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CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 4 BENEFITS ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 FEATURES ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 RELATED NETGEAR IEEE 802.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your purchase of NETGEAR’s HA501 802.11a Wireless 32-bit CardBus Adapter, which gives you the ultimate in office mobility. This high-speed wireless device lets you quickly network multiple PCs together without laying any new cabling, and gives users the freedom to roam throughout the workplace and stay connected to corporate resources, e-mail, and the intranet.
CHAPTER 2: WIRELESS NETWORK FUNDAMENTALS Wireless Network Configuration Ad-hoc Mode (Peer-to-Peer Workgroup) The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard for wireless LANs (WLANs), 802.11- offers two methods for configuring a wireless network — ad-hoc and infrastructure. In an ad-hoc network, computers are brought together as needed; thus, there is no structure or fixed points to the network — each node can generally communicate with any other node.
Service Set Identification (SSID) The Service Set Identification (SSID) is a thirty-two alphanumeric character (maximum) string identifying the wireless local area network. Some vendors refer to the SSID as “network name”. In order for stations to communicate with each other, all stations must be configured with the same SSID. A wireless LAN consisting of nodes operating in ad-hoc configuration without an access point is called a Basic Service Set (BSS).
Wireless Channel Selection IEEE 802.11a utilizes 300 MHz of bandwidth in the 5 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band. Though the lower 200 MHz is physically contiguous, the FCC has divided the total 300 MHz into three distinct domains, each with a different legal maximum power output. U-NII Band Frequency (GHz) Max. Power Output Low 5.15 – 5.25 50 mW Middle 5.25 – 5.35 250 mW High 5.725 – 5.825 1W Note: The high band is not supported in HA501 Wireless Adapter. IEEE 802.
The HA501 user can use three channels in turbo mode. Turbo mode: ON Channel 42 50 58 Frequency 5.21 GHz 5.25 GHz 5.29 GHz Note: The available channels supported by the wireless products in various countries are different.
CHAPTER 3: HARDWARE INSTALLATION Package Contents The product package should contain: HA501 802.11a Wireless Adapter HA501 Wireless Adapter Resource CD-ROM HA501 Installation Guide Support Information Card Warranty and registration card Please call your reseller or customer support in your area if there are any wrong, missing, or damaged parts. You can refer to the Support Information Card for the telephone number of customer support in your area.
CHAPTER 4: DRIVER INSTALLATION Windows 98 Driver Software Installing Driver Software To install the NETGEAR HA501 Wireless Adapter driver for the first time in Windows 98: 1. Follow the procedure described in the hardware installation chapter to install the HA501 Wireless Adapter into your notebook system. Power up the system if the wireless adapter was inserted with the power off. 2. Upon power up, Windows 98 automatically detects the existence of the HA501 Wireless Adapter.
Windows Millennium Driver Software Installing Driver Software To install the NETGEAR HA501 Wireless Adapter driver for the first time in Windows Millennium: 1. Follow the procedure described in the hardware installation chapter to install the HA501 Wireless Adapter into your notebook system. Power up the system if the Wireless Adapter was inserted with the power off. 2. Upon power up, Windows Millennium automatically detects the existence of the HA501 Wireless Adapter.
Windows NT 4.0 Driver Software Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 is not a plug-and-play operating system and does not automatically detect and prompt you for installation of the Wireless Adapter driver. The driver installation has to be initiated manually. Installing Driver Software To install the NETGEAR HA501 Wireless Adapter driver for the first time in Windows NT 4.0: 1. Follow the procedure in the hardware installation chapter to install the HA501 Wireless Adapter into your notebook system.
Windows 2000 Driver Software Installing Driver Software To install the NETGEAR HA501 Wireless Adapter driver for the first time in Windows 2000: 1. Follow the procedure described in the hardware installation chapter to install the HA501 Wireless Adapter. Power up the system if the Wireless Adapter was inserted with the power off. 2. Upon power up, Windows 2000 automatically detects the existence of the HA501 Wireless Adapter.
Windows XP Driver Software Installing Driver Software To install the ireless Adapter driver for the first time in Windows XP: 1. Follow the procedure described in the hardware installation chapter to install the HA501 Wireless Adapter into your notebook system. Power up the system if the Wireless Adapter was inserted with the power off. 2. Upon power up, Windows XP automatically detects the existence of the HA501 Wireless Adapter.
CHAPTER 5: WIRELESS LAN CONFIGURATION Wireless Adapter Configuration Utility NETGEAR supplies you with a wireless LAN configuration utility program to give you information on your wireless network, such as signal quality and link conditions, and to let you modify the various configurable wireless parameters. Note: Users of Windows 98 or Me must reboot after making any configuration changes in the HA501 Configuration Utility.
SysTray Application The SysTray (System Tray) resides on one end of the taskbar in the Microsoft Windows desktop. It displays interface icons for memory-resident applications that execute in the background continuously, such as the clock, speaker volume, and virus detection. The wireless LAN configuration utility installation for the HA501 Wireless Adapter adds a configuration and status reporting utility icon in the SysTray.
Wireless LAN - Status The Status section of the NETGEAR HA501 802.11a Configuration Utility dialog box shows you the current condition of the wireless LAN. The table below describes the information displayed in the Status section of the dialog box. Status Connect to AP MAC Address Network Mode Description Displays the association of the access point or other wireless node in ad-hoc mode.
Channel/Frequency Transmit Rate Shows the current channel and frequency in use. The wireless channel in use will be between 36 and 64. Shows the current maximum transmit data rate of the wireless node. The possible data rates supported are: 54 Mbps, 48 Mbps, 36 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 18 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 9 Mbps, and 6 Mbps. It can go up to 72 Mbps if the turbo mode is enabled. Receive Rate Shows the current receive data transfer rate of the wireless node.
Wireless LAN - Configuration The Configuration section of the NETGEAR HA501 802.11a Configuration Utility dialog box shows you the configuration parameters of the wireless LAN and allows you to modify them. The table below describes the information displayed in the Configuration section of the NETGEAR HA501 802.11a Configuration Utility dialog box. Configuration Network Network Name (SSID) Turbo Mode Description Configurable between ad-hoc and infrastructure modes. In 802.
Power Saving Security: Enable Security Shared Key Entries Supports optional power management to conserve battery life in Infrastructure mode. The three possible settings are off, normal, and maximum. The HA501 “wakes up” every 10beacon interval to listen to the normal mode, but “wakes up” every 100-beacon interval in the maximum power saving mode. Sets the data encryption level for the wireless node.
Wireless LAN - About The About section of the NETGEAR HA501 802.11a Configuration Utility dialog box shows the release information of both the device driver for the wireless adapter and the wireless LAN configuration utility software.
CHAPTER 6: TROUBLESHOOTING Problem Cause No lights are lit on the wireless adapter The wireless card driver is not inserted into the CardBus PC card slot properly Or the proper HA501 wireless adapter driver is not loaded. The two LED’s are blinking alternately The wireless adapter is not associated to any access point properly. You may not have configured the wireless parameters of the wireless nodes to be the same as the access point.
HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS Model Radio Data Rate Frequency Range: @ 6 Mbps @ 54 Mbps Encryption Maximum computers per network Bus interface Provided drivers Dimensions Weight Status LEDs Electromagnetic Compliance Environmental Specifications Warranty HA501 802.11a Wireless 32-bit CardBus Adapter 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54, 72 for Turbo mode (Auto rate capable) 5.15 ~ 5.25 GHz (lower band) for US/Canada, Japan 5.25 ~ 5.35 GHz (middle band) for US/Canada Outdoor environment Indoor environment 1200 ft.