802.11n PCIE Mini Card Upgrade

cd14

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Mar 29, 2006
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Hello, I'm considering getting a 802.11n wireless PCI-E mini card for my Toshiba laptop and I was wondering if it would be compatible with my current setup. My concern are the antannae connections. I currently have two wires on my Intel 3945ABG and the 802.11n have three connectors...1, 2 and 3. Does anyone know how to connect this or are they even compatible? Thanks.
 
G

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I have tried transplanting MiniPCI wireless cards and the two problems are size (will it fit the hatch in the laptop's base) and antenna wiring. You must also be very aware of risk of static damage as components are naked and some handling is required (possibly soldering).

As most of the speed figures claimed for wireless are pretty much tongue-in-cheek I think I would hesitate before attempting this.
 

cd14

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I have tried transplanting MiniPCI wireless cards and the two problems are size (will it fit the hatch in the laptop's base) and antenna wiring. You must also be very aware of risk of static damage as components are naked and some handling is required (possibly soldering).

As most of the speed figures claimed for wireless are pretty much tongue-in-cheek I think I would hesitate before attempting this.

Hello thanks for your reply, but why would not fit? It's going into a mini PCI-E slot. They're both mini PCI-E cards. They make other peripherals for this type of expansion slot too. If mine were to die then I would just replace it. I don't think there's anything to jimmy-rig and I'm aware of ESD, my laptop has been in pieces before.

I'm curious to how the antannae would connect since I don't have the extra wire for the "n." Are you saying that I have to solder in the third wire into my LCD? Or is the extra antennae connecter on the N card required?

I have a wireless N USB card, but I want something internal.
 

cd14

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OK, looks like I'll need that extra U.FL antennae wire to make the reception better. oxfordtec.com has one the works without messing with the placement inside the LCD.
 

scottiemedic

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cd, I know this thread is old, just ran across it. Did you ever get this resolved? I have a Toshiba I'm looking to upgrade the WLAN card in also. I did it on my old laptop, but never installed the 3rd antenna. Which one did you go with, do you remember? and how did you mod your laptop to install the 3rd antenna?
 

tonewheelfreak

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I just caught this thread also...I just got a Gigabyte N mini pci from Oxfordtech and just dove into swapping it with my old b/g card in my sony vaio. First the original 2 leads black/main and grey/aux where too short so I had to reverse them to new card grey=>0 and black=>1 and leaving 2 unused. I got card to work and recognize by XP with actually really good signal levels but it worked very erratically with both N- b/g- router... Don't know if this is because of swapping main and aux antenna wires (does this actually make any difference???), but I was told afterwards by Oxfordtech that I should use connections 0 and 2 if only two antennas are in use.(?) I'll try this and maybe add a third antenna if it makes any difference. Any thoughts anybody?
 

shakyone

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Folks,

If you are still looking around, here are some solutions:

Two wire antenna for Wireless N 300Gbps

Intel 622AN.HMWWB Mini PCI Express 6200 Centrino Advanced-N Wireless Adapter Up to 300Mbps

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106061&cm_re=intel_wireless_n_mini_pci_express-_-33-106-061-_-Product

Three wire antenna for Wireless N 450Gbps

Intel Ultimate N 633ANHMW Mini PCI Express Ultimate N 633ANHMW Wireless Adapter Up to 450Mbps

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106062&Tpk=intel%20pci%20express%20ultimate%20wireless%20N


Adapter, in case you need to fit it in a full-size mini PCI express slot of laptop. (for ~$7)
Store: http://stores.ebay.com/minipciBIZ

Half size to Full size Mini PCI-E Adapter

Item: http://cgi.ebay.com/Half-size-Full-size-Mini-PCI-E-PCI-Express-Adapter-/110603605639?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c07d1687

This is the most elegant solution I have found. The other versions I found didn't clip into my motherboard, under the keyboard, as they were too thick.

I just did this upgrade to my laptop, and wanted the latest/greatest from Intel. I needed the adapter.
 

bodhsattva

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Jul 19, 2011
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I recently purchased an Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 to replace the old wireless network adapter that came with my gteway ml6720.
When I turned the laptop back on, it would not boot, and in fact turned off after a few seconds of trying.
I have done the most recent bios update from gateway, but i wonder if I am just not going to be able to use this, I thought for sure the drivers would be enough to make it work. whats going on?
 

bodhsattva

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should i unintall the drivers from the previous wireless card and install the new drivers before plugging in the card?