ActionTec 802CTG User manual

Solutions for the Digital Life™
User Manual
54 Mbps
Wireless PC Card
Model #: 802CTG

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Table of Contents
1 Introduction 1
Package Contents 1
Minimum System Requirements 1
Features 2
Getting to Know the PC Card 2
Technical Support 3
2 Setting Up the PC Card 5
3 Using the Wireless Configuration Utility 11
Opening the Utility Window 11
Using the Wireless Configuration Utility 12
4 Troubleshooting and FAQs 23
Troubleshooting 23
Frequently Asked Questions 24
A Specifications 27
General 27
Wireless Operating Range 27
LED Indicators 28
Environmental 28
Glossary 29
Notices 33
Regulatory Compliance Notices 33
Modifications 33
Miscellaneous Legal Notices 34
Limited Warranty 35

1
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card. The PC Card
provides a single PC card solution for connecting to version “b” (11 Mbps 802.11b)
and version “g” (54 Mbps 802.11g) wireless networks. This easy-to-use product is
perfect for the home office or small business. If you want to take your computing
to the next level, the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card is sure to be one of the
keys to your success.
Package Contents
s Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card
s Installation CD (includes user manual)
s Start Here guide
Minimum System Requirements
A laptop computer with the following:
s CD-ROM drive, available Type II 32-bit CardBus slot, and at least 500 kb of free
disk space
s Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), Millennium Edition (Me), 2000,
or XP
s TCP/IP network protocol installed
s 200 MHz (or faster) processor
s 64 Mb of RAM
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Chapter 1 Introduction
Features
s IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g standards conformity
s 11 and 54 Mbps wireless network compatibility
s 64-, 128-, and 256-bit WEP wireless security support (256-bit WEP supported
only with 256-bit WEP compatible access points and wireless gateways/
routers)
s WEP, WPA, WPA_PSK, and 802.1x support
s 32-bit CardBus performance
s PC Card hot swapability with Plug-and-Play connectivity support
Getting to Know the PC Card
This section contains a quick description of the PC Card’s external features.
Activity Light
The Activity light displays the PC Card’s current send/receive status. When the
Activity light blinks green, data is being sent or received via the PC Card.
Power Light
The Power light displays the PC Card’s current power status. If the Power light
glows steadily orange, the PC Card has power supplied to it. If the Power light
remains off after the operating system of the computer has rebooted after setting
up the PC Card, the drivers are not loaded or installed.

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Chapter 1 Introduction
Technical Support
Actiontec Electronics prides itself on making durable, high-quality, high-perfor-
mance products. If you need assistance, the Actiontec Technical Support Department
is available all day every day to provide professional support.
Actiontec Electronics, Inc.
760 N. Mary Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Technical Support
Phone: (USA) 1-888-436-0657
(UK) 0845-65-80411
E-mail: http://support.actiontec.com/email_support/support_form.php
Internet: www.actiontec.com/support

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5
Setting Up
the PC Card
The instructions that follow in this chapter parallel the steps contained in the
Actiontec Connection 1-2-3® setup utility, which provides a visual, step-by-step guide
to setting up the PC Card. It is recommended the user run Connection 1-2-3 first,
before attempting any other procedures.
To set up the PC Card, the drivers must be loaded, the PC Card inserted into the
PCMCIA slot of the computer, and then the PC Card configured. Also, make sure
there is an available wireless signal (through an access point or another computer)
to which the PC Card can connect.
1. Insert the Installation CD in the CD-ROM drive of the laptop computer.
Connection 1-2-3 starts automatically. Temporary files and drivers for the PC
Card are loaded onto the hard drive, then the first Connection 1-2-3 screen
appears. Read the onscreen instructions, then click Next.
☞ Note: If Connection 1-2-3 does not start automatically, click
Start from the desktop, then select Run. Type d:\c123.exe
(with “d” representing the drive letter of the computer’s CD-
ROM drive) in the “Open” text box, and click OK.
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Chapter 2 Setting Up the PC Card
2. Get the PC Card from the Quick Start Kit, then click Next.
3. Find the PCMCIA (PC Card) slot on the computer. This slot is usually located
on the left or right side of the computer. Click Next.

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Chapter 2 Setting Up the PC Card
4. Insert the PC Card in the PCMCIA slot. Make sure the Card’s label is facing up,
and the gold-plated end is inserted first. Click Next.
5. Connection 1-2-3 detects the PC Card.

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Chapter 2 Setting Up the PC Card
6. The PC Card is detected. Click Next.
7. The PC Card connects to the closest available wireless network. Read the
onscreen instructions, then click Next.
☞ Note: If more than one access point is nearby, the PC Card may
connect to an access point other than the one the user expects.
See Chapter 3, “Using the Wireless Configuration Utility,” on
page 11 to learn how to connect to particular access point.

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Chapter 2 Setting Up the PC Card
8. Click Finish, then reboot the computer.
The PC Card is installed, configured, connected to a wireless network, and ready
for use.

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11
Using the Wireless
Configuration Utility
To monitor the wireless network to which the PC Card is connected, as well as check
or adjust wireless network settings, use the Wireless Configuration Utility. This utility
offers the ability to check wireless network signal strength, connect to a wireless net-
work using an encryption scheme, and many other options.
Opening the Utility Window
To open the Utility, go to the right-hand corner of the desktop. In the System Tray
(where the clock is located), double-click on the Actiontec Wireless Configuration
Utility icon (shown in the red circle, below)
The Wireless Configuration window appears on the desktop.
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Chapter 3 Using the Wireless Configuration Utility
Using the Wireless Configuration Utility
After double-clicking on the Wireless Configuration icon, the “Actiontec 54Mbps
Wireless PC Card Utility” window appears.
There are three tabs at the top of the window: Main, Security, and About. To
select a particular tab, click on it. To close the window, click the “x” in the upper
right corner of the window, or click Cancel.
Main
The Main tab (shown in the figure above) gives an overview of the current wire-
less connection. Within this tab, the user can connect to another available wireless
network, scan for additional wireless networks, and modify the settings for the
currently selected network.
Status
The Status text box, at the top of the Main tab, displays the state of the wireless
connection. It can contain one of the following entries:
Driver not loaded - If this entry appears in the Status text box, the PC Card is not
inserted in the laptop, or the driver is not installed.

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Chapter 3 Using the Wireless Configuration Utility
Not connected to network - If this entry appears in the Status text box, the PC
Card is not connected to the selected wireless network.
Connecting to network - If this entry appears in the Status text box, the PC Card is
in the process of connecting to a wireless network.
Connected to network - If this entry appears in the Status text box, the PC Card is
connected to a wireless network.
Scanning network - If this entry appears in the Status text box, the PC Card is
scanning for available wireless networks.
External Configuration
Activating this option (by clicking in the check box) turns off the Wireless
Configuration Utility. Activate this option if configuring the PC Card with
another configuration utility, such as Windows XP’s built-in Zero Configuration
Utility.
☞ Note: The Zero Configuration Utility is available in Windows
XP only, and is automatically disabled when the Wireless
Configuration Utility is running. Activating External
Configuration causes the Zero Configuration Utility to start up.
Available Networks
The list box in the Main tab displays the available wireless networks. For each
wireless network, the following attributes are displayed:
SSID - The name of the wireless network access point or base station. This name
may not be unique. One of three icons is displayed next to the SSID: a check
mark, which indicates the network is available to join; a lock, which indicates
the network is running behind some type of wireless encryption; and a Do Not
Enter sign (a red circle with a white bar), which indicates a hidden network
not broadcasting its SSID (all hidden networks have listed SSIDs of “Hidden
Network”).
Mode - One of two connection types: Infrastructure, for connecting to access
points, or Ad Hoc, for connecting to another wirelessly-enabled computer.
Channel - The channel number on which the wireless network is broadcasting.

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Chapter 3 Using the Wireless Configuration Utility
Signal - The quality or strength of the wireless signal; this can be Best, Good,
Normal, Poor, or Bad, in descending order of quality.
BSS ID - The unique ID of the access point or base station.
Connect
Clicking this button causes the PC Card to attempt to connect to the wireless net-
work selected in the Available Networks list box. If a WEP key has not already been
defined, the WEP Configuration window will appear, prompting the user to enter
the proper WEP keys (see “WEP Configuration” on page 19 for more information).
Modify
Clicking this button causes the “New Configuration” window to appear.
Here, the user can modify the settings of the currently selected wireless network.
The window has two tabs: New Connection and Advanced.

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Chapter 3 Using the Wireless Configuration Utility
New Connection - In this tab, the connection’s basic settings can be modified. The
tab’s options are as follows:
s In the Preferred SSID text box, enter the name of the network (up to 32
characters in length).
s There are two choices in the BSS Type list box (revealed by clicking on the
down arrow next to the text box): “Infrastructure” and “Ad Hoc.” Select
Infrastructure to connect to an access point or wireless gateway/router.
Select “Ad Hoc” to connect directly to another computer in peer-to-peer
mode (without going through an access point).
s In the Tx Rate text box, select the preferred rate of transmission (revealed
by clicking on the down arrow next to the text box). These values depend
on the values entered in the “BSS Type” and “Mode” text boxes. It is recom-
mended to leave the default values intact.
s In the Channel list box (revealed by clicking on the down arrow next to
the text box), select the preferred channel. It is recommended to leave the
default value intact.
s There are two choices in the Power Mode list box (revealed by clicking on
the down arrow next to the text box): “No Power Save,” which disables any
power saving while using the PC Card, and “Max Power Save,” which turns
off the PC Card’s receiver and transmitter when not in use. It is recom-
mended to leave the default values intact.
s In the Tx Power Level list box (revealed by clicking on the down arrow next
to the text box), select the preferred packet transmission power level: “Low
Power” (6% of full power), “Medium-Low Power” (12%), “Medium Power”
(25%), “Medium-High Power” (50%), or “High Power” (100%). It is rec-
ommended to leave the default values intact.
s In the Mode list box (revealed by clicking on the down arrow next to the
text box), select the preferred 802.11 operating mode, depending on the
type of network being connected to: “B-Only Mode,” “B-Plus Mode,” “B&G
Mode,” and “G-Only Mode.” It is recommended to leave the default values
intact.
s In the Profile list box (revealed by clicking on the down arrow next to the
text box), select the preferred profile. A profile is a set of saved connection
settings. To save a profile, enter a profile name in the list box and click Save.
To load an existing profile, select a profile name from the list box and click
Load. To delete an existing profile, select it, then click Delete.

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Chapter 3 Using the Wireless Configuration Utility
Advanced - In this tab, the connection’s advanced settings can be modified. The
tab’s options are as follows:
s There are two options in the Threshold section: “Fragment Threshold,”
which sets the maximum fragment length (in bytes) to any even number
between 256 and 4096; and “RTS Threshold,” which sets the maximum pack-
et length for sending an RTS frame (in bytes) to a value greater than zero. It
is recommended to leave the default values intact.
s There are two options in the Preamble section: “Long Preamble” or “Short
Preamble.” It is recommended to leave the default values intact.
s There are two options in the Retry Limits section: “Short,” which limits the
number of retries for frames without an RTS frame; and “Long,” which lim-
its the number of retries for frames with an RTS frame. It is recommended
to leave the default values intact.

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Chapter 3 Using the Wireless Configuration Utility
Current Configuration
This section of the Main tab contains information about the current wireless
connection, including SSID, BSS Type (Infrastructure or Ad Hoc), BSSID,
Channel, and Tx Rate (the preferred transfer rate, which may be different from
the actual transfer rate). These values will change when switching to a different
wireless network.
Signal Quality
This section of the Main tab contains information about the signal quality of the
current wireless connection. The blue bar graph offers a graphical representation
of the signal quality. Also included is a signal quality level (represented by Best,
Good, Normal, Poor, or Bad).
Tx Rate
This value display the actual connection rate of the current wireless connection,
in Mbps.