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Q2 of 2009 should bring us interesting times as far as WLAN is concerned.
Here are couple contenders touted for release this year:

D-Link N450, looks just like the 655 and has similar features and performance to the DIR-855.
EXCEPT it has a 3T/3R antenna, so can process 3 streams at once.
This will be a true dual band router (like the 855) and can receive/transmit at 2.4 and 5Ghz simultaneously.

Trendnet TEW-773GR, this will be a single band router at 2.4Ghz only but also can process 3 streams at once with 3T/3R antenna’s.
Also due in the 2nd quarter of 2009.

I think later this year we may see a Draftn v3 come out to cover the WIFI 3 streams.
I seem to remember a couple of years ago now reading that 11n was to go as fast as 600Mbps, will this mean 4 streams may also become reality ?

Ralink are the first to show a 450Mbps WLAN router at CES 2009

This should make for quite a performance gain in WLAN connectivity.
Even though actual throughput will probably max out at 270Mbps and in real life about 200Mbps
It makes the wired 100Mbps LAN obsolete.

This means that to use 450Mbps with 2.4Ghz you will use all 3 non overlapping channels (1, 6 and 11)
11a where there are many more non overlapping channels to choose from no issues.
All routers will come with at least 3 antenna’s in 3T/3R mode for 450Mbps connection.
Slower/cheaper combinations will of course come as well.

So those with Intel i5300′s will finally get to use it to it’s full potential (wonder if it will allow full 450Mbps at 2.4Ghz)
Lets hope that Ralink release a router and corresponding WLAN adaptors very soon for us to try it out.

Below is the entire Ralink Press release:

Ralink Premiers Industry’s First 450 Mbps 802.11n Router Solution with Beamforming Technology at CES 2009

CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ralink Technology Corporation, a leading developer of 802.11x chipsets, today announced its new RT2883/RT2853 flagship 450 Mbps, 3 stream, 802.11n router chipset with beamforming technology. The RT2883 is an 802.11n 3 transmitter, 3 receiver (3T3R) system on a chip featuring a high performance CPU and a wealth of connectivity interfaces. Paired with the RT2853 dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz 3T3R transceiver, the RT2883 provides one of the most advanced Wi-Fi router platforms in the industry at speeds 50% faster than 2 stream draft 802.11n, and up to 8 times faster than legacy 802.11 a/g devices on the market. The RT2883/RT2853 chipset’s beamforming capability extends its Wi-Fi range to meet digital home multimedia coverage requirements.

“In addition to 450Mbps raw throughput and beamforming, the RT2883/RT2853 is enhanced with a multitude of advanced features such as Maximum Likelihood Detection (MLD) and Adaptive Channel Estimation and Equalization (ACE) to overcome difficult indoor environments”, said Fred Jann, Vice President of IC Design at Ralink. “It also introduces Ralink Video Turbine™ technology defining a new paradigm in Wi-Fi by enabling reliable distribution of multiple high-quality video streams throughout the home or office.”

Background

The early success of Wi-Fi technology has been mainly PC centric. Wi-Fi was used to connect commercial and consumer laptops and desktops to the corporate network or the internet via a router to access e-mail and websites that consisted mostly of text and simple graphics. The market has made a major shift in the last few years. The proliferation of digital music, high quality digital photos, gaming devices and SD & HD video in homes and on the internet is driving the demand for greater Wi-Fi performance and coverage beyond 2 stream, 300 Mbps draft 802.11n. Ralink’s RT2883 SoC and RT2853 transceiver arrive just as consumers’ expectations are beginning to ramp.

Superior Wi-Fi Coverage

The RT2883/RT2853 chipset is the first to implement transmit beamforming technology. With beamforming technology, the RT2883/2853 intelligently determines a client’s distance and location, and controls its transmitted power and phase to optimize received power at the client. This enables superior Wi-Fi coverage, interference mitigation, and a more reliable connection. The RT2883/RT2853 is compatible with the newly added beamforming clauses in the IEEE’s latest draft 802.11n standard. In addition, Ralink implements a proprietary implicit beamforming technique that can be used with any client, even if they do not support the IEEE’s beamforming protocols. On the receive side, the RT2883/RT2853 employs the latest digital signal processing algorithms such as Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC), and Maximum Likelihood Detection (MLD) and Adaptive Channel Estimation and Equalization (ACE) to ensure robust reception of packets. ACE is Ralink’s patented methodology for tracking changes in the environment and continuously optimizing the receiver for maximum performance.

Ralink Video Turbine™

With the advent of digital video, there has been an explosion of content that has become available, both from the internet and from service providers. Consumers want to know how they can conveniently distribute this content to their computers, TV’s, set top boxes, and mobile devices. Video Turbine™ by Ralink is the answer. It is a combination of technologies used to provide reliable bandwidth for video transmission and reception over Wi-Fi. Ralink has taken the best standards based quality of service (QoS) technologies like Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) and Wi-Fi Multimedia Access (WMM-AC), and combined them with Ralink’s own proprietary rate adaptation algorithms, traffic classifiers and distinct controls for audio and video packets to make reliable video distribution over Wi-Fi a reality.

Unsurpassed Wi-Fi Performance

Ralink’s advanced 3T3R architecture implements true 3 stream 802.11n technology, enabling PHY rates of up to 450 Mbps, the highest performance on the market, to address concurrent delivery of data, voice and HD video throughout the home or office. The RT2883 features a 500 MHz MIPS CPU, Hardware Network Address Translation (NAT), and hardware frame aggregation to speed packets to their destination. Connectivity options include an RGMII interface to connect a Gigabit PHY or switch; a 480 Mbps USB 2.0 interface for storage or CE applications; and a PCI Express interface for dual band concurrent applications. The RT2883 also supports SPI, I2C and PCM interfaces for audio and VoIP applications. Ralink’s RT2883/RT2853 is fully compatible with Intel’s Ultimate N Wi-Fi Link 5300 3T3R, 450 Mbps PCIe client cards. The RT2883/RT2853 3T3R 802.11n Router reference design kit includes a complete turnkey platform including a full Linux 2.6 Router software stack. Samples will be available for evaluation in Q2 2009. Pricing is available upon request. For more information please contact your Ralink sales personnel or make an appointment to visit us at CES 2009.

About Ralink Technology Corporation

Ralink Technology Corporation is a leading innovator and developer of wireless LAN chipset solutions. Ralink 802.11x chips are recognized for superior throughput, extended range, low-power consumption and consistent reliability demanded by Wi-Fi, mobile and embedded applications. These feature-rich chipsets have a high level of chip integration for client and AP solutions for miniPCI, PCI, PCIe miniCard, half minicard and USB interfaces and form factors, enabling customers to build smaller and more sophisticated wireless products cost-effectively. Ralink’s patented MIMObility™ technology extends Wi-Fi applications from traditional PC networking to a range of digital multimedia and embedded devices including set top boxes, cameras, print servers, HDTV and video game consoles. Ralink customers can look forward to continuous improvements in speed, bandwidth and reliability with 802.11n solutions for next-generation high-performance Wi-Fi. Ralink Technology was founded in 2001 with headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan and an R&D center in Cupertino, California. For more information, visit Ralink at www.ralinktech.com or send email to info@ralinktech.com.
Contacts

Ralink Technology, USA
Ling Wang, 408-725-8070
Ling_Wang@ralinktech.com
Ralink Technology Taiwan Head Quarters
Vivien Huang, +886-35600868 ext 1605
Vivien_Huang@ralinktech.com.tw

So your tempted to upgrade your WLAN card to a new 3 antenna one.
or you already have a WLAN card, it has 3 connectors on the card but only 2 are used, you want to add another antenna to boost the range.
or the decision to add a dual antenna 11n WLAN card and not add another antenna so save warranty issues.
What ever scenarios hopefully this guide will help.

I’ll try to go through the procedure of installing the WLAN card and extra antenna if needed.
But first things first OxfordTEC and I do not accept any responsibility for any mishaps or breakages.
It’s up to you be careful and use your initiative to work out if the upgrade will work or not, if in doubt don’t do it !!
The upgrade will mean warranty on your Notebook could be void.
The upgrade will also need some tools, a small flat head screw driver and a small crosshead (philips) screwdriver, the best ones are the Jewellers set, very cheap in electrical stores
The upgrade below assumes you have a Core2Duo based machine with a MiniPCIe interface, older Notebooks will have a MiniPCI card which are much bigger than MiniPCIe, but the procedure will be similar.

First things first, before you buy any card or look for an antenna, check to see what you have already.
Some Notebooks have the WLAN card behind a panel on the back of the Notebook usually larger Notebooks 17″
Some Notebooks have the WLAN card underneath the keyboard, usually smaller Notebooks 15.4″ and smaller.
Check to see what WLAN card you have, do a check to see what it can do, Google is your friend here.
I have made a guide of most of the popular 11n WLAN cards here, use this to help you choose one.
If you have chosen one, work out how many antenna’s you will need (if any), best to get both at once.

Our friends form OxfordTEC who sponsored the WLAN card and antenna for me to be able to make this guide have all the gear you need to get you going.
There are 2 antennas to choose from the shorter one (25.5cm) as used below is best for any place BUT the LCD cover, a lot less fiddly to pull the bezel and keyboard off and fit this.
The longer one (60cm) is suited to place inside the LCD cover, this is quite a bit more tricky to do, I’ll do a guide on this procedure in the not too distant future, over all this is the best place for the antenna as there is the least amount of metal around to block the signal.

The Antenna’s from OxfordTEC are high quality with Gold connectors and have Omnidirectional 3dB gain, normal antenna’s (as included with most Noebooks) and others sold else where are only 1 or 2db gain.

If replacing a WLAN card with another, then remove all software and drivers that came with the old card before installing new one !!
Will save issues later on, trust me, I’ve been here smile.gif
You may want to download the latest drivers and Client Utility, as the included SW can be quite old and also unless you have a LAN connection to the internet you will have no access to the internet till the drivers are installed.

Turn Laptop OFF, Disconnect from AC Adaptor and remove battery !!!

Notebooks with the WLAN underneath Notebook

The back of the Dell Inspiron 9400/E1705

Remove any screws from the cover, Dell and Toshiba usually have 2 screws, Acer can mean unscrewing nearly the whole back of the machine off.
Acer back covers are notoriously hard to get off, it means bending and twisting the cover while trying to move it as well, BECAREFUL not to break it
Anywho, once of, the any Dell Inpsiron E1705/i9400 owners will see this:

The cover removed from the WLAN/modem bay exposing the WLAN cardon the left.

The picture above shows the original Intel WLAN 3945 card that came with the i9400, a 2 antenna connector card, the i9400 came with only 2 antenna’s so lets add another and place a much better card in there.
If your current card has 3 antenna’s connected then you already have a 11n capable WLAN card and you can stop right here.
BUT chances are you will see 2 antenna’s connected (real old laptops may see one)
Now to work out what card you have if you already don’t know is to get the device name and model, and have a look here at the most popular 11n cards, if you can’t see it there then chances are you have an older 11a/b/g card getting only 54Mbps or in SuperG’s case 108Mbps.
Now while you are at the 11n device page, it may pay to start thinking about the card you would like.
Continue reading…

How well it works

Connecting to router was a breeze, and once connected it will auto login next time it sees the router (ie from sleep or power up)
The Client Utility can be opened by double clicking the Ralink logo in the Notification area.
The picture above shows my signal strength at 94%, compared with the GIGABYTE Aircruiser N300 GN-WS30N I tested here gets 100% in the same spot.
But 94% is very good for a tiny unit with only 2 antennas (build onto the unit) as the MiniPCIe version has 3 external antenna’s.
The antenna’s are configured as 2T/2R, both receive and transmit at once
I am very impressed with this card as it works just like it’s bigger MiniPCI(e) counter parts.
As can be seen it hooks up to my Dlink DIR-655 router at full transmit speed, receive speed will vary with demand (ie go up when the bandwidth rises)

For the whole review head on over

here

Here is a more interesting device that uses the very latest Ralink chipset.
Looking forward to take this for a spin.
Review will follow shortly.
But the guys at OxfordTEC deserver a pat on the back for given us the chance to look at these cards first

SparkLAN WMIR-270N 802.11n 2.4/5.8Ghz dual-band Mini-PCI Module (Ralink RT2880 MAC/BB/MIPS CPU+2850RF, 2T/3R) Wireless card

Ralink Based 11abgn dual band card for demanding applications (integrators only)

Frequency Band: 802.11n draft 2.0 2.4/5.8Ghz dual-band
Chipset: Ralink RT2880 MAC/BB/MIPS CPU 266MHz+2850 RF
Antenna: 2T/3R
Host interface: 32-bit mini-PCI, Type III A
OS support: Linux

Ralink RT2880 chipset combines MIPS CPU, it is ideal for xDSL, IAD, STB, VoIP, and Multimedia applications.

Datasheet

OxfordTEC have kindly send me some WLAN cards to play and show off their stuff.

Here are the specs to wet the appetite, a review will follow shortly:

SparkLAN WMIR-200N WLAN 802.11n draft2.0 dual band MiniPCI Wifi Module – Laptop Internal Ralink RT2860 Chipset 2T/3R Wireless Adapter

SparkLAN Mimobility 300Mbps technology wireless LAN mini-PCI card IEEE 802.11a+g+b+n Draft wifi standard NIC adapter for laptops
(also for barebones & WRAP boards)

Ralink latest chipset card manufactured by Sparklan only few weeks ago, NEWEST CONFIGURATION VERSION GUARANTIED.
8TH GENERATION CHIP HAS 6x SPEEDS, IMPROVED POWER MANAGEMENT AND MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE SERVICE.
Continue reading…