[quote author=JTorsrud link=board=1;threadid=1812;start=msg12826#msg12826 date=1081047528]
Hi Ray:
So what do I need to make this work with my Laptop?
I have Verizon Wireless now!
Appreciate your feedback.
Jeff
[/quote]
First of all you must have a cellphone model that can be connected to a computer to act as a wireless modem...not all can, in particular most of the lower cost cellphones
can't. If Verizon and/or the cellphone manufacture sell a "data cable" for your particular phone, then it's a model that can be connected. If you aren't sure, let me know which make and model of phone you have and I'll help you ascertain if your phone can be used as a wireless modem. I have a Motorola V60...it was about the best model Verizon was selling a year or so ago.
If you do have wireless modem capable phone, you have two paths to follow.
If you get the manufacturer's data cable and enabling software (expect to pay around $100 for these items), you'll be able to use your phone in digital mode at 14.4K by plugging one end of the cable into phone and the other end into either a USB or serial port on your computer. The combination of software and cabling with your phone causes the phone to appear to your computer as just another installed modem...when you want to use your phone as a wireless modem you simply select that modem to be used as the modem for the call and dial in the ordinary manner. For dialup I use Mindspring as my ISP and I simply dial the number of the geographically closest Mindspring access point. Since I have no-extra-charge long distance on my Verizon plan, I can (and sometimes do) use any Mindspring access point that will work but have found that I get slightly better data transmission rates (less noise) by dialing the closest one.
Now if you want complete flexibility to use your phone as a digital modem (whenever a digital cell signal is available)
or as an analog modem (when only a analog signal is available such as in the really rural West), then you'll need an
Ositech King of Clubs PCMIA card and the Ositech data cable. This is what I have and can testify that it really does work...I get 14.4K base connectivity whenever I can get at least 2 bars of digital signal strenght and I get 9.6K base connnectivity when my phone goes into (or I force it into) analog mode. Depending on where you buy it, this "Cellflex" solution runs around $150.
As I believe you live in the relatively well covered (celluar wise) Midwest where digital cellular is omnipresent, you probably would do fine with the strictly digital approach using your manufacturers data cable. Back when I was with Qwest wireless and had a Qualcomm phone, this was the approach I took and it worked quite well as long as I was in Qwest's digital service area.
Oh...almost forgot to mention and this may be a real biggie. The last I knew, the software needed to enable the Ositech card and nearly all phone manufacturers data cables to use a cellphone as a wireless modem would
only work on Windows computers (usually Windows 98 and later). If you have an Apple Mac you may be totally out of luck and you certainly will have to really struggle to find the needed enabling software.