U.S. Robotics 5416 + 8054 - Wireless System

Months ago, I tried to get rid of the ethernet cables that plagued the house. I decided to go 100% wireless.
After reading about the hardware specifications of what was available on "my" market (Europe, Portugal, Lisbon), I bought a couple of U.S. Robotics 8054 routers (usr8054) and six U.S. Robotics 5416 PCI NICs (usr5416), theoretically capable of speeds up to 100 mbps.

The USR8054 is 10/100 mbps router with a built-in modest firewall and a http interface. It accepts up to 4 ethernet cable clients and up to 255 wireless clients. It can connect to a WAN, like a xDSL/cable modem, plus it features a DHCP server, can be configured for advanced filtering, can work only as hub/switch, and its antennas are removable, meaning that you can easily increase its operating range.
I replaced the original antennas with some omnidirectional Ovislink's alternatives gaining +3.5 dB.

For all the info on the product, check
http://www.usr.com/support/product-template.asp?prod=8054

My 8054 was already flashed with the (still) latest firmware version 1.17 (dated 2003-06-25).

As for the usr5416, the support page is at
http://www.usr.com/support/product-template.asp?prod=5416

Basically, the usr5416 is a 100 mbps max wireless PCI NIC. Unfortunately, its drivers (including the late September 2003 update) could be much better. If you are using Windows XP or Windows 2003, you'll have to force the installation, since they are NOT certified. Other than that rock on the path, it shouldn't take you long to reboot and scan the airwaves for some access point, like the one provided by the USR8054 router.

It seems like a fine solution, right? No cables and speeds up to 100 mbps?! Well, it is NOT. In fact, it is a nightmare solution that I strongly advised you NOT to buy. I never thought U.S. Robotics could build such a terrible package.
There are many problems with this solution. One could argue that I bought defective hardware, but I didn't. I have two routers and six NICs, all behaving the same:

#1) the router's reset button does NOT work as documented. You'll need LUCK to reset a USR8054. It should suffice to press the reset button for 5-10 seconds, but it doesn't! Most of the time, the router will just "reboot", retaining all the settings, including the password. This is a severe issue;

#2) the 100 mbps are NOT achievable. I don't believe that there is any real world scenario where these USR routers + NICs can peak the 100 mbps. My top speed remains a sustained 30 mbps download.

I could live with #1) and #2), but #3) is unbearable...

#3) I never managed a 24 consecutive hours connection between the NICs and any of the routers. I don't have an average connection time to report, but there were days when the NICs (re)connected to the router(s) every 15 to 30 minutes! On the best days, connections would hold 6 to 8 hours.

The problem with (re)connections is that ongoing (up/down) streams are interrupted and might not resume or even restart properly, because of damage on the tcp-ip stack or on the data the USR driver handles to the operating system. In just a sentence: if you are an Internet gamer or uploader/downloader, you CAN NOT trust this USR system, because connection drops will occur!, no matter the speed or the configuration you use between the NICs and the router(s).

I tried all possible speeds and all possible communication channels, and no WEP (Wireless Encryptation), to no success. It is a shame.

I am now back to cables. The money I spent wasn't completely trashed, since one of the routers is being used for cabled clients and some of the NICs are still in place, for punctual connections between systems that don't require permanent data exchange, but I regret what happened and I won't be spending a cent on wireless solutions for years! Guaranteed!
If some vendor's wireless products don't work with the robustness they should, I am sorry, but I get skeptic about all others...

You can buy this and/or related products here.

for european costumers: (8054 and 5416 not available online)

title: Us Robotics Broadband RouterRouter/Internet Gate USR018000A
price: £45.36
url: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006BBV7/arturmarques
ASIN: B00006BBV7
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for american costumers:

title: US Robotics USR8054 802.11g Wireless Turbo Router with 100 Mbps
price: $74.95 (USD)
url: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009ETKX/arturmarquesc-20
ASIN: B00009ETKX
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for real time monetary conversions, please use the XE service.