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CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Features ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Specifications................................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Package Contents ..........................................................................................................
1 Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Hawking Technologies Hi-Gain Mini USB Wireless-G Adapter. The HWU54DM complies with the IEEE 802.11g standard, which supports up to 54Mbps high-speed wireless networking. It is also backwards compatible with IEEE 802.11b devices. The HWU54DM is a high quality, high performance wireless product that has been designed with Hawking’s Hi-Gain Technology for improved distance and throughput.
• • • Interface: 32-bit Cardbus Frequency Band: 2.4000 ~ 2.4835GHz (Industrial Scientific Medical Band) Modulation: OFDM with BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM (11g) BPSK, QPSK, CCK (11b) • • • • • • • • Data Rate: 54/48/36/24/18/12/11/9/6/5.5/2/1Mbps auto fallback Security: 64/128-bit WEP Data Encryption, WPA, AES and IEEE 802.
2 Installation Procedure Before you proceed with the installation, please notice following descriptions. Note1: Please do not install the HWU54DM into your computer before installing the software program from the CD. Note2: The following installation was operated under Windows XP. Windows 98SE/Me/2000.) (Procedures are similar for Note3: If you have installed the Wireless adapter driver & utility before, please uninstall the old version first. A. Insert the Installation CD into your CD-ROM Drive.
D. The system will begin to install the software utility for the HWU54DM. Follow the instruction of the program to plug in the Mini USB Adapter into the USB port of your desktop or laptop computer. E. The system will automatically detect the Mini USB Adapter and copy the necessary driver files over. F. Windows Hardware setup will present a list of drivers for installing the HWU54DM. Select Hawking HWU54DM Hi-Gain Wireless-G USB Adapter. Click “Next” to continue the hardware installation.
G. Windows will display the Windows “Hardware Installation” warning screen. Click “Continue Anyway” to proceed with the installation. H. Click “Finish” to complete hardware installation of the HWU54DM.
3 Configuration Utility The Configuration Utility is a powerful application that helps you configure the HWU54DM and monitor the link status and statistics of your wireless connection. The Configuration Utility appears as an icon on the system tray of your Windows operating system while the card is running. You can open it by double-clicking on the icon.
Parameter Description Available Networks This list shows all available wireless networks within range of your card. It also displays the information of the networks including the SSID, BSSID, Signal Strength, Channel, Encryption, Authentication and Network Type. If you want to connect to any networks on the list, double-click the item on the list, and the card will automatically connect to the selected network.
Activate Button Click “Activate” to connect to the selected profile. 3.2.1 Configure the Profile System Configuration Parameter Description Profile Name Define a recognizable profile name for you to identify the different networks. SSID The SSID (up to 32 printable ASCII characters) is the unique name identified in a WLAN. The ID prevents the unintentional merging of two co-located WLANs. You may specify a SSID for the card and then only the device with the same SSID can interconnect to the card.
Parameter Description Network Type Infrastructure – This operation mode requires the presence of an 802.11 Access Point. All communication is done via the Access Point or Router. Ad-Hoc – Select this mode if you want to connect to another wireless station in the Wireless LAN network without going through an Access Point or Router. Peer to Peer. Transmit Power If you wish to lower the transmit power of the card to save the power of your system, you can select the lower percentages from the list.
Authentication vs. Security Parameter Description Authentication Type This setting has to be consistent with the wireless networks that the card intends to connect to. All security keys within a network must match to allow successful communications. None – No authentication is needed among the wireless network. Shared – Only wireless stations using a shared key (WEP Key identified) are allowed to connecting each other.
Parameter Description Encryption Mode None – Disable the WEP Data Encryption. WEP – Enable the WEP Data Encryption. When the item is selected, you have to continue setting the WEP Encryption keys. TKIP – TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) changes the temporal key every 10,000 packets (a packet is a kind of message transmitted over a network.) This insures much greater security than the standard WEP security.
3.2.2 Enable WPA in Windows XP Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a specification of standards-based, interoperable security enhancement that strongly increases the level of data protection (encryption) and access control (authentication) for existing and future wireless LAN systems. The technical components of WPA include Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) for dynamic key exchange, and 802.1x for authentication. There are two types of WPA security: WPA-PSK (no server) and WPA (with server).
3. Press the “Configure” button to configure the WPA function for the current network. Note: Uncheck “Use Windows to Configure my wireless network settings”, the “RaConfig” utility will be enabled again. Parameter Description Network Authentication Open –No authentication is needed among the wireless network. Shared – Only wireless stations using a shared key (WEP Key identified) are allowed to connecting each other.
Parameter Description Data Encryption WEP – In WPA or WPA-PSK mode, WEP is also able to be the encryption method for the transmission data. TKIP – TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) changes the temporal key every 10,000 packets (a packet is a kind of message transmitted over a network.) This insures much greater security than the standard WEP security.
for the networking. Parameter Description Current Tx Rate Display the transmission rate of the network. The maximum transmission rate is 54Mbps. Throughput (Kbits/sec) Display the speed of data transmitted and received. Link Quality This bar indicates the quality of the link. The higher the percentage, the better the quality. dBm If you want to know the signal strength in the unit of dBm, select this check box. Signal Strength This bar shows the signal strength level.
Reading the Link Status Page and Obtaining the Strongest Connection The Link Status page gives you information regarding your current wireless channel, transmit rate (speed) and link/signal quality. You will use this utility to figure out which antenna position results in the best performance and connection. 1) First you must determine where the location of your Wireless Access Point is within your network. 2) Position the directional antenna towards the location of the Access Point.
original closed position to avoid damage when travelling. 3.4 Statistics This option enables you to view the available statistic information with its Tx counts (Tx success, Tx error, RTS Success and RTS Failed), and its Rx counts (Rx success, Rx error). You may reset the counters by clicking ”Reset Counter”. 3.5 Advanced This option enables you to configure more advanced settings, for example: wireless mode, protection mode and etc.
Parameter Description Wireless Mode 802.11 B/G mix – If you have a mix of 802.11b and 802.11g wireless stations in your network, it is recommended to setting the card to this mode. This mode is also the default setting. 802.11 B only – This card can be compatible with both 802.11g and 802.11b wireless stations. If there are only 802.11b wireless stations in the network, you can set the card to this mode.
“ADHOC_OFDM”. Tx Rate There are several options including Auto/1/2/5.5/11/6/9/12/18/24/36/48/54Mbps for you to select. When the “Auto” is selected, the device will choose the most suitable transmission rate automatically. The higher data rate you designated in the network, the shorter distance is allowed between the card and the wireless stations. When the wireless mode is “802.11 B only”, the maximum data rate is 11Mbps (11b) so that there are only “Auto/1/2/5.5/11Mbps” options you can select.
4 Troubleshooting This chapter provides solutions to problems usually encountered during the installation and operation of the adapter. 1. What is the IEEE 802.11g standard? 802.11g is the new IEEE standard for high-speed wireless LAN communications that provides for up to 54 Mbps data rate in the 2.4 GHz band. 802.11g is quickly becoming the next mainstream wireless LAN technology for the home, office and public networks. 802.11g defines the use of the same OFDM modulation technique specified in IEEE 802.
6. What is BSS ID？ A specific Ad hoc LAN is called a Basic Service Set (BSS). Computers in a BSS must be configured with the same BSS ID. 7. What is WEP？ WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, a data privacy mechanism based on a 40 bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802 .11 standard. 8. What is TKIP? TKIP is a quick-fix method to quickly overcome the inherent weaknesses in WEP security, especially the reuse of encryption keys. TKIP is involved in the IEEE 802.
13. What is Spread Spectrum？ Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency technique developed by the military for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communication systems. It is designed to trade off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security.
