Specifications are subject to change without notice. is a registered trademark of
TP-LINK TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. Other brands and product names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits 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. This equipment generates, uses and can
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions,
may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarant ee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined 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 and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/ TV technician for help.
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two
conditions:
1) This device may not cause harmful interference.
2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance
could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
FCC RF Radiation Exposure Statement
This device has been tested for compliance with FCC RF Exposure (SAR) limits in the typical
laptop computer configuration and this device can be used in desktop or laptop computers with
side mounted PCMCIA slots. This device cannot be used with handheld PDAs (personal digital
assistants). This device and its antenna must not be co-located or operated in conjunction with
any other antenna or transmitter.
CE Mark Warning
This is a class B product. In a domestic environment, this product may cause radio interference, in
which case the user may
be required to take adequate measures.
II
National Restrictions
2400.0-2483.5 MHz
Country Restriction Reason/remark
Bulgaria
France
Italy
Luxembourg None
Norway Implemented
Russian Federation
General authorization required for outdoor use and
Outdoor use limited to 10
mW e.i.r.p. within the band
2454-2483.5 MHz
If used outside of own premises, general authorization is
public service
Military Radiolocation use. Refarming of the 2.4 GHz
band has been ongoing in recent years to allow current
relaxed regulation. Full implementation planned 2012
required
General authorization required for network and service
supply(not for spectrum)
This subsection does not apply for the geographical area
within a radius of 20 km from the centre of Ny-Ålesund
Only for indoor applications
III
IV
Package contents
The following contents should be found in your box:
¾ One TL-WN321G 54M Wireless USB Adapter
¾ One USB extension cable
¾ One TL-WN321G 54M Wireless USB Adapter Resource CD, including:
• Drivers and Utility
• User Guide
• Other Helpful Information
) Note:
If any of the listed contents are damaged or missing, please contact the retailer from whom you
purchased the product for assistance.
1. Connect one end of the USB cable to the Adapter.
2. Connect the other end of the USB cable to the USB port on your computer. Because the
Adapter gets its power from the host, there is no external power supply. The LED should light
up when the Adapter is plugged in and the PC is on.
2.2 Software Installation
2.2.1 Overview
The Adapter’s Setup Wizard will guide you through the installation procedure for Windows 98SE,
Me, 2000 , XP and Vista. The Setup Wizard will guide you install the Utility and drivers.
Before you install the software, please plug the adapter into your PC. After that, you will be
prompted “Found New Hardware Wizard”, click the Cancel button, and run the Setup Wizard
program on the CD-ROM.
The Setup steps for Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP and Vista are very similar. The following setup
steps are for windows 2000 and Vista.
2.2.2 Installation for Windows 2000
1. Insert the Resource CD into your CD-ROM drive, click the Start button and choose Run. In
the field that appears, enter F:\XXX\Win98_Me_2K_XP_X64\Setup.exe (if “F” is the letter of
your CD-ROM drive; XXX presents the setup program path, which is labeled on the Resource
CD), Figure 2-1should then appear.
2. You can click the Cancel button to end the installation on the Preparing Setup screen, Figure
2-1. Otherwise, the Setup Wizard will display a screen similar to that shown in Figure 2-2
after a moment.
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TL-WN321G54M Wireless USB AdapterUser Guide
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Product Overview
The TL-WN321G 54M Wireless USB Adapter is a USB 2.0 pen-size wireless adapter supporting
IEEE 802.11b/g 2.4GHz radio operation. It provides high-speed wireless connection with data rate
up to 54Mbps. Additionally, wireless roaming allows the user to move among different AP without
losing the current connection. The adapter provides excellent security features including:TKIP,
AES, WPA, and up to 128 bit WEP encryption security make the network almost impenetrable.
Featuring high performance transmission rates, simple installation and adaptability, as well as
strong security the TL-WN321G 54M Wireless USB Adapter is the perfect solution for small office
and home needs.
1.2 Main Features
¾ Complies with IEEE802.11g, IEEE802.11b standards
¾ Supports WPA data security, IEEE802.1x authentication, TKIP/AES encryption, 64/128-bit
WEP encryption
¾ Supports 54/48/36/24/18/12/9/6Mbps or 11/5.5/2/1Mbps wireless LAN data transfer rates
¾ Provides USB interface
¾ Supports Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure modes
¾ Supports roaming between access points when configured in Infrastructure mode
¾ Eases configuration and provides monitoring information
¾ Supports Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP , Vista
¾ Internal Antenna
1.3 LED Status
The LED on the top of this card indicates Link/Act status. It blinks at green light when sending and
receiving data.
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 2-1 Preparing Setup
3. To continue, click the Next button on the screen, Figure 2-2. Click the Cancel button to end
the Installation.
Figure 2-2 Start Setup
4. Click Browse to change the destination location for the software in Figure 2-3. Click Next to
continue the Installation. Click Back to return to the previous page, or click Cancel to end the
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Installation.
54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 2-3 Choose Destination Location
5. While files are copying, you will see a warning box shown in Figure 2-4. Please select YES to
continue installation. Our drivers have been tested thoroughly, and are able to work with the
operating system.
Figure 2-4 Windows 2000 Warning Box
6. After the files have been successfully copied, the screen in Figure 2-5 will appear. Click the
Finish button to finish the wizard.
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 2-5 Finish
g the driver successfully, you should see an icon, After installin
system tray.
2.2.3 Installation for Windows Vista
After you complete the hardware installation, follow the step
TL-WN321G Wireless USB Adapter drivers for Windows Vista:
1. Insert the Resource CD into your CD-ROM drive, r
the Figure 2-6, select the Properties.
ight-click the Computer icon as shown in
or , appear in your
s below in order to install the
Figure 2-6 Begin installation for Windows Vista
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
2. Select Device Manager as shown in Figure 2-7, then select Continue in the next screen.
Figure 2-7 Select Device management
3. Right-click the adapter icon “54M.USB...”, and select “Update Driver Software” to proceed.
Figure 2-8 Driver management
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
4. Select the method to update the driver software (see Figure 2-9). If you want the system to
search the software automatically, select the first type. Otherwise select “Browse my computer for driver software” to install the software (best way).
Figure 2-9 Select the method to install
5. Click the Browse button in the next screen to select the file which contains the driver
software for the adapter. After that, click Next to proceed.
Figure 2-10 Select the driver software
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
) Note:
Vista X86 is designed for the Vista of 32bit, Vista X64 is designed for the Vista of 64bit, please
select according as you need.
6. After that, the installation will proceed as shown in Figure 2-13.
Figure 2-11 Installing
) Note:
During the installation, you will see the wa
this driver software anyway” to proceed.
rning box as shown in figure 2-12, please select “Install
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Figure 2-12 warning for security
54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
7. Finally, the
complete.
installation will complete, you will see the next screen below, click Close to
Figure 2-13 Complete the installation
2.3 Uninstall Software
2.3.1 Uninstall the driver software from your PC
1. On the
Panel.
2. Double-click the System icon, click on the Hardware tab in the System window.
3. Click on the Device Manager button,
TL-WN321G Wireless USB Adapter.
Windows taskbar, click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control
double-click Network Adapters, and then right-click
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 2-14 Uninstall Driver
4. Click Uninstall..., shown in above Figure 2-14, the system will uninstall the driver software of
the adapter from your PC.
2.3.2 Uninstall the utility software from your PC
1. On the Windows taskbar, click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control
Panel
2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon, find the TL-WN321G program from the
installed program list, highlight it and click the Remove button.
3. Following the Install Shield Wizard will uninstall the utility software from your PC.
Note:
)
TL-WN321G
the driver software from your PC.
don’t have utility for windows Vista, so you should follow the section 2.3.1 to uninstall
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Chapter 3 Configuration
3.1 Configuration of Utility
TP-LINK TL-WN321G Wireless USB Adapter can be configured by its utility for Windows 98SE,
ME, 2000, XP. This section describes how to configure your Wireless USB Adapter for wireless
connectivity on your Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and use the data security encryption
features.
After the Adapter's driver and utility has been installed, the adapter’s tray icon,
appear in your system tray. It means the utility is running on your system. If the utility does not run,
you can run the utility by clicking: Start> Program> TP-LINK> TL-WN321G WIRELESS UTILITY> TL-WN321G Wireless Utility. If the icon still does not appear, the driver or utility may
be installed incorrectly or the adapter is unplugged, please try again.
Icon
Double-click the
the utility by clicking: Start> Program> TP-LINK> TL-WN321G WIRELESS UTILITY>
TL-WN321G Wireless Utility. The utility provides a complete and easy to use set of tools to:
¾ Display current status information
¾ Edit and add configured profiles
¾ Display current diagnostics information
The section below introduces these above capabilities.
)
If your OS is Windows XP, you can use Windows XP to configure the wireless network settings.
(To use this function, you must upgrade the OS with sp1).
means the connection has been established. Icon means there is no connection.
icon and the configuration screen of the utility will appear. You can also run
Note:
or , will
If you want to use Windows XP to configure wireless network settings, just exit the utility.
Right-click the icon
at the bottom of the screen, and click Exit to exit the utility.
3.1.1 Profile
Click the Profile tab of the utility and the Profile screen will appear, Figure 3-1. The Profile
screen provides tools to:
¾ Add a Profile
¾ Delete a profile
¾ Edit a profile
¾ Activate a profile
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-1 Profile Tab
To create a new profile, click the Add button on the Profile tab, the Profile configuration screen
will appear as shown in Figure 3-2.
To edit a profile, highlight the desired profile name on Profile Name list, and click the Edit button,
the Profile configuration screen will appear shown in Figure 3-1.
To delete a profile, highlight the desired profile name on Profile Name list, and click the Delete
button.
To switch to another profile, highlight the desired profile name on Profile Name list, and click
the Activate button.
) Note:
Do not forget to click the Apply button when you create a new profile for connection.
3.1.2 Add or Edit a Configuration Profile
To add a new configuration profile, click Add button on the Profile Management tab. To modify a
configuration profile, select the configuration from the Profile list and click Edit.
The Profile Management dialog box will display a screen similar to that shown in Figure 3-2.
1. Edit the Configuration tab
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¾Profile Name - Identifies the configuration profile. This name must be unique. Profile names
54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
are not case-sensitive.
¾SSID - The IEEE 802.11 wireless network name. This field has a maximum limit of 32
characters.
¾PSM(Power Save Mode)
• CAM(
• PSM(Power
Constantly Awake Mode) – Continuous Access Mode.
Saving Mode) - Power Saving mode.
¾ Network Type – Displays the wireless mode, either Ad-hoc or Infrastructure mode
¾ Preamble – Specifies the preamble setting in 802.11b. The default setting is Auto Switch
(access point mode), which allows both short and long headers in the 802.11b frames. The
adapter can only use short radio headers if the access point supports and uses them.
¾ RTS Threshold – Default is 2312.
¾ Fragment Threshold – Default is 2312.
¾ Ad-hoc mode – Displays the wireless mode, either Only 802.11B or 802.11B/G mode.
¾ Channel – Shows the current channel in use. This field determines which operating
frequency will be used.
Figure 3-2 Add Profile - configuration
2. Edit the Authentication and Security tab
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-3 Add Profile – configuration
¾ Authentication Type – Three options, OpenSystem, Shared-Key System or LEAP.
¾ 802.1x Setting – It enables when Authentication Type is setting to WPA.
¾ Encryption – Displays which encryption type that the driver is using. When you select Open
System, Shared-Key System as Network Authentication, there are two options: WEP and
Disabled. If you select WPA-PSK as Network Authentication, there are TKIP and AES
options instead of WEP and Disabled.
¾Wep Key – Key #1, Key #2, Key #3, Key #4, the Key groups. You can enter 10 hexadecimal
digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f, A-F) or 5 ASCII characters for 64-bit (also called 40bits)
encryption. You can enter 26 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f, A-F) or 13
ASCII characters for 128-bit (also called 104bits) encryption.
3.1.3 Link Status
The Link Status tab displays the adapter's current status.
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-4 Link Status
The following table describes the items found on the Network Status screen.
¾Status - Shows whether the station is connected to the wireless network, if not connected,
display RF is closed; if connected, display AP name and BSSID.
¾ Extra Info - Shows link status and the current channel in use.
¾ Link Speed - Shows the current max Transfer rate, unit is Mbit/sec.
¾ Throughput - Displays Tx and Rx rate, unit is Kbits/sec.
¾ Link Quality - Shows the quality of the signal.
¾ Signal Strength - Shows the strength of the signal.
3.1.4 Site Survey
Click the Site Survey tab of the Utility and the Site Survey screen will appear, Figure 3-5. On the
Site Survey screen you can scan the Available Infrastructure and Ad Hoc Networks.
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-5 Site Survey tab
Click the Rescan button to refresh the list at any time. Highlight an SSID and click the Connect
button to connect to an available network.
3.1.5 Statistics
The Statistics tab shows receiving and transmitting statistical information for the following receive
and transmit diagnostics for frames received by or transmitted to the wireless network adapter.
Click the Reset Counter button to reset the count of the statistics information.
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-6 Statistics tab
3.1.6 Advanced
On this Screen, you can configure the WEP key or view the configured WEP key.
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-7 Advanced
¾ Wireless mode - Displays the wireless mode, either 802.11B/G mix or 802.11B only.
¾ B/G Protection - There are three options: either Auto or Enable, or Close.
¾ TxRate - Shows the current Transfer rate.
¾ TxBURST - It can translate more data when it enable.
¾ Fast Roaming at - Roaming will disable when Transmit Power is below some dBm.
¾ Turn off RF - The wireless radio of this adapter can be enabled or disabled. You can turn the
wireless radio off by selecting the check-box.
¾Apply - Click the Apply button to save the current setting.
3.1.7 About
This screen displays some information about this adapter, including Driver Date, Driver Version,
Utility Date, Utility Version, MAC Address, IP Address, SubMask, Power Save mode and
Preamble.
¾ Utility Version - The version of this utility.
¾ Utility Date - The creation date of this utility.
¾ Driver Version - The version of the wireless network adapter driver.
¾ Driver Date - The creation date of the wireless network adapter driver.
¾ EEPROM Version - The version of this EEPROM.
¾ IP Address - The IP address of the wireless network.
¾ Phy_Address - The MAC address of the wireless network adapter.
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¾ SubMask - The subnet mask of the wireless network.
¾ Default Gateway - The default gateway of the wireless network.
54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-8 About
3.1.8 An example for application
Suppose you have an installed and using AP, the SSID is TPLINK and it adopts 64-bit encryption
with the key 0123456789. To establish a connection with this AP, you should follow these steps
below:
1. Launch TL-WN321G WIRELESS UTILITY Utility.
2. Click the Profile tab of the utility and click the New button on the screen that appears.
3. The Profile configuration screen will appear, please enter Test for the Profile Name, TPLINK
for the SSID, select Infrastructure for the Network Mode, select WEP for the Data Encryption
and enter 0123456789 for Network key.
4. Click OK to save this profile.
5. Click Apply on the Profile screen. The utility will establish a connection with this AP by
configured profile.
3.2 Configuration for windows Vista
After the Adapter's driver has been installed, Windows Vista will display a wireless Network
Connection message like this one.
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-9
Icon means the connection has been established. Icon
If the icon does not appear, please follow the steps below. Ife icon still does not appear, the
means there is no connection.
th
driver may be installed incorrectly or the adapter is unplugged, please try again.
1. Right-click the icon
in your system tray, then click Connect to a network .
Figure 3-10
2. The screen that appears will show ailable wireless networks. Highlight the you many av
network that you want, and then click Connect.
Figure 3-11
3. To continue, click Connect Anyway. cel button to end the Installation. Click the Can
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54M Wireless USB AdapterUser GuideTL-WN321G
Figure 3-12
4. After that, the installation will proceed as shown in Figure 3-13, click close.
Figure 3-13
5. The screen below will appear if the connection is successfull.
Figure 3-14
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TL-WN321G54M Wireless USB AdapterUser Guide
Appendix A: Glossary
802.11b - The 802.11b standard specifies a wireless networking at 11 Mbps using
direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and operating in the unlicensed radio
spectrum at 2.4GHz, and WEP encryption for security. 802.11b networks are also referred to as
Wi-Fi networks.
802.11g - specification for wireless networking at 54 Mbps using direct-sequence
spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology, using OFDM modulation and operating in the unlicensed
radio spectrum at 2.4GHz, and backward compatibility with IEEE 802.11b devices, and WEP
encryption for security.
Ad-hoc Network - An ad-hoc network is a group of computers, each with a wireless adapter,
connected as an independent 802.11 wireless LAN. Ad-hoc wireless computers operate on a
peer-to-peer basis, communicating directly with each other without the use of an access point.
Ad-hoc mode is also referred to as an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) or as peer-to-peer
mode, and is useful at a departmental scale or SOHO operation.
DSSS (Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum) - DSSS generates a redundant bit pattern for all data
transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or chipping code). Even if one or more bits in the chip
are damaged during transmission, statistical techniques embedded in the receiver can recover
the original data without the need for retransmission. To an unintended receiver, DSSS appears
as low power wideband noise and is rejected (ignored) by most narrowband receivers. However,
to an intended receiver (i.e. another wireless LAN endpoint), the DSSS signal is recognized as the
only valid signal, and interference is inherently rejected (ignored).
FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) - FHSS continuously changes (hops) the carrier
frequency of a conventional carrier several times per second according to a pseudo-random set of
channels. Because a fixed frequency is not used, and only the transmitter and receiver know the
hop patterns, interception of FHSS is extremely difficult.
Infrastructure Network - An infrastructure network is a group of computers or other devices,
each with a wireless adapter, connected as an 802.11 wireless LAN. In infrastructure mode, the
wireless devices communicate with each other and to a wired network by first going through an
access point. An infrastructure wireless network connected to a wired network is referred to as a
Basic Service Set (BSS). A set of two or more BSS in a single network is referred to as an
Extended Service Set (ESS). Infrastructure mode is useful at a corporation scale, or when it is
necessary to connect the wired and wireless networks.
Spread Spectrum - Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency technique
developed by the military for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communications systems. It is
designed to trade off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security. In other words,
more bandwidth is consumed than in the case of narrowband transmission, but the trade off
produces a signal that is, in effect, louder and thus easier to detect, provided that the receiver
knows the parameters of the spread-spectrum signal being broadcast. If a receiver is not tuned to
the right frequency, a spread-spectrum signal looks like background noise. There are two main
alternatives, Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread
Spectrum (FHSS).
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TL-WN321G54M Wireless USB AdapterUser Guide
SSID - A Service Set Identification is a thirty-two character (maximum) alphanumeric key
identifying a wireless local area network. For the wireless devices in a network to communicate
with each other, all devices must be configured with the same SSID. This is typically the
configuration parameter for a wireless PC card. It corresponds to the ESSID in the wireless
Access Point and to the wireless network name.
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) - A data privacy mechanism based on a 64-bit or 128-bit or
152-bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard.
Wi-Fi - A trade name for the 802.11b wireless networking standard, given by the Wireless
Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standards group
promoting interoperability among 802.11b devices.
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) - A group of computers and associated devices
communicate with each other wirelessly, which network serving users are limited in a local area.
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) - A wireless security protocol use TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity
Protocol) encryption, which can be used in conjunction with a RADIUS server.
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TL-WN321G54M Wireless USB AdapterUser Guide
Appendix B: Specifications
General
Interface A-type USB 2.0 Connector
Standards IEEE 802.1b; IEEE 802.1g
Operating System Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP,Vista
Transmission
Distance
Safety & Emission FCC, CE
Frequency 2.4 ~ 2.4835 GHz
Sensitivity 54M -70dBm
Spread Spectrum Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Radio Data Rate
Modulation 11g OFDM , 11b CCK/DSSS
Media Access
Protocol
In door up to 100m, out door up to 300m (It is limited to the
environment).