Alfa AWUS036H, AWUS036NH and Kaspersky Antivirus

We have received a couple of reports from Kaspersky Antivirus users of difficulty installing their Alfa product. We have confirmed with Alfa that in rare cases, having Kaspersky installed on your system may prevent a successful driver installation for your Alfa product. The solution is usually to just disable your antivirus software before doing the installation of the Alfa software, and then enable it again when installation is complete (a process very commonly recommended by various hardware and software providers to avoid conflicts).

In the case of Windows Vista, you may need to take some different steps:

1. Plug AWUS036NH and install IS_AP_STA_RT2870_D-1.4.9.0_VA-2.3.9.0_W7-3.0.9.0_RU-3.1.4.0_.exe
2. Open properties of the newly installed wireless connection
3. Disable (uncheck) the Kaspersky Anti-Virus NDIS 6 Filter (see image below)
4. Reboot PC with plugged AWUS036NH
5. Open properties of the wireless connection (go to Control Panel > Network Connections and locate the adapter, right-click and select Properties) and enable the Kaspersky Anti-Virus NDIS 6 Filter
6. Open Ralink Connection Utility, problem solved

Rok500 wireless adapter discontinued, we recommend Alfa AWUS036H 1000mW

Our Rok500 500mW USB Wi-Fi adapter has been discontinued. The product launched on March 27, 2009. As newer, better, and more powerful products are developed, it is necessary to discontinue older models. Any Wi-Fi product model you see on a store shelf will likely be discontinued by the manufacturer within 1-2 years of release date depending on what it is (accessories that can be used with various products have a longer shelf life). It does not mean there is anything wrong with the product, it is just time to make room for the next best thing.

We will continue to offer support for any owner of the Rok500 for one year from the original purchase date.

If you ended up here in search of a Rok500, we recommend getting the Alfa AWUS036H 1000mw USB Wi-Fi adapter. This is a well reviewed product that gets great range and strong signals.

2.4/5 GHz Wireless USB adapter for Apple Dual Band Time Capsules

If you own a dual band Time Capsule from Apple, you may have noticed that you have the option to run your 802.11n signal over the 2.4 GHz band, or have it run over the 5 GHz band while having a separate 802.11g signal broadcast over the 2.4 GHz band.

The latter option is the desired one, because 802.11g devices bring down the performance of an 802.11n network a little bit. So if your dual band Time Capsule is configured for both G and N to run on the 2.4 GHz band, while performance will be good for 802.11n devices, it will not be maximized. Therefore, when possible, if you have both 802.11n and 802.11g devices in your home, you want to have your dual band Time Capsule broadcast an 802.11g signal over 2.4 GHz, and an 802.11n signal over 5 GHz. This will allow your Macs with internal dual band Airport Extreme-N cards to utilize your optimized 5 GHz 802.11n network, while any 802.11g devices in your home can still connect to the time capsule over the 2.4 GHz band.

The problem many Time Capsule owners encounter is getting a dual band Mac compatible wireless device for Macs that don’t have an internal dual band Airport Extreme-N card.

The solution to this problem comes from Alfa Networks in the form of model AWUS051NH, a new dual band 802.11a/b/g/n long range wireless USB adapter. This Wi-Fi device is Windows compatible as well, but comes with Mac software (Mac users note that the CD in the retail box is a mini CD, so if you have a slot loading drive, you will need to contact us when purchasing to obtain a current driver link for the Mac software).

Once you install the device and set it up per the instructions, you can use the utility program that gets installed to scan for and detect wireless networks. You will need to take the one-time step of clicking on the Advanced tab in the utility program and change Wireless Mode from 2.4G to 2.4+5G so that the device will be able to detect and connect to 5 GHz 802.11n networks.

The best part about the AWUS051NH? It’s price. Click here to see our current price.

New Product: Alfa Networks UBDo-gt 1000mW OUTDOOR Wi-Fi USB adapter

If you have been in the market for an outdoor weather resistant Wi-Fi client, the new UBDo-gt from Alfa Networks is an excellent choice. It features a 1000mW wireless receiver built into an outdoor weather resistant casing. It contains two mast-o ring mounting rings and a 5 meter (~16 feet) USB cable with a special dual-Y USB connection end that goes into your computer (features both a power/data connector and a secondary power-only connector so that you can use 2 USB ports on your computer to provide full power to the device without needing an external power source for it).

The Realtek RTL8187L chipset inside this device is the same chipset that is in the popular AWUS036H long range 1000mW USB adapter. In many ways, this is exactly like getting the Alfa AWUS036H adapter inside an expensive outdoor weather resistant casing. The primary difference though is that this device does not have an external antenna connector. Instead it comes with an integrated 12 dBi gain directional panel antenna. Personally I find an integrated antenna the best option for basic travel needs, so you do not have to lug around a heavy external antenna and worry about assembling/disassembling it when you are ready to hit the road. Because this is 12 dBi gain, you will get better performance compared to an 8.5 or 10.5 dBi outdoor external antenna anyhow.

Rokland will no longer accept American Express payments beginning in October 2010

We received notice from our merchant processor that American Express plans to increase processing charges for merchants by more than 50% on October 13, 2010. This is the transactional cost that is taken out of each charge that retailers like Rokland process.

While transactional fees are only a few percentage points of the total order charged, it is important to remember that profit margins for retailers are much smaller than the actual amount charged (in other words, when you charge $50.00 to your credit card with a retailer, their profit on the items sold may only be $3 or $4 after various fees and costs are deducted). Therefore a massive rate hike like this from American Express really cuts into the margins of retailers.

Accepting such a rate hike would mean we have to pass on the cost to all of our customers, whether they use American Express or not. This is because American Express terms prohibit us from charging a small fee to buyers who use American Express.

In these economic times we feel it would be irresponsible to increase prices to all of our customers due to the actions of one credit card company. We have been given two options by American Express- accept the rate hike, or don’t accept American Express. We have selected the second option.

In the event the proposed rate hike does not take place, this may change. We wanted to give advance notice now, and will make necessary changes on October 13, 2010 on our web site so that you will know when making a purchase what credit cards are accepted.

New Product: Alfa 7 dBi directional panel antenna with RP-SMA connector

When it comes to wireless networking products, Alfa Networks is a name synonymous with quality. Their AWUS036H 1000mw USB adapter is the most sought after wireless receiver for computer users with long range needs.

This month we are excited to announce Alfa has introduced a new Wi-Fi antenna to their line of quality products. The Alfa 7 dBi directional panel antenna has an RP-SMA connector and will work with the AWUS036H as well as all other Wi-Fi adapters made by Alfa that have an RP-SMA antenna connector.

Unlike an omni-directional antenna, directional antennas concentrate gain in a particular direction, giving you better range and signal to a particular network, and allowing for better penetration of obstacles. Depending on your needs, you may be better off with one or the other. The product page for this antenna has more details on which type may be best for you. We also encourage you to contact us directly for individually-tuned recommendations.

Happy Independence Day!

All of us here at Rokland want to wish everyone a safe and happy Independence Day. We also want to remind people that both the US Postal Service and UPS will be closed tomorrow, July 5th, in observance of the holiday. Any purchases made this past Friday, Saturday, today, or tomorrow will ship Tuesday, July 6th.

Rokland’s environmental initiatives

Apologies for the boring title, but the phrase “going green” has been beaten to death.

Over the next several weeks we want to profile steps we are taking to become more environmentally friendly. Not because we expect people to just start buying from us due to these things, but because we believe businesses have a responsibility to be transparent about what they are doing (or not doing) to make environmental concerns a higher priority in their organizations.

In June we began replacing all standard bubble wrap in our shipping facility with a new bubble wrap that is fully recyclable and will also biodegrade in under 3 years in the event it ends up in a landfill. We do encourage customers to reuse bubble wrap whenever possible. Save it in the attic and use it in packages to send to friends and relatives at Christmas time. When it is no longer usable, be sure to recycle it instead of just throwing it away.

This is just one step of many we have taken, stay tuned for more…

The importance of risk-taking

We all hear about the dangers of taking risks all the time. Any time you put a lot on the table, you risk losing it all. There are countless stories of people who have. Rarely do you hear stories about what can happen when you play it safe. If you are familiar with Apple co-founder Ron Wayne’s story, then you already know. But if you are not, it is definitely worth a read.

Celebrating 10 years…

On June 19th we will be celebrating out 10th birthday. Wikipedia attributes the dot-com bust as originating on March 19, 2000, just several months before we bravely (or insanely) decided to go into business.

We weren’t known as Rokland back then, and in the last ten years, more than just our name has changed. It has been an amazing experience, and we have seen a lot along the way. We still remember touting the benefits of early 802.11 wireless networking over infrared networking. And who could forget how nice x-jack modems were, being able to use any standard phone cord with your laptop for dial-up Internet.

The technology business is all about predicting things, and attempting to develop and sell what people want. Sometimes it is about making them want something they don’t even know they need. We lived without smartphones and Facebook for thousands of years and now many of us consider these necessities of life. In the last ten years we have made a number of correct predictions and we have had our share of incorrect ones. We won't get into the details of those here, but fortunately the hits have been higher in number than the misses, and we are working hard to keep that going for the next ten years and beyond.

We want to thank everyone we have come in contact with this past decade- the many of you who are repeat buyers, and also those that had some complaints. Those complaints helped us improve our processes and become better as a business. Thanks to our suppliers, and our employees present and past.

It is hard to imagine what the business and technology landscape will look like ten years from now. We look forward to going along for the ride though and hopefully to making some more splashes of our own!