LinkSys WCF12 on the Dell Axim X5

Submitted by Eugenia on Fri, 05/20/2005 - 02:39

After the problems of a SanDisk wireless compact flash card when used in conjuction to a Dell Axim X5, we tried the LinkSys WCF12 which currently sells for a mere $33 at eCost. Here are our thoughts on its installation and performance.

The box included a quick hands-on installation illustrated paper, a driver's CD and the actual card in a plastic case. There was no PCMCIA adapter included as this card does not have Windows drivers (however Zaurus/desktop-Linux does have drivers for it, via the HostAP drivers).

The installation illustrated paper is only valid for PPC2002, if your PDA has PPC2003/SE, then the way configuration works is vastly different, as the Windows subsystem is in charge of the configuration GUI instead of the driver's supplied GUI application. Microsoft added WiFi support to the OS with PPC2003 so manufacturers don't have also write a GUI along the driver.

The CD came with drivers version 1.2, while on the web LinkSys still offers for download version 1.1 (which is quite weird to start with). It installed fine, but to be sure, I navigated to the CD's /utilities/windowsce_4/ subfolder and ran that setup.exe from there. The PDA must be connected to the ActiveSync at the moment of the driver installation, as it does not give any feedback if/when/where the driver was installed. Then, unseat and re-seat your compact flash WiFi card and it now the driver should be loaded (it does not require soft-reset).

In our Axim X5 with PPC2003, navigating to /Settings/Connections/Wireless panel applet it will show a screen where the WFC12 card is mentioned. Tap to select it, and from its above drop-down-box (combo box) select "The Internet". After pressing "ok" to that screen a list of networks appears where you can select your own network. Supply its WEP key (if applicable) and off you go to the Internet (screenshot)! Please note that most strong-encrypted WPA and WPA-psk networks are not supported with PPC2003. The feature was added on PPC2003SE a year later.

The card is performing really well, and "wakes up" correctly after you turn on your PDA and goes to sleep either manually or when you turn off your PDA. It eats lots of battery, but that's to be expected from a previous generation WiFi card:

- With the WiFi ON, the cpu speed on 'automatic' and screen on maximum brightness X5's battery life goes down to 1.2 hours (normal X5 battery life is about 5 hours)

- With the WiFi ON streaming music off the web, the cpu speed on 'automatic' and the screen off, it can do a bit more than 2 hours.

Overall, this is a thumbs-up little device. No matter if you have a Zaurus or a PocketPC 2002/2003/SE, this is a good purchase.