Network card for CF-52

Can anyone recommend the best network/wifi card for this 52 My wifi speed is my only complaint. Please help me out here? a cable tech friend has suggested Intel 7260, but I don't get a match on that one. I love this machine and don't want to part with it!
salarguy

 

which mk or which cpu do you have in the machine? I was using a 7260 in my Mk5 3360m and it seemed adequate.

 

Depends on what mk it is.
DON"T try any cards from Lenovo or HP machines. They won't work.

For $6.00
Intel 6300 with 3 antennas. You need to install a third antenna yourself.

For $15.00
Intel 7260 802.11AC-- 867 Mbps Make sure to get the AC version and not the N version.

For $20.00
In my mk5 I installed an AzureWave AW-CE123H.
802.11ac/n/b/g + Bluetooth 4.0. 867mbps for wi-fi.

For $40.00
If you really want the best possible go for an Azurewave AW-CB160H
1300Mbps 802.11ac WLAN+Bluetooth 4.0
This card also takes 3 antennas and you need to install the third antenna yourself.
This card uses the newer smaller antenna connector so adapter cables are required.

I own ALL of these cards and have used them in different CF-52's.
Mk4 and mk5 seems to accept any of these cards. Not sure about earlier mk's as some are very picky about cards. In those cases the Intel 6300 seems to work most often.

I went with the AW-CE123H because I did not feel like routing the third antenna and I am 12ft from my router.

I have the AW-CB160H and third antenna in my CF-31 and CF-19. Very fast and with the third antenna I get an excellent extended range.

 

I have I believe to be the more common Intel(R)core(TM)2 Duo cpu P8400 2.26ghz.
Thanks all for the fast response!

 

Mk2 then.

 

they came with intel 5100 cards

 

So, any upgrades available?

 

Just grab an Intel 7260AC and an adapter(just a piece of metal to hold the smaller card in place:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Metal-Mini...611334?hash=item5b6735ed46:g:E~gAAOSwGrBd6jog

 

So the 7260AC is good for the 5100 upgrade?

 

Which one of these do you figure is most user friendly install on a Windows 7 Pro for an extreme newbie?

 

A mk2 will probably not recognize a 7260.
The only upgrade I found to reliably work in a mk2 was the Intel 5300.
The BIOS will not recognize other cards. I tried probably a dozen different wifi cards in my mk2's
The 5300 uses 3 antennas.

Get an Intel 5100 for plug and play.
I have been down this road MANY times.

Won't work in an early CF-52. The BIOS uses a whitelist.

 

Is there a white list or some such on this MK 2 that would narrow down what will fit a improve and what will not??

I've got a 5100 in the 52 MK2 and it's driving me nutz! Do they wear out? It's the original. I'm thinking about the 5300 and another antenna.

 

Try a 5300 and a third antenna.

The whitelist was pretty simple for me to figure out.
4965 and 5100/5300 will work. Almost everything else won't.

A usb external "might" work, but I would not bet on it.
Early CF-52's are a giant PITA for wifi upgrades.

Reading material

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/cf52-upgrade-wifi-bios-limitation.753379/#post-9667734

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...02-11n-in-the-5-ghz-band.723949/#post-9276013


This guy got a Broadcom to work. No mention of which one though. I personally never got a Broadcom or Atheros to work in a CF-52 mk2.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/toughbook-52-wlan-card.541126/page-3

 

Should this do the trick?Intel WiFi Link 5300 Wireless LAN Half Size Mini PCI-E Wlan Card 450Mbps 533AN_HMW MIMO 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N1 2.4/5.0 GHz

Along with QNINE Half to Full Height Size Extension Bracket Adapter for mSATA Mini SATA Mini PCIe SSD or Wireless WiFi Card

and an antenna from where?

 

Simple flag antennas work.
I stuck it under the plastic cover on the right of the palm rest.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-Sa...261027?hash=item5905139de3:g:qlQAAOSwNHBdBztw

or

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-Sa...761032&hash=item545790272c:g:HaYAAOSwCkxdB0ct

or

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Acer-Chrom...SFirstClass!16033!US!-1&LH_ItemCondition=1000

Or buy these High quality and high performance Taoglas and replace all three

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-BRAND-NE...148158?hash=item3b2f17a0fe:g:AZoAAOSwVA5aBjIL

 

Did you ever try masking pin 20 to prevent the system to shutdown the card, or the system refuses to boot with the non white listed cards?

 

I tried everything possible including covering pins. I spent months on this.
System boots fine but it will not recognize the "different" cards.

A forum member in Germany disassembled the BIOS and eliminated the whitelist to get "different" cards to work.
Toughbooks are very different than your "average" Dell or HP laptop.

 

This is what works in my CF-52GUNBRAM

Ubiquity card that I think others have used in the past on this forum.
Hard to find now but here's a pricey 80 of them for 600 clams:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-80-...389637?hash=item21654bd645:g:3qoAAOSwkGJdebhE


Sent from my CF-54

 

Is that a MK 2? Does the wireless switch still function? What kind of speeds do you get?

 

I forget what MK the “ GUN” is.
Sheepman and Shawn will know.
I can sit in my car out in the McDonalds parking lot and download a Linux iso.
Never ran a speed test.
Tell me how in Linux and I’ll report back


Sent from my CF-M34

 

Point your browser at https://fast.com/ and it will run a speed test. The page says "Powered by Netflix".

Obligatory Disclaimer: Data charges apply to metered accounts.

 

Thanks OG,
I’ll fire up the GUN on the home network and let you know

 

Here’s what it is on an old tablet at work on the guest network ... I believe that the hospital guest wifi is just fast enough to get on and do a few things, like stream movies, etc...

 

...and here's what it is on the 52 GUN at home wifi network:
Please see the screenshot
...call me crazy but that's what I pay my service provider for
...they promise at least 50, don't think it has anything to do with the wifi card, does it?

 

Does your wifi switch work?

 

I never turn the switch off...it’s always on (don’t see why you would want to turn it off)...
Let us know what WiFi card you get and how you make out...


Sent from my CF-M34

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOUGHBOOK-...546499?hash=item1cd7cbde83:g:dSIAAOSwN-FdWqQZ

This guy has one, but beware! He doesn't like to answer questions. But the 5300, with the Tao antennas, look what I've got!

 

I never use it either,but the guy selling the single card above warns that it won't work.

 

Shawn above gave you several sure fire options.
Let us know what you end up using...



Sent from my CF-54

 

See post 28.