=Di714pComments=
Reviewed by: Gary D, [http://www.wlfnet.org WLFnet] Operative
Review Date: 02/01/2003
Model Number: [http://www.dlink.com/products/digitalHome/wireless/11b+/di714p+/ AirPlus DI-714P+]
Manufacturer: D-Link
Cost: $142.95 from pcstop.com
Operating Systems: All
http://www.dlink.com/products/digitalHome/wireless/11b+/di714p+/images/di714p+Main.jpg
Description
Shopping for a New Base Station
I did a lot of reading up on access points since it's been a couple of years since I'd been in the market for one. I really wanted one with a print server and that narrowed it down to a couple of D-Link products. I went with this model because it offers ~22Mbps transfer speeds if used with D-Link radios -- which I haven't bought yet since I've already got a couple of extra Orinoco cards. The price diff wasn't that much from the older models and the dual tone coloring scheme they've chosen for their more recent products makes it more aesthetically pleasing than the first generation 713.
Connecting
Naturally, another requirement for my new AP would be a model that included an external antenna connector. In this case, I've got dual reverse polarity SMA (RP-SMA) connectors that let me attach my external and still use the one or two dBi dipole that came with it -- or even attach another external. Since the price compared favorably with everyone else, I went ahead and bought D-Link's own 6dBi microstrip patch antenna; the [http://www.dlink.com/products/DigitalHome/Wireless/11b/r60_at/ DWL-R60AT]. I bought it from the same vendor for $27.95.
Setup
This puppy was quick to set up with the browser based wizard. Then all I had to do was copy the MAC addreses from my graphite Airport base station and connect my external 15dBi omni. I bought a prefab pigtail from my friends at HyperLinkTech ($20 + S&H) and thought I was good to go. I hadn't fired up the WLAN on the D-Link since I was still waiting for my cable adapter to arrive. I double checked all my settings that didn't seem to be saving and finally figured that the power cycle cure-all would do the trick. Sure enough, if it doesn't have any antennae connected on bootup then the WLAN setup config won't stick.
Updating firmware
It shipped with the latest firmware so I can't tell you anything about flashing it.
Conclusion
[http://www.wlfnet.org/cgi/mailmerge.cgi/forms/wlf Gary D]