| SMC2532W-B EliteConnect 2.4GHz 802.11b High-Power Wireless PC Card |
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Model: SMC2532W-B
Brand: SMC
Manufacturer: SMC
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 17
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP
Form factor: Plug-in module
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11b
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| Features: |
High transmit power delivers superior range and performance
EZ Installation Wizard ensures simple and easy setup
High performance and reliable wireless networking - up to 10 times the performance of the widely-used 802.11b WLAN
Automatic data rate and channel selection features
Operates in the license free 2.4GHz frequency spectrum |
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| Description: |
| The SMC2532W-B High Power Wireless PC Card puts 200 milliWatts (mW) of power to work to deliver superior range in a wireless networking environment - operating at distances up to 2,700 feet. And, its already superior range can be increased even further by attaching an optional high-gain antenna to one of the two available MMCX connectors. Thanks to its range, throughput, and ability to overcome significant indoor multipath distortion, the SMC EliteConnect 802.11b High Power Wireless PC Card increases the reliability, mobility and flexibility of wireless networking. |
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| User Reviews (17 total): |
Page 1 of Total 1 Pages
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Does not work!, July 11, 2006
By user
I purchased this card and had to return it. It did not work on my computer. Service personnel could not help me and they do not speak clear English. This is the second SMC 2532 W-B card that I had had to return.
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SCM wireless card for laptop, March 12, 2006
By user (Charlotte NC USA)
This card allows me to attach an extrnal antenna which gives me a good to very good signal which was a low to very low signal.
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Bad customer service, October 23, 2005
By user
I have a number of computers and wireless cards (Linksys, Netgear, etc.), but could not get this one to work with any of my notebooks. I called customer service, and they were rude and useless. They basically treated me as though I were an ignoramus about computers. I definitely recommend going with another company.
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excellent performance, fragile design, February 16, 2005
By user (Seattle, WA USA)
I bought this card for use on the boat at Shilshole Marina in Seattle, to connect to the access points of Broadband Xpress (www.bbxpress.net). After some research, I found that this card (among others) is built on the same chipset as the one bbx sells for $109, and I suspect it actually is exactly the same.
It works great on my IBM Thinkpad T20, with Win XP Pro SP2. I installed the drivers from the SMC website. No problem. The custom utility that comes with the drivers is pretty nice, with signal strength, quality, all the available APs, etc. I always use that instead of the Windows one.
The only drawback is the weakness of the detachable tab antenna. If you plug it in and out a lot, and travel around with your laptop, it WILL break. Mine did. SMC sent me a new one right away for $20. For that money I could have bought an external one, which I'll get anyway at some point.
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Great Card, fragile antenna, December 10, 2004
By user
I have bought two of these cards and the range is incredible. It works great in Linux also. In case you need an external antenna, it uses a reverse polarity MMCX connector. The only problem I have had is the little tab antenna will eventually break if you keep taking it off and putting it back on. That is OK, because i have two of these cards and use one only with the tab antenna and the other with my external antennas.
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Excellent card, but..., November 3, 2004
By user (Denver, CO)
Had it six months, I love it, it works great, but the antenna broke today, unfortunately.
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Too bad to boast, June 3, 2004
By user (West Windsor, NJ United States)
I had Netgear WT511 card, it worked well in the house but not far from outside the house. Then I read a lot about SMC high power card and bought one, you know what I cannot connect even from within house. Then I checked the signal intensity, Netgear has 50% but SMC only has only 30%. What a terrible card!!!
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Exceptional performance!, May 25, 2004
By user
Great card with good range. I've been using it for four months now and have had no problems so far.
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Well worth the extra $30, May 12, 2004
By user (Washington, DC)
I bought this card after reading the favorable reviews here. Installation was, as observed, uneventful. The same couldn't be said for my old SMC2635W. The stronger signal seems to make a real difference when it comes to stability of the connection. Gone are the occasional hiccups during streaming video. There's one annoying thing I've encountered though. The stronger signal manages to get through my laptop's shielding so that whenever there's heavy data transfer, the speakers give out this little scratching noise. Well, at least I can HEAR I'm getting my money's worth!
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Better Range and Stability!, March 25, 2004
By user
Although I think I narrowed down the problem to DLINK and NETGEAR being the worst brand you could ever choose when buying a router and/or card... (Get a Linksys or a Belkin seriously! I honestly have not met one person with a fully functioning Dlink / Netgear router that I didn't have to replace after a couple weeks).
This card proves to be way better than the DLink DWL-G650 Rev B which was not picking up any signals whatsoever. I would have to be near the router at all times and even still the signal would fade... it was truly frustrating.
I didn't have any problems installing this card on Windows XP at all. Simply: 1) inserted the cd that came with the card (I opted not to install their utility), 2) plugged in the card while my laptop was on, 3) Windows asked for drivers for which I chose to automatically search and find the drivers which were located on the CD. And that was it! So far, I'm getting "excellent" signal strength from where I would previously get annoying "low"/"no connection available"/"disconnected" messages.
If you are having issues with your wireless connection or range, I would HIGHLY recommend this card. It really is a world of difference.
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MUCH Better! "HIGH-PWR" is RIGHT!!, March 3, 2004
By user
I bought this card to use with a CompUSA brand wireless router on my home network. Both computers on the network are using WinXP Home Edition.I've tried Netgear, a lesser SMC card, and Trendware wireless cards with my Sony PCG-FX290 laptop (1GHz,256MB,40GB) and while they all worked, they were very inconsistant in their signal strength and worked only in select areas of my home. THIS CARD WORKS OUTSIDE MY HOUSE!! Install the drivers first, reboot with the card in the PCMCIA slot. The signal strength may be non-existant until you double click on the signal icon and check the status and configuration. I clicked 'RESTORE DEFAULTS' and rebooted my machine... now it's up and running. About a 10 minute or less setup, strong signal and XP recognized it just fine. XP may ask you during installation if you want to use 'unathorized or unverified' certificates... say OK... and move on. So far... so good. Don't hesitate to buy this card if you want easy setup with an excellent signal right out of the box.
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No problems (now) with Windows XP, February 22, 2004
By user (Dallas, TX United States)
I've had a wireless network for over a year but the signal strength of my connection has always been poor once I get very far from my router so I thought I'd try this card.It's great. I did have some initial problems with it and my router despite following all the directions in their manual. I called SMC's technical support line though and got great help. Turns out that with my Windows XP SP 1 system, despite directions and suggestions to the contrary, the High Power Utility software that comes with the card caused problems. On my system. While I could see that I had a strong connection between the card and the router the card could not reliably get an IP address back from the router. After uninstalling everything - the utility and driver, and then just installing the driver - no High Power Utility - my Internet connection started working! Reliably. I can go all over our house and yard and get a good strong signal. It's amazing. The card works and the support I got from SMC, while I wish I had not needed it, was wonderful. 5 stars!
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It works great on XP for me!, January 3, 2004
By user (Grapevine, TX USA)
I installed the software first, did NOT let XP handle the installation/configuration. Then I inserted the card into my notebook and it works great.
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Does not work with WinXP and poor customer support, December 23, 2003
By user (Arlington, VA USA)
Well, it cost me a bit of money, but I know not to buy SMC ever again. After trouble-free use (with limited reception range) of several other 802.11b cards, I read a good review of the 2532W, loved the idea of a high-power card, and quickly bought it without checking on compatibility. This card did not work at all with my WinXP notebook (standard Dell C400 Latitude). It doesn't seem to play well with Windows XP and the SMC configuration utility won't work on my system. A search on the web turns up others having problems with their drivers for Win XP, and some have turned to Zcomax (the real manufacturer, the 2532 is probably just a repackaged Zcomax XI-325HP). SMC support is dreadful. They sent me a 2632 card, which also doesn't work, probably because of their software, and have now claimed my returns have vanished after FedEx pickup. Each call to customer support requires wading through endless "push 1", "push 3" and lengthy automated commentary, only then to wait 20 minutes before hanging up the phone in disgust.This may be a great card if you have a Win 98/NT, but think twice if you are a Win XP user.
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First Look from Wireless Guy, November 12, 2003
By user (Idaho, USA)
I spent the summer setting up a 1500-foot radius wireless project. Up until this point we mostly used the Orinoco Classic Gold cards, which have the advantage of internal antenna and external port. However, the Orinoco power is relativelly low (30mw) and the internal antenna can't be disabled. The 200mw Senao cards with external antenna (only) worked even better. The 200mw SMC2532W-B has a removeable antenna AND external connectors -- a very nice design. Software installed easily on Windows 2000 Pro. It uses the same Prism 2.5 chip set as the Senao and similar specs, so I expect performance to be comparable. Initial tests look good.
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sweet card with good signal boost, October 17, 2003
By user (Colorado, United States)
if you struggle with marginal connections in your house, this sucker will definitely help. I tried a D-Link and a LinkSys, and both put out 15dB of signal, and was not enough.
This card rocks, and if 23dB is not enough, add an omnidirectional antenna, and get the legal limit 36dB!
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Just works., September 10, 2003
By user
Plugged this into my 400 Mhz 1st generation Apple Tibook. Installed the $20 802.11b wireless driver form ioxperts.com. Set DHCP. Done and working.This has easily double and almost triple the effective range of the internal airport card. Highly recommended.
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