National Datacomm InstantWave NWH610 User manual

High Speed
11Mbps Wireless LAN
User’s Guide
P/N: 85-506300-10
Rev. X1
March 2000
National Datacomm Corporation
4F, No. 24-2, Industry East 4th road
Science Park, Hsin-Chu
Taiwan, R.O.C.
Technical Support
E-mail: techsu[email protected]
NDC World Wide Web
www.ndc.com.tw
PCI/PC Card

ii InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
FCC WARNING
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B
Digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by
turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:
!Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
!Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver
!Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which
the receiver is connected
!Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
You are cautioned that changes or modifications not expressly approved by the
party responsible for compliance could void your authority to operate the
equipment.
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that
may cause undesired operation

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card iii
•One Diskette for Windows NT
•This User’s Guide
The PC Card package should contain the following items:
•One PC Card
•One CD ROM (Windows Driver and Utility program)
•One Diskette for Windows NT
•This User’s Guide
FCCRadiationExposureStatement
ThisequipmentcomplieswithFCCradiationexposurelimitssetforthforan
uncontrolledenvironment.
Thisequipmentshouldbeinstalledandoperatedwithminimumdistance20cm
betweentheradiatorandyourbody.

iv InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
GETTING STARTED ...........................................................................................6
HARDWARE INSTALLATION...................................................................................6
PCI Card Installation.......................................................................................6
PC Card Installation........................................................................................6
LEDS....................................................................................................................7
DRIVER INSTALLATION/UNINSTALLATION............................................................8
Installation in Windows 95...............................................................................8
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows 95...................................................11
Installation in Windows 98.............................................................................12
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows 98...................................................13
Installation in Windows NT 4.0......................................................................14
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows NT 4.0 ............................................15
THE INSTANTWAVE WINDOWS UTILITY PROGRAM...........................16
INSTANTWAVE UTILITY INSTALLATION..............................................................16
UNINSTALLING THE UTILITY PROGRAM..............................................................17
SOFTWARE UPGRADE PROCEDURES........................................................18
TROUBLESHOOTING.......................................................................................19
WINDOWS 95/98 .................................................................................................19
Installation Problems.....................................................................................19
WINDOWS NT 4.0...............................................................................................20
Installation Problems.....................................................................................20
GENERAL ............................................................................................................21
Utility Error Messages...................................................................................21
Operational Problems....................................................................................21
TECHNICAL SUPPORT....................................................................................23
NDC LIMITED WARRANTY............................................................................24

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card v

vi InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card

2InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
InstantWave Family
The InstantWave PCI and PC Card are part of the InstantWave family of easy to
use high performance wireless communication products. The family products
include:
•InstantWave High Speed PC Card (NWH610)
•InstantWave High Speed PCI Card (NWH630)
•InstantWave High Speed Access Point (NWH660)
System Requirements
Hardware Platform
A station must be an x86 compatible PC with a PCI bus or PCMCIA interface.
The minimum system configuration is the same as that required to run MS
Windows (Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0).
Software Environment
The stations operate in conjunction with most of the MS Windows (Windows 95,
98, NT 4.0), Novell NetWare series.

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card 3
wireless network appear exactly as they would on a regular wired network. The
wireless operation of the network is totally transparent. Figure 1 depicts a typical
Ad-Hoc network scenario.
FIGURE 1. AN AD-HOC NETWORK
Infrastructure Network
An Infrastructure network is formed by several stations and one Access Point(AP),
with the stations within range of the AP. Figure 2 depicts a typical Infrastructure
network topology.
FIGURE 2. AN INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK
Server
Wired Computers
Access Point
Wireless Computers (PCI/PC Card)
Wireless Stations

4InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
FIGURE 3. A WIRELESS CELL (GROUP)
Domain Name/ESSID
A domain is usually defined by the network administrator as a segment/subnet of a
large network and may be made up of overlapping wireless cells. Wireless nodes
can roam freely within the same domain without disconnecting from the network.
Figure 4 depicts a common wireless network setup.
FIGURE 4. ROAMING IN THE SAME DOMAIN
Roaming
The convenience of a mobile PC is the ability to move freely. The concept is
similar to that of a cellular phone moving from one base station to another.
InstantWave offers built-in high performance seamless roaming capabilities.
Carrier Set
InstantWave products use the unlicensed ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) band
to communicate through radio waves. Different countries offer different radio
frequencies to be used as the ISM band. There are four frequency bands defined
by 802.11b: Japan (2.471GHz – 2.497 GHz), USA, Canada, and Europe (2.4
GHz – 2.4835 GHz), Spain (2.445 GHz – 2.475 GHz), France (2.4465 GHz –
2.4835 GHz). If a user wants to use InstantWave in a country not listed above,
he/she needs to check with their government’s regulating body to find the correct
frequency band to use. All InstantWave products are supplied preset to the country
of sale’s frequency band.
Server
Access Point

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card 5

6InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
power cord from the wall socket
step2. Remove the computer’s cover
step3. Select a free PCI Bus expansion slot and remove the slot cover
step4. Carefully install the card in the expansion slot by firmly pressing until
the card is snugly seated. Be sure the card is fully home. Fasten the
retaining bracket with the screw from the slot cover
step5. Replace the computer cover and reconnect the previously disconnected
cables
step6. Screw the antenna into the InstantWave card (Figure 5).
FIGURE 5. CONNECTING THE ADAPTER CARD ANTENNA
step7. Repeat the above procedure to fit an InstantWave card into each of the
other computers to be networked
PC Card Installation
The PC Card fits into a Type II or Type III PCMCIA slot. The antenna is encased
in a plastic case, in line with the main body of the PC card, such that it extends
outside the PCMCIA slot when the card is inserted. The slot must allow for a card
extension of up to 30mm as specified in the PC Card specifications.

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card 7

8InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
Check the
version number
FIGURE 6. SYSTEM PROPERTIES
On the General card you will find the Windows 95 version number:
•If the version number is 4.00.950 or 4.00.950a you are running the
original version of Windows 95. The InstantWave driver is
not supported
•For version 4.00.950 B or later, go to procedure A
Procedure A (For Windows 95 4.00.950 B and 4.00.950 C)
step1. Turn on the power and start Windows 95
step2. Windows 95 will detect the adapter and the Update Device Driver
Wizard dialog box will open (Figure 7).

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card 9
FIGURE 7. UPDATE DEVICE DRIVER WIZARD-1
step3. Insert the InstantWave CD-ROM in the CD drive and click Next
step4. The Update Device Driver Wizard will indicate that Windows 95 found
the driver in the root directory of the CD-ROM (Figure 8). Click
Finish
.
FIGURE 8. UPDATE DEVICE DRIVER WIZARD-2
step5. The installer will copy the driver files into the system. There is a
known problem with the Windows 95 OSR2 device installer. The
installer may default to the wrong source location. Typically, the
installer source path defaults to the Windows installation location. The
user should manually redirect the installer to the correct source location.
The following dialog boxes will be displayed

10 InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
FIGURE 10. COPYING FILES
step6. Click OK on each screen. After the driver files have been copied, setup
is complete
step7. After the InstantWave Utility files have been copied, the Network
Identification dialog box will open. Enter a unique computer name and
the Domain Name (ESSID) of the network to which the wireless
adapter will connect
step8. Click Next. The Network Properties dialog box will open.
step9. Select the Network Type. If the station is connected to an Access Point,
Infrastructure mode must be specified. Select Ad Hoc mode to make a
peer to peer connection to other wireless stations. When security is
enabled, a Security ID is requested. The longest string for the Security
ID is eight characters. All the wireless devices must have the same
Security ID in order to communicate with each other. Click Finish
step10. Depending on your current installation of Windows 95, the setup
program may ask you to insert the Windows 95 CD-ROM
step11. The System Settings Change dialog box will ask you if you want to
restart your computer. Remove the CD-ROM from the drive and click
Yes
step12. After rebooting, the system will automatically install the InstantWave
Utility Program and execute it. The user can monitor the wireless
LAN’s status and configure the adapter’s properties via this program.

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card 11
the adapter again
2. You want to remove the device
The uninstallation process is as follows:
To completely remove the adapter and driver from your system you will need to
physically remove the adapter (with the system powered off). The removal
procedure is the reverse of the Hardware Installation procedure on page 6. Restart
the computer and then proceed as follows:
step1. In Control Panel click the Network icon
step2. Highlight the InstantWave adapter driver entry
step3. Click the Remove button to remove the old InstantWave adapter driver
step4. Click OK. The system will ask you to restart the PC. Click Yes

12 InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
FIGURE 11. ADD NEW HARDWARE WIZARD-1
step3. Click Next
FIGURE 12. ADD NEW HARDWARE WIZARD-2
step4. Choose Search for the best driver for your device (Figure 12). Click
Next to open the following screen (Figure 13)

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card 13
step5. Insert the InstantWave CD-ROM and click Next
step6. The Add New Hardware Wizard will indicate that Windows 98 found
the driver in the root directory of the CD-ROM (Figure 14).
Click Next
FIGURE 14. ADD NEW HARDWARE WIZARD-4
step7. Go to step 7, and follow steps 7 to 13
The default network protocol for Windows 98 is TCP/IP. If other network
protocols are required they can be added via Control Panel/Network.
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows 98
step1. Click Start/Settings/Control Panel,and double-click the Network icon,
then highlight the InstantWave adapter driver entry
step2. Click the Remove button to remove the old InstantWave adapter driver
step3. Click OK. The system will ask you to restart the PC. Click Yes

14 InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card
p
step5. Insert the Windows NT driver diskette into drive a (or b) and then type
a:\winnt (or b:\winnt)
step6. Click OK. The Select OEM Option dialog box will open.
step7. Select the correct adapter and click OK. If PC Card is selected, the
dialog box for setting the Interrupt number and I/O address will be
shown. Users can specify a different Interrupt number and I/O address
for this adapter if there is a conflict with an existing card in the
computer
step8. Click OK. The InstantWave PCI Adapter Setup dialog box will open.
Select the Network Type and Carrier Set. If the station is connected to
an Access Point, Infrastructure mode must be specified. Select Ad Hoc
mode to make a peer to peer connection to other wireless stations. If
the country of operation is different from the country in which the
product was purchased, the user can change the carrier set. All wireless
stations and Access Points must use the same Carrier Set in order to
communicate. The Domain name should be the same as the network
domain to which the station will be connected
step9. Click OK. The Roaming dialog box will open.
step10. When Roaming is enabled, the station is allowed to roam to another
Access Point under the same Domain Name whenever the radio signal
quality of the currently connected AP is below an acceptable level.
Click OK. The Security dialog box will appear.

InstantWave High Speed PCI/PC Card 15
step14. If the user needs to bind the adapter to TCP/IP, then the TCP/IP
protocols must be added
step15. The Network Settings Change dialog box will ask you to restart the
computer. Remove the floppy disk from the floppy drive and click Yes
to complete the installation
step16. Owing to Windows NT constraints, the InstantWave Windows Utility
Program will not be automatically installed. The user needs to install
this program by following the procedure described on page 16
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows NT 4.0
step1. Click Start/Settings/Control Panel,and double-click the Network icon.
step2. Highlight the InstantWave adapter driver entry and click Remove
step3. Click Close. The system will ask you to restart the PC. Click Yes