Introduction
| BuffaloTech AirStation 54Mbps Wireless CardBus card | |
|---|---|
| Summary | One of the first 802.11g wireless client adapters. Uses Broadcom '54g' technology. Also comes in 'A' version that supports external antenna |
| Update | None |
| Pros | • No WEP-enabled throughput reduction • Faster than 802.11b speed |
| Cons | • Can't change most settings via Client Manager utility • High max/min throughput variation |
This RapidReview is a follow-on to my detailed review of Buffalo Technology's WBR-G54 draft-802.11g router and will highlight some of the features of Buffalo's draft-11g CardBus card.
Internal Exam
Similar to the approach taken with the radio card in the WBR-G54 router, Buffalo Tech has chosen to let Broadcom do the design and manufacture of their client card. The internal photos on the FCC ID website show a pretty clean design, as you can see in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Buffalo and Linksys - separated at birth?
(click on the image for a full-sized view)
I also grabbed a copy of the FCC file for the Linksys WPC54G to see if Linksys had made any big changes in Broadcom's reference design. The main difference that I noticed between the BuffaloTech/Broadcom card (top) and Linksys card (bottom) are some subtle changes in the antenna section of the cards.