ... I could walk around my house and enjoy a very fast connection. Fifteen minutes to an hour later, the connection would drop. I could place my laptop next to the wireless access point and it couldn't get a signal. I called D-Link again. The tech service guy finally came back with an answer: .11a doesn't work well through walls. They suggested that I call the sales department to find a more suitable D-Link product. That didn't seem to explain my problem or anything that I read about .11a, so I shipped mine back yesterday. I'm going to give the NetGear .11b equipment a try. I know it won't be as fast or as cool. I'm just shooting for a reliable connection right now.
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A True Wireless Wonder - Easy and Secure as can be., September 18, 2002
By Adrian B. (Southern California)
I will start off by saying this was fairly easy to setup and configure. I am also impressed with the range I am able to get. I was a little worried because people were saying they weren't getting "good" range with their AP, but I know I didn't need it to go far, just in my home. My home is a 2 bedroom 1 story but I do have a backyard. Surprisingly enough the signal is broadcasted well through out my house and even my backyard. When I am on my laptop I can roam every square inch of my property and even some outside of my neighbors house. But I know I am secure because I get to choose the security settings. I can see who is connected to the AP and use WEP encryption to ensure nobody can gain access to my network even if they are within range.Happily Surprised.
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Fast, Good Range, Easy Setup, September 17, 2002
By Gene L. (California)
This is a fairly simple device. I was impressed with the number of settings (security, blocking, etc.) and how quickly I could get it set up. It took about 5 mins to setup and another 5 to get the network cards to communicate. After that I just made sure all the settings I changed on this AP were changed on the network cards as well. The range is all through out my home, and once setup it doesn't need to be touched later down the line.Just set it up and leave alone.
Works great for me.
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Fairly Simple Install and Great Speeds for Wireless, September 11, 2002
By Kevin (Las Vegas)
I mainly wanted to get some 802.11a hardware because I've heard and read great things about the speed. I went with D-Link because I have had only good experiences with their products and this time was no different. I bought a laptop card to go with this router and shortly after bought a PCI card for my desktop. I don't want to run cables through the walls, which is also a major consideration for this purchase.My experience with installing Access Points is fairly non-existent but after setting up this one I felt like a pro. The instructions are fairly short and straight to the point. The range I am getting with this AP is good and I don't think I could ask for more. It provides my house with constant coverage everywhere I go. I am in a one-story home but the length of the place is bigger than most homes. I even get good coverage outside in some places, but that's not what I bought it for. I am impressed with this 802.11a wireless access point and would recommend this to anyone looking for some faster wireless solutions.
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Quick Setup and Fast Fast Fast!, September 6, 2002
By Josh K. (California)
I have used a friend of mine's 802.11b wireless network and noticed the speeds were close to wired networks as far as internet browsing was concerned. This 5ghz band is blowing all of that out of the water. I am wondering if the only reason this hasn't caught on as much as 802.11b is because of the price difference. As far as the signal strength/range goes I haven't had any problems. Maybe there is some kind of interference in other peoples homes, but I get a solid connection anywhere in my home. Even in the bathroom. I am just looking forward to getting more computers in my home to better utilize this bandwidth.
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Disappointing range, September 4, 2002
By mrobo (Ham Lake, MN United States)
The box clearly states upto 900' (Environment factors may adversely affect range) My test indicate the unit works good when you are no more then 1 wall or floor removed from the access point. When I located the units any farther removed then that then I was unable to connect. Contidions had to be real good to obtain the higher network speeds listed.--Mike
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Poor performance, August 5, 2002
By unknown
This unit is not ready for Prime Time. It would constantly lose the connection to my next room (approx 20 feet), and forget about going upstairs. Horrible range. Go with the LinkSys 2.4Ghz.
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Worthless range, July 2, 2002
By unknown
I bought my DWL-5000AP after reading nothing but positive reviews. Boy was I in surprise! The problems were endless and after 4 short days, I sent it and the DWL-A650 PC-card back for a refund.The access point has no ethernet ports on the back but I knew that before I bought it. That still [stinks] though. Their is no printed documentation and the PDF documentation skims over all topics- there are no tutorials or examples. I tried but couldn't get WEP to work. In fact, I hosed myself bad enough that I had to use the included serial cable and hyperterminal to go in through the command-line on the access point and clear out the WEP settings. The device had problem with the DHCP on my linksys BEFSR411. Basically, the PC-card only successfully got a DHCP address 1 out of 10 tries so I ended up using a static address. The access point runs very hot. But the kicker- the reason I had to return it...the range. I live in small apartment and was unable to maintain a connection across rooms. Worse yet- if I did lose my connection, it never was able to regain a connection without me rebooting my laptop. Even if I set the laptop right next to the AP, it could never reestablish a connection. Anyways, I know 802.11b is rated for longer range but I had no idea that 802.11a would be this bad.
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What a relief -- 802.11b is dead!, May 4, 2002
By Erik Johnson (Yamhill County, OR)
This product was one of the easiest networking devices I've ever worked with. Additionally, it absolutely blows 802.11b away in performance and in function. No more dropped links when someone picks up the 2.4Ghz wireless phone. I was so impressed I literally pulled all of the .11b cards out of our network and replaced every last one with .11a connected to this AP -- the network is operating flawlessly. Do yourself a favor and ditch the .11b for one of these babies. Outstanding.
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Page 1 of Total 1 Pages
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