More of this Feature • Why would you want to do that? • Installing your wireless PDA card • Installing your wireless router part 1 • Installing your wireless router part 2 • Alright. let's see if this baby works

Related Resources • PDA Learning Center • Belkin Website

As I've stated in the past, a PDA can offer you almost as much power as your home or office computer if it's used the right way.  The PDA was designed for mobility, and one of the ways to capitalize on the mobility is to take advantage of wireless networking.  There's nothing like the ability to keep in touch with the outside world without being confined to a desk!  To accomplish total freedom from your desk, we're going to show you how set up a wireless network for your PDA.

There are several types of wireless networking available.  One of the fastest growing technologies is called "Wifi Hotspots".  These hotspots give a location the ability to offer wireless access to their customers or clients, sometimes free, but usually at a charge.  The provider, let's say Starbucks, provides customers with wireless internet access in their stores for an hourly charge, or even a monthly charge if you're a regular customer.  All you need is your PDA and a wireless card.  As more companies offer wireless access, it behooves a PDA owner to always carry a wireless card with them.  Many larger hotel chains now offer wireless access, which is great when you're on vacation or on the road doing business.  Also check your local library and community centers for free wireless access.  In an upcoming article, we'll discuss wireless Hotspots in more detail.

The wireless networking we're going to focus on is in your home or small business.  Wireless access in the home might seem like overkill to some, but "Wow!", what a feeling of freedom without sitting at a desk or having a 200 degree laptop on your legs (wow, that smarts!)!  Imagine being anywhere in your house, pulling out your PDA and checking your email or surfing the internet.  One of the great pleasures in life is sitting in the backyard reading the news with a nice cigar during the summer.  Since many computer users are using wireless networks for their home computers, it's almost a no-brainer to buy a wireless PDA card.  Once you have the card, then you also have the ability to have internet and email while vacationing or working on the road as explained in the above paragraph.

So here are our assumptions :
 
1 .You currently have a computer in your home or office that has high speed internet, either cable or DSL.
2. You have a cable/DSL Modem that is attached to your computer through Ethernet cable (usb cable will not work for this equipment)
2. You would like to use your PDA anywhere in your home or small office to surf the internet, check your email, etc.
3. You have a PDA with a Compact Flash II (CF) expansion slot to accommodate a wireless PDA card (wireless cards for secure digital slots are in the works but not available yet).  The card we will be using is designed for Pocket PC.  There are also cards available for Palm based PDAs if it has an CF expansion slot.

If you meet the above criteria, then you're ready to set up your network.  If you already have a wireless network, then all you need is the wireless card.  Just install the card based on the manufacturer's instructions and you should be ready to surf.

This tutorial is designed for anyone who wants to network their PDA, but is written mainly for the non-techie with a Pocket PC.  There are PDA cards available for Palm based PDAs and the setup is basically the same.  For this tutorial, I am going to use Belkin Wireless equipment which Belkin has graciously provided us with.  While not necessarily endorsing Belkin, we like there equipment because of ease of setup and reliability.  Remember, this tutorial is to show you what is involved in wireless networking.  Feel free to use whatever equipment you have and to follow the manufacturer's instructions.  The nice thing about networking is you can usually mix and match equipment so your card and router don't have to be the same brand.  Just make sure your equipment is for the same wireless protocol.  The protocol we are using 80211.b.  Again, for the non-techie, for ease of use, you can purchase the equipment shown and follow our directions to get your wireless network setup.

Here's our equipment:

We're going to start on the next page by installing the wireless card.  To make this tutorial user friendly, it is mainly graphics.  I've tried to use multiple pages when necessary to minimize long loading times.

Next page > Lets install your PDA Card > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5