Alps WLAN combo card comes in Mini-PCI, PC Card formats

Alps Electric Co. Ltd has announced the availability of its UGJ series of IEEE 802.11a/b WLAN combo cards available in both Mini-PCI module for use with Mini-PCI Type III-B network cards and the CardBus-compatible PC Card module.

The IEEE 802.11a standard uses the 5GHz band and has a maximum data transfer speed of 54Mbps, while IEEE 802.11b operates on the 2.4GHz band and has a maximum speed of 11Mbps.

The cards feature proprietary RF design technology to reduce insertion loss by >3dB and a 20 percent increase in receiver sensitivity, compared to previous IEEE 802.11a products. They also use high-density mounting and circuit layout technologies to achieve single-sided mounting and reduce the thickness of the unit to the Type III-B standard of 3.4mm.

The Mini-PCI module measures 59.6-by-45-by-3.4mm and uses an external antenna, while the PC Card measures 119-by-54-by-5mm and has an internal antenna. Both operate from a 3.3V source and deliver an output of 17dBm. They also offer AES and WEP security features and are compatible with the European TPC and DFS standards, as well as the Japanese 4.9GHz band.

Under IEEE 802.11a, the cards exhibit a receiver sensitivity of -82dBm and use BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, and OFDM secondary modulation. For IEEE 802.11b, the cards have a minimum receiver sensitivity of -76dBm and use BPSK, QPSK, CCK, and DSS modulation.