EnGenius EMP-8602 Plus-S wireless card

I just installed this driver. It lists it as version 7.4.211 from 2008.
It is newer than the one on the Engenius site. It does work with the EMP 8602+S. It seems to have the same power saver options. Normal, Maximum and off.

Although this is listed for a PCMCIA card, the SMC2536W-AG2 card is Atheros based and has 685mw power. It appears that this is a newer driver for the high power Atheros chipset.

SMC2536W-AG2 Datasheet


SMC2536W-AG2 Driver

I believe the one from Engenius is version 3

 

yes, auction is for the plus non-s type. Just got mine today. 400mw

 

For people in Europe, is there a way to get this card as close to $19 as possible?


Also, here are some specs for both the 400mW and 600mw models in 802.11g mode.

Receive Sensitivity, 802.11g:
(400mw) -92 dBm @ 6Mbps, -76 dBm @ 54Mbp
(600mw) -90 dBm @ 6Mbps, -74 dBm @ 54Mbp

Available Transmit Power, 802.11g:
(400mw) 25.0 dBm @ 36Mbps, 24.0 dBm @ 48Mbps, 23.0 dBm @ 54Mbps
(600mw) 23.5 dBm @ 36Mbps, 22.5 dBm @ 48Mbps, 21.5 dBm @ 54Mbps

Am I reading these wrong, or does the 400mw outperform the 600mw one?

I searched for more specs, and found these: 400mw and 600mw. Here both versions have the same receive sensitivity and the available transmit power is 0.5-1 dBm higher in the 600mw version.

Maybe the 400mw model is newer and more efficient, or these are theoretical specs that the 400mw model barely reaches, while the other one reaches them more often.

 

What do mean by as close to $19.00 as possible? Do you want the $19.00 to include shipping? Are you asking for someone to get one and ship it to you?
Where in Europe are you talking about?
Did you ask the seller if he would ship overseas?

 

I've just updated my first posting to direct members to the latest EMP-8602 Plus-S 600 mW card sale available.

Unfortunately, the price has gone up, though.

 

$19 + shipping costs as low as possible. I noticed there were other people from Europe on this thread, and I thought that maybe someone bought more items, or maybe there's a small group-buy underway, or something like that. Or maybe someone from US is kind enough to buy one and ship it to Europe. So yes, I'd be interested in getting one, and I was simply asking what happens usually when someone from Europe wants such an item and how much would it cost.

Romania. It's in the European Union, shipping costs should be similar as to France or Germany.

I can't. I get "Unfortunately, this seller is not able to respond to your question. We suggest reviewing the item again to see if your answer is in the seller's listing."

 

You are correct , the 400mw outperforms the 600mw card in the most important recieve sentsitivity

Very close though ,and could be a mistake as the components are very similar

 

I definitely want the 400mw one (8602+, without the S). Again, the lowest price I could find is 19$. I need someone to help me with the shipping, though. A padded envelope with some pieces of cardboard and the miniPCI card in a static bag should weigh below 2 ounces. This means that shipping through USPS First Class Mail Large Envelopes should be around 2$. As there is no tracking available and Registered Mail is too expensive, I was thinking of also getting U-Pic insurance for 1.85$. So far I got all the First Class Mail from US, but there weren't many items and better be safe than sorry.

Anyway, I'm gonna need a forum member from US to help me with this, preferably somebody who has more than a few posts and some spare time.

And if there are a few other people from Europe who want this, that somebody could buy more items and ship them to different countries on the same day. Just an idea.

 

We'll need more specific location information that just "ship it to Europe"

 

It's Romania. I already mentioned in a previous post. Anyway, if somebody is willing to help, let's move the discussion to PM.

 

So, umm, help?...

 

Consider:

EnGenius Nl-3054MP ARIES Mini PCI Wireless Adapter

Price: US $14.99 [Buy It Now]

Shipping to: Romania
Shipping and handling: US $9.99

Drivers

 

Thanks, but the Nl-3054MP seems to a be a minipCI type III A card which I don't think will fit well in a CF-28. Also, it's a 200mw card, and I'd want something more powerful.

 

@ cib3k

Place a WTB in the buy/sell section ,it might get more exposure
I know what you are talking about with issues with shipping ,I had a hard time finding a seller that would ship to Canada ,and I paid $40 for my +S cards ,not including shipping

 

I used to work as a shipper for a small company. A lot of overseas buyers use a shipping service. Here is a link to one I found by using G**gle. I don't know the cost, but it would seem very handy to be able to buy stuff and use an USA address.


Overseas shipper

I MAY have an Engenius card that I can sell, but it will be 2 weeks or so before I sort out my current projects and see if I will need it or not. I can do the overseas shipping as it's really not that big of a deal to fill out a customs form. I would do it for something that I sold, but I really don't think I want in the middle of a 3 way sale.

 

@ deere245

Agree, thats why I suggested a WTB ,and postal shipping a small item international will not be too costly

As far as a shipping service go's
I say I will get to that sometime but I keep on thinking I just need a few more parts and I will be finished with project Toughbooks
It never ends lol

 

Thanks for your help, guys.

Yes, I was thinking about WTB, that's next.

I'm aware of shipping services, but they are too expensive for what I'm usually buying. They don't make sense for small purchases. For example, shipping to Romania on myUS starts at 28$, which for a 19$ miniPCI card is too much. It's so expensive because they use Express shipping and DHL. It would make more sense if you're buying a laptop.

The cheapest way to ship small stuff from US is USPS First Class Mail (large envelopes), from what I've read. It starts at $1.24 (to Romania), but the standard service doesn't offer any kind of protection or tracking. For that you can get third-party insurance (from U-Pic, for example, which is only a few $) or purchase from USPS the additional "Registered Mail" service, which is 11.50$.

Anyway, I think I'll drop the U-Pic option, it's too much hassle and people are not very willing to help me anyway. So the USPS secured shipping would cost me 13.5$ - which isn't that much, but when modding a Toughbook you need to experiment a lot and have the proper items to do it. If you spend your entire budget on one or two items, you're not gonna be able to experiment much.

@deere245

Please drop me a PM after you sort out your projects and tell me if you're selling the card.

 

I well understand what you're getting at but it also depends on how badly you needed or desired those parts. Where I'm from, replacement parts for other laptops (Dell, Compaq, Lenovo, etc) are plenty but never Toughbook goodies.

If you're shopping on fleabay, it helps when one can communicate clearly and politely. The worst that can happen is a 'No' or being rejected outright. Also, if the seller does not insist on a USA address verified Paypal account, you might want to use parcel-forwarding services with local address and offer that as an alternative. It doesn't always work and you might get shredded to bits by re-routed shipping costs but it's worth a try.

I'm fairly certain you'll forget about the costs after the Engenius card is installed, be it the 400 or 600mW series.

 

I have one new Engenius 8602 Plus (not the S version) you can have for $19 plus shipping (I'll send it to you in Romania for whatever it cost me). If you can get someone to ship me a few more 8602's, I sure 6 or so will ship as cheaply as 1. If you want me to do this send me your address, I'll get a price from the USPS and you can PayPal me the money for the card and shipping.
Brian

 

Last month I shipped over $400.00 in toughbook parts to Russia, port covers and badges. Shipping cost $3.85 USPS, the buyer chose Registered Mail cost $27.50 and this was not a big padded envelope.

 

I'll take Kardan's offer for now. Kardan, I sent you a PM.

 

Will the 8602 +S upgrade a CF-30 Mk1? If not, is there something that is significantly better than the one that Panasonic put in it?

 

No,wrong interface

The Intel 3945abg pci-e card that is the standard card in the cf-30 is great performing
Good signal strength

 

I just tossed an Intel 5100 in my CF51 replacing the 3945. Never tried the 3945. I already had the case opened so I upgraded while I was in.
The Intel 5100 leaves the Engenius 8602 Plus S in my CF50 in the dust. I get a 48db signal in the CF51/Intel 5100 and 23db in the CF50/Engenius 8602 Plus S.
The Intel 5300 is even better as it uses 3 antennas and not 2 like the 5100.

 

It is hard to compare performance between a card in a cf50 and cf51 as antenna's and antenna placement can make a huge difference

I have a new 6200N in my thinkpad and it is not nearly as good as the 3945 in the cf-30 and I am thinking the antenna's are the issue

 

IIRC, the antennae paddles on the 50's and 51's are located on both sides of the keyboard and I think of the same design as well.

I can also vouch that the 3945ABG will pull in better signal strength compared to those in older B cards... and it's dual band as well!