Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys WAP54A Wireless 802.11a Access Point

I bought this product along with the linksys WPC54A pc card. I plugged it into my router [also linksys] and installed the client software [for the pc card]. It worked instantly.

I then started messing around. I set the MAC filtering to give access only to my WPC54A [using ipconfig/all to get its MAC address] and switched on turbo mode. Worked fine.

Then I tried WEP encryption. I added a 154 bit key in the router and the card and .... it did not work! Apparently the key was not saved in the pc card's software. I entered it again and it worked. You have to remember that the pc card's software takes the WEP key in colon separated bytes while the router does not. Enter it as 12:34:.... in the pc card but as 1234...in the router.

Everything worked beautifully and I've had no problems.

P.S: A month later I exchanged this for a WAP51AB router since it had both 802.11a and 802.11b for the same price. On that router I'm having the following problems:

1. Bandwidth is very good at times and very bad at other times [down to 14 kilobits]
2. Turbo mode does not work.

This Linksys product certainly shines in my network. The WAP54a is a great access point for your wireless needs. Why choose it? Using the 802.11a wireless technology on the basically empty 5 GHz spectrum, the access point offers blazing speeds with NO interference. For me, all I had to do to get it going was hook up the power supply and connect the ethernet cable to the port on the back. For configuration purposes, you only have to type in the ip address provided and change a few settings. This is easily done with the guide also included. And when you hook up a wireless, 802.11a PC card, you can have high wireless speeds up to 328 feet indoors. I have recently purchased the product and could not be happier. It may seem a little pricey to some, but it certainly gives you anything you could possibly want from a WAP.

OK.. I really blasted the product when using it's matched WPC54A card. You have a (2) reviews describing the problem, so I will not elaborate.

I gave the access point a second chance. I paired it with an Intel PRO/Wireless 5000 LAN Cardbus adapter.

Next, in the WinXP Wireless Network Connection Properties, I disabled "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings". The configuration was done with Intel's PROSet II software provided with the card.

The solution works flawlessly now. Environment is Win2K Server with WinXP Professional clients.

Router and associated card worked just fine for me, no glitches. That's the good news.

Bad news: this frequency is _extremely_ range-limited in my home, there is no range extender antenna for it, and it looks for all the world like Linksys is offering less and less support for the product on their website (in favor of 802.11g, perhaps?).

If you need blazing speed and you have a _very_ short LOS working range, you should have no problems. If range is any kind of an issue (and when is it _not_?) then /caveat emptor/.

The units work for 5-30 mniutes then lock up, and does not bring up the task manager. A cold boot is required.

There is no updated driver since 4/18/02 and this appears to be a known issue - see:

Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking

for details.

I would not recommend these for operation under the OS Windows 2000 pending the release of a certified driver.

-= Chris ß =-

Update: Unit now somewhere in a US landfill or in India getting hacked... Now using Netgear.