Linksys WCF12 User Manual

Instant WirelessTMSeries

Wireless

CompactFlash Card

User Guide

Use this guide to install: WCF12

COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARKS
Copyright © 2002 Linksys, All Rights Reserved. Instant Wireless is a trademark of
Linksys. Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks and brand names are the property of their
respective proprietors.

LIMITED WARRANTY
Linksys guarantees that every Instant Wireless™ CompactFlash Card is free from physi­cal defects in material and workmanship for one year from the date of purchase, when
used within the limits set forth in the Specifications section of this User Guide. If these
products prove defective during this warranty period, call Linksys Technical Suppor t in
order to obtain a Return Authorization Number. BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR PROOF OF
PURCHASE AND A BARCODE FROM THE PRODUCT'S PACKAGING ON HAND WHEN
CALLING. RETURN REQUESTS CANNOT BE PROCESSED WITHOUT PROOF OF PUR­CHASE. When returning a product, mark the Return Authorization Number clearly on the
outside of the package and include a copy of your original proof of purchase. All cus­tomers located outside of the United States of America and Canada shall be held respon­sible for shipping and handling charges.

IN NO EVENT SHALL LINKSYS’S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR THE PROD­UCT FROM DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAM­AGES RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THE PRODUCT, ITS ACCOMPANYING SOFT­WARE, OR ITS DOCUMENTATION. LINKSYS DOES NOT OFFER REFUNDS FOR ANY
PRODUCT. Linksys makes no warranty or representation, expressed, implied, or statuto­ry, with respect to its products or the contents or use of this documentation and all
accompanying software, and specifically disclaims its quality, performance, mer­chantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Linksys reserves the right to revise or
update its products, software, or documentation without obligation to notify any individ­ual or entity. Please direct all inquiries to:

Linksys P.O. Box 18558, Irvine, CA 92623.
FCC STATEMENT

This product has been tested and complies with the specifications for a Class B digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide rea­sonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. The antenna
used for this transmitter must be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20
centimeters from all persons and must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with
any other antenna or transmitter. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used according to the instructions, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that inter­ference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which is found by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna

• Increase the separation between the equipment or devices

• Connect the equipment to an outlet other than the receiver’s

• Consult a dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for assistance

UG-WCF12-052102NC JL

Chapter 1: Introduction

Experience the same speed and ease of wireless networking with your
CompactFlash Type I ready personal digital assistant (PDA) as you do with your
laptop or desktop computer. The Wireless CompactFlash Card is a Type I
CompactFlash card that connects directly to your PDA. Just plug it in, and
you’re ready to share data, printers, or high-speed Internet access over your
existing wireless network. Plus, user -friendl y softw are makes it a snap to set up.

The Wireless CompactFlash Card is not only easy to install and use, but also
pow erful. Your PDA can send and receive data at speeds up to 11Mbps. A high­powered, built-in antenna keeps you connected at distances of up to 984 feet.
The Wireless CompactFlash Card is also versatile and easily configurable
through your PDA.

• Compatible with Windows CE 3.0 or Higher

• Up to 11 Mbps, High-Speed Data Transfer Rates with Automatic Fallback

• User-Friendly Software Provides Simple Installation and Configuration

• Compliant with 802.11b, DSSS, 2.4GHz Standard

• Supports up to 128-bit WEP Encryption Security

• Free Driver Upgrades at www.linksys.com

• Free Technical Support—24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week, Toll-Free US
Calls

• 1-Year Limited Warranty

1

Features

The Wireless CompactFlash Card

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

The Wireless CompactFlash Card 1
Features 1
Package Contents 2
System Requirements 2

Chapter 2: Planning Your Wireless Network 3

Network Topology 3
Roaming 3
Ad-Hoc Versus Infrastructure Mode 4

Chapter 3: Installing the Wireless
CompactFlash Card 5

Before You Start 5
Configuration Utility with Driver Installation 5
Hardware Installation 12

Chapter 4: The Wireless CompactFlash Card’s
Configuration Utility 14

Overview 14
Accessing the Configuration Utility 14
Using the Configuration Utility 16

Appendix A: Troubleshooting 24

Common Problems and Solutions 24
Frequently Asked Questions 24

Appendix B: Glossary 28

Appendix C: Specifications 34

Environmental 34

Appendix D: Warranty Information 35

Appendix E: Contact Information 36

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Wireless CompactFlash Card

32

Chapter 2: Planning Yo ur
Wireless Network

A wireless LAN is exactly like a regular LAN, except that each Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA) equipped with a Wireless CompactFlash Card can
connect to the network using no wires. All points (including PDAs) in a wire­less LAN must be configured to share the same SSID and other wireless set­tings.

The Wireless CompactFlash Card provides LAN access for PDAs. An inte­grated wireless and wired LAN is called an infrastructure network. A group of
wireless users and an Access Point comprise a Basic Service Set (BSS). Each
PDA equipped with a Wireless CompactFlash Card in a BSS can talk to any
computer in a wired LAN infrastructure via the Access Point. The Wireless
CompactFlash Card also allows you to synchronize your PDA through a wire­less connection.

An infrastructure network extends the accessibility of a Wireless CompactFlash
Card PDA to a wired LAN, and it doubles the effective wireless transmission
range for two Wireless CompactFlash Card PDAs. Since the Access Point is
able to forward data within its BSS, the ef fectiv e transmission range in an infra­structure LAN is doubled.

The use of a unique ID in a BSS is essential.

The wireless LAN infrastructure conf iguration is appropriate for enterprise­scale, wireless access to a central database, or as a wireless application for
mobile users.

Infrastructure mode also supports roaming capabilities for mobile users. More
than one BSS can be configured to work as an Extended Service Set (ESS).
This continuous network allows users to roam freely within an ESS. All
Wireless CompactFlash Card PDAs within one ESS must be configured with
the same SSID and other wireless settings.

Optimum position for the Access Point is recommended. Proper Access Point
positioning combined with a clear radio signal will greatly enhance performance.

Roaming

• One Instant Wireless

™

CompactFlash Card

• One Setup CD-ROM including Drivers and User Guide

• One Quick Installation

• One Registration Card

• One Computer with the following:

• Pentium Class 200MHz or Faster Processor

• CD-ROM Drive

• 64MB RAM (recommended)

• Windows 98, Me, 2000, or XP (to load drivers)

• Microsoft ActiveSync Utility

• PDA with Windows CE 3.0 or Higher and Available Type I CompactFlash
Slot

Package Contents

System Requirements

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Wireless CompactFlash Card

Figure 1-1

Network Topology

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5

Chapter 3: Installing the
Wireless CompactFlash Card

The Wireless CompactFlash Card comes with an automated software installa­tion procedure that interacts with the Windows operating system on your PC
and the Windows CE operating systems on your PDA. This procedure auto­matically installs the Configuration Utility with the driver. After installing the
software, you will install the hardware on your PDA.

1. Connect your PDA to your PC. Make sure you have the Microsoft
ActiveSync Utility installed on your PC. Insert the Setup CD-ROM into
your PC’s CD-ROM drive. Unless y ou have deactiv ated the auto-run feature
of Windows, the screen in Figure 3-1 should appear automatically.

If this screen does not appear automatically, you can access it by clicking
the Start button and choosing Run. In the drop-down box provided, type
d:\setup.exe (if “d” is the letter of your CD-ROM drive). Alternately, dou­ble-click My Computer, and then double-click the CD-ROM drive where
the Setup CD is located. Double-click the Setup.exe icon that appears.

Before You Star t

Configuration Utility with Driver Installation

Unlike wired networks, wireless networks have two different modes in which
they may be set up: Infrastructure and Ad-Hoc. Choosing between these two
modes depends on whether or not the wireless network needs to share data or
peripherals with a wired network or not.

If the computers on the wireless network need to be accessed by a wired net­work or need to share a peripheral, such as a printer, with the wired network
computers, the wireless network should be set up in Infrastructur e mode. (See
Figure 2-1.) The basis of Infrastructure mode centers around an access point,
which serves as the main point of communications in a wireless network.
Access points transmit
data to PCs equipped with
wireless network cards,
which can roam within a
certain radial range of the
access point. Multiple
access points can be
arranged to work in suc­cession to extend the
roaming range, and can be
set up to communicate
with your Ethernet hard­ware as well.

If the wireless network is relatively small and needs to share resources only
with the other computers on the wireless network, then the Ad-Hoc mode can
be used. (See Figure 2-2.) Ad-Hoc mode allows computers equipped with wire­less transmitters and receivers to communicate directly with each other, elimi­nating the need for an access point. The drawback of this mode is that, in Ad­Hoc mode, wireless-equipped computers are not able to communicate with

computers on a
wired network.
And, of course,
communication
between the wire­less-equipped
computers is limit­ed by the distance
and interference
directly between
them.

Ad-Hoc versus Infrastructure Mode

4

Figure 2-1

Figure 2-2

Figure 3-1

Note: Do NOT insert the Wireless CompactFlash Card into the PDA.
You must install the Conf iguration Utility with driver first.

Wireless CompactFlash Card

76

4. When you see the License Agreement screen, read the entire policy by
clicking the Page Down button on your keyboard. Click the Yes button if
you agree, or No if you disagree. Clicking No will terminate the installa­tion. If you click Yes, the installation will proceed.

5. You will determine where the W ireless CompactFlash Configuration Utility
will be installed. If you would like the utility files installed in the def ault
directory, click the Next button. If you would like to choose an alternate
directory, click the Browse button, and select the appropriate folder. Then
click the Next button.

2. Click the Setup button.

3. When you see the screen in Figure 3-2, click the Next button.

If, for whatever reason, y ou need to abort or terminate the installation, click
the Cancel button. Otherwise the installation will proceed.

Instant WirelessTMSeries

Note: If you stop the installation before it has finished, you will ha ve to
run the installation again before installing your hardware.

Figure 3-2

Figure 3-3

Figure 3-4

Wireless CompactFlash Card

7b. Enter your wireless network’s SSID. The SSID must be identical for all

points in the network. The default setting is linksys (all lowercase). Enter
this information, and click the Next button.

8. At this point, the Wizard will ask you to review your settings before copy­ing files. Select Back to review or change any settings or Next if you are
satisfied with your settings.

8

6. Choose either Infrastructure mode or Ad-Hoc mode, depending on your

needs. If you are unsure whether to choose Infrastructure or Ad-Hoc, refer
to “Chapter 2: Planning Your Wireless Network” for more information.
Once you have made your choice, click the Next button.

7a. If you chose Infrastructure Mode, go to Step 7b now. If you chose Ad-

Hoc Mode, select the correct operating channel that applies to your net­work. The channel you choose should be the same as the channel for the
other computers and devices in your wireless network. Channel 6 is the
default. Select the appropriate channel, and click the Next button.

9

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Figure 3-5

Figure 3-6

Figure 3-7

Figure 3-8