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I decided a good way to test everything was to take a slightly less informed approach towards the installation and setup. I didn’t bother reading the manual. I simply plugged in the cables to the appropriate positions “et voila!” Everything configured properly as it should. The installation was relatively simple. For those who need a bit of direction, the Netpassge 16 is labeled in a clear, large font with pictures, and descriptions of what goes where. I didn’t have a lot of trouble with setting up the wireless part either; all it took was a minor modification to the routers web configuration program. I accessed the WLAN settings and proceeded to match the gateway address and the channel number. The Waveport wireless network card (PCMCIA, and also made by Compex) adapted perfectly to my laptop’s wireless network card of a different make and model. I searched high and low in the documentation for information on the connection quality vs. distance between the two cards, and couldn’t find anything. In earlier Compex wireless LAN models, I found claims of up to 300-500 ft. with signal boosters. So to get a real feel for how this would apply in my situation, I decided to try distance tests with my laptop. Assuming the NP16 is the center point of a sphere I traveled around the diameter of the sphere testing connectivity. I found that the signal strength varied from 100%(11mps) to 6%(0.7mps) randomly no matter where I was standing. For example when I was standing not 4ft away from the broadcast point (NP16) , the signal dropped to 55%, but at 30ft away it was at 100%. Reasoning for this might have had something to do with the environment, such as from interference produced by electrical devices in the house. Or standing next to receptors (telephone poles, metal devices of some kind), I even tested it on the roof of building and it seemed to receive strongly at 76%. Other than that, all the other features I tried seemed to work perfectly without so much as having to go through the process of researching any of the information.

The Downside

When I actually did consult the manual for system specifications and setup information, I was perplexed. I found it so hard to understand that if the NP16 had not have worked so well with my OS (WinXP/98), it would not have gotten such a nice review. It was very short and concise as to the setup of the router, but had very little on system compatibility. If I was looking for a more detailed method as how to install and setup the NP16, it was not to be found in the information given to me. On the CD-ROM information guide, I found broken or outdated web links to relevant information. When testing the connection with File transfer programs and games, I found a huge lull in the wireless connection every 5-10 minutes. The data would overwhelm the connection, and cause it to re-establish itself. The only other problem I encountered was when I left the server running overnight. It had a tendency to crash my cable internet connection, leaving me to reset the power from the NP 16 at least twice in order to get it up and working again. I had the router connected to my home PC as well, and the IP reset problems still persisted. I then checked my device management and network settings to make sure that both laptop and PC were not resetting the device. I also tried countless times to reset the IP’s on my machines in Winipcfg.exe for Win98, and re-enabling my Network card on XP. None of my efforts seemed to work, it took un-plugging the NP16 and plugging it back in for both PC’s to receive IP addresses. This had never happened before with the hubs or routers I had tested or ran on my network, so I concluded that the NP16 was faulty in some way. Compex's PR spoke to their Tech Support about the issue and he had never heard of this problem before. They believe that we may have received a defective unit. Further testing with a new unit is needed to see if the results can be reproduced.