Edimax Wireless nLITE High Gain USB Adaptor

Packaging and Contents

Published: 23rd March 2009 | Source: Edimax | Price: £19.73 | Author: Stuart Boardman

Packaging

The adaptor comes in a sealed plastic affair, the type that requires scissors to be able to open. Packaging of this type is probably my least favourite as it can sometimes make products look cheap and tacky. In this case though, the package does look well presented and quite stylish. You get a sneak peek at the adaptor and it's base through the inner cardboard cutout. The inner cardboard also has the main features of the product printed on the front, with foreign translations of this on the rear.

The packaging does it's job well. All the contents were securely in place and overall, it does look quite attractive. As I mentioned, the welded plastic type of packaging is my least favourite, but that's a personal issue I have.

Contents

Upon opening the package, you will find the USB adaptor, a base unit, the software/manual CD, and a quickstart instruction leaflet. No frills, no fuss. For a product of this type, there is no call for fancy extras and everything you need is supplied.

As is the norm nowadays, the full manual is located on the CD in PDF format, along with the drivers and software for the adaptor. The quick installation manual gives clear and precise instructions, which when followed will have the adaptor up and running in no time.

The adaptor itself features a USB plug, to which the antenna is attached via a rotatable hinge. This allows you to move the antenna through 180 degrees, so as to find the optimum reception. Located on the USB plug is a single small button, and we shall discuss the purpose of this button later. There is also a single LED, which shows network activity.

The adaptor can be plugged as is straight into a spare USB port on the host computer, or it can be used with the supplied base unit. The base unit allows you to move the antenna around for best reception or to hide it out of view. There is over a metre's length of cable from the base unit. I quite like the look of the adaptor and the colour coordinated base unit. They look very clean and sleek, and the base unit is heavy enough to keep the antenna stable when it's pugged into it.

Next we shall take a look at what it takes to get this baby up and running, on the next page.

Most Recent Comments

23-03-2009, 18:15:34

TopSecret

The humble wireless network adaptor is often something that is overlooked by it's users. As long as it does it's job, then the user is happy. After all, there isn't much to distinguish one model and brand from the other. Or is there? With this question in mind, we will be taking a close look at the Edimax Wireless nLITE High Gain USB Adaptor.

Edimax Wireless nLITE High Gain USB Adaptor

http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...142846573s.jpg

23-03-2009, 18:35:59

zak4994

Ah look at those speeds.

And I thought Belkin was one of the best.

23-03-2009, 19:04:24

monkey7

20 pounds

That's not bad at all for a high quality usb adapter, especially considering it's half speed .n too.

Will sure think about this when anyone asks for a wireless reciever

Edit: any chance of comparing it to a commonly used PCI(-e) adapter and see what the difference is?

23-03-2009, 19:05:08

nepas

looks a tasty little thing,BUT it would have been better if it had Linux support out of the box.Judging by the shots of the utility,its a Ralink chipset and most of those chipsets are supported by linux,if you go digging around at the Ralink site(which is not the best of sites in the world).

Any chance of asking Edimax if they plan to offer 'tux drivers??

24-03-2009, 07:54:21

Rastalovich

If it does current Macs, the chances are there are some drivers out there for Linux - just they aren't 'supported'. Be mostly down to the chipset used. If that isn't too obvious from the package, u can lookup the FCC number and look at captures of it taken apart. Once u have the chipset, u can find "a" linux driver that'll work.

I'm interested if that "woohoo" "high gain!" antena unscrews.

24-03-2009, 08:12:21

Bungral

Very nice lil adaptor that one..

Good review by the way too mate.

Quick thing though, did ya kinda miss a sentence off the end? No info on where to buy it for the £19.99 price.

Also the forum link at the bottom isn't a link

24-03-2009, 09:10:03

TopSecret

Rasta, no it doesn't unscrew.

Bungral, done and done

Cheers mate.

24-03-2009, 16:22:26

K3T

the thing is can the antenna be replace by more powerful antenna

24-03-2009, 16:35:37

TopSecret

Well considering the working range of the existing antenna, why would you want to replace it? The one that is fitted works very well. When you buy any other USB wireless sticks, can their antennas be replaced? For less than 20 quid, you get half speed 11n and the antenna is perfectly able to work well. As I said in the review, I have tried many wireless adaptors, and I never suffered any connection drop outs with this one. I have tried both USB and PCI cards and I can honestly say this is one of the most attractive I have used, in terms of features, controlling software and performance.

25-03-2009, 06:06:59

FarFarAway

Excellent review and an impressive performer

Nice work Stu

25-03-2009, 08:32:23

K3T

thanks for the info

will be getting one of them and awesome review thanks

25-03-2009, 08:35:23

TonyG

Like wise here getting one very soon

03-06-2009, 10:51:03

DerBatz

The Chipset is RT2870USB(RT2870/RT2770). Linux Drivers available from ralink.com's support page (Linux section) Hope this helps.

Edimax Wireless nLITE High Gain USB Adaptor

Packaging and Contents

Published: 23rd March 2009 | Source: Edimax | Price: £19.73 | Author: Stuart Boardman

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