The DWL-650+

28/02/2006: Since the Eusso driver download site is down, I am temporarily mirroring the copy of the drivers I previously downloaded.

I bought my D-Link DWL-650+ with my laptop, since it did not have integrated wireless. Mostly out of curiosity, but also as a precursor to grafting an external antenna on this baby, I opened up this PCMCIA CardBus adapter.

Taking It Apart

I followed a pretty good (the only?) guide on "pigtailing" a DWL-650+ to open it up.

Pictures

	Cover	Inside
Top (same side as LEDs)
Bottom (label with FCC ID, MAC address, etc.)

References

• FCC ID: KA2-DWL-650PLUSB1 (FCC ID Search, submitted exhibits)
• Main chip: Texas Instruments ACX100 (labelled TNETW1100B)
• Radio chip: Maxim MAX2820
• Antenna switch: Skyworks Solutions AS179-92 (labelled S79, see this page and look for that code)


• Rolf Wojtech says, "There are a few cards that are hardware-wise identical to each other:"
  • Allnet ALL0292 (GL242201-0T)
  • Eusso GL2422-VP-0A
  • D-Link DWL-650+
  • USRobotics USR2210 22 Mbps Wireless PC Card

Under Linux

I have been successful getting this card to work under Linux (vanilla 2.6.13.1) using the 0.2.0pre8_plus_fixes_57 version of the driver (from the official project page). This is by no means the latest version of the driver, and I highly recommend you try one of the recent stable versions.

Under Windows (XP)

For unencrypted and WEP use, I recommend using D-Link's utility. It's more detailed than Windows' "Wireless Zero Configuration" interface, and works much better for Ad-hoc networks (I'm uncertain how to create an Ad-hoc network using Windows' interface).

Rolf Wojtech says:

Of all drivers, the Eusso driver is the latest (4.15.8.2) and includes all the WPA fixes. My advice is to force Windows to use those drivers instead of the original DWL-650+ drivers. I only tested this with an ALL0292 but I'm sure it will be the same for the D-Link card.
The driver can be found at:
http://download.eusso.com:8080/Download_Driver.htm
Direct link:
http://download.eusso.com:8080/Driver/Wireless/GL2422_Carddriver4.15.8.2utility3.1.zip

06/02/2006: Yes, it works!! I'm on a WPA network with my DWL-650+ right now as I'm editing this file and it's working perfectly! Here are the settings that worked for me:

• In the adapter's properties, under Wireless Networks, make sure you let Windows configure the card. The custom utility only supports WEP.
• In Device Manager (right-click on My Computer, select Hardware), in the properties of the adapter, in the Advanced tab, I had to select Windows Zero Config for Privacy Mode.
• Once the WZC utility detects the network, it might mistakenly think it's a WEP network. No worries, just go into the network properties and change it to WPA/TKIP.
• Rejoyce.

28/02/2006: Here is a temporary mirror of the Eusso drivers. Eusso is the sole creator and owner of these drivers. This is simply an identical copy of the file I downloaded from their web site a few weeks ago. I make no claims or warranties.

GL2422_Carddriver4.15.8.2utility3.1.zip

Contact

Please contact me at cat@vv.carleton.ca with anything you know about this card; I will gladly add any information here and give proper credit.