D-link DWL-2100AP

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The D-link DWL-2100AP was one of the first access points I ever bought. I bought it at a time before I knew better, and I had a need for an AP that did client mode. If there is a positive thing to be said about the DWL-2100AP, it is that I havn't killed it yet, in spite of the amount of abuse it has copped

The DWL-2100AP's radio performance is prety poor, as it only has a 30 mW transmitter (**SEE NOTE BELOW**), so long range operations with this box are out of the question. Like most D-link gear it also lacks external antenna connectors, thus if you want to use it for anything useful, you have to solder a cable directly to the Printed Circuit Board. Also like most other D-link's, the DWL-2100AP requires a 5 volt regulated power supply, this means it's hard to do long POE runs, although we did manage to have it working over about 30 meters of POE quite fine. It's firmware is better at it's latest revision, and now includes a site survey function that was not included in earlier releases, so if you have one, make sure you install the latest version of firmware.

The DWL-2100AP is not a great AP, and is only suited to simplistic uses over short distances. Since it costs about the same as a WRT54GS, I am amazed that the DWL-2100AP continues to sell well, because bang for buck it just doesn't compare.

**NOTE**

The power output comment above is correct for standard DWL-2100's but there is a simple hack that increases the power output for the DWL-2100. CLICK HERE for the details of the hack. Increasing the power output of the DWL-2100 will increase it's performance significantly.