I recently picked up the Sony PCWA-300S 802.11g PC Card adapter with the slim antenna. First of all, in terms of design, the 300S is awesome in that the antenna doesn’t stick out but remains extremely functional. Of course, the antenna is not as strong as the built-in wireless of the TR’s Pro 2100 wireless solution.

The performance of the card with a G-only network is pretty phenomenal. The specification of 802.11g is 54Mbps; however, the maximum actual bandwidth is 22Mbps. In my tests of large and small file copying the 300S managed a crazy 19-20Mbps which is extremely good. Other reviews I’ve seen have shown that this Sony card is one of the fastest 802.11g PC Cards on the market.

Installation is snap and card comes with drivers and software for monitoring the card, the wireless signal, and throughput. You have the option to change how the throughput works and can optimize the connection for media streaming.

The big disappointment so far is that the 300S only supports 64/128-bit WEP and does not currently support WPA (WiFi Protected Access), the emerging standard that offers real security for Wireless access. Sony has promised updated drivers in the future but as for now you’re stuck with 128-bit WEP as your best protection. Hopefully the drivers come out soon.

So, owners of TRs who have 802.11g Access Points may want to take a look at this product if they’re in need of higher bandwidth. If you’re in need of WPA security then you may want to wait until Sony releases the appropriate drivers to enable it.

where did you find it? do you have the site to order?

Pricegrabber has 18 vendors that carry the card, with prices ranging from $85-$100. You can also order it off of Sonystyle.com for $99.99.

Sony has finally added WPA support on this card on their site. You can download the drivers from them. Of course, for the price of this card plus a few dollars, you can buy the internal miniPCI card that I installed into my TR and get 802.11a/b/g abilities. Of course, you have to open up your TR to install it but that’s been documented pretty well.

Or, if you end up buying a TR2AP3 then you don’t need to worry about this at all as you already have 802.11b/g. 802.11a is really on it’s way out the door anyways.

hiya,
don’t suppose you ahve a link handy for these drivers. I’m being lazy but thought you might be able to throw me the page.
Thanks
D

Shame on you! In the time it took you to post this message you could have found it on Sony’s support site. For this…you must sit in the corner for 5 minutes to reflect on this.  :wink:

Here you go:

http://ciscdb.sel.sony.com/perl/swu-download.pl?template=EN&upd_id=1355&os_id=4,6,7,16&mdl=PCWAC300S

I have been using PCWA-C800S a/b/g card and I was able to squeeze 39 Mbs in Super G mode! I have had PCWA-C150S card, sold it and since I got a/b/g network at home I have used C300S and C700 a/b cards. The great thing about the slim card - no need to pull it out!
Stan

[quote author=“VAIOfreak”]no need to pull it out!

thanks for sharing.. :ph34r:

  Oops…. double meaning…..sorry

VAIOfreak, or anyone else knows where I can download the driver for the PCWA-C800S.  I search the net and also Sony’s site and are unable to find it.  Thanks for the help.

Ye, for some reason, Sony did not post the driver for their newest wireless PC card on their website. Maybe send me an email and I will email you the driver for it.