Need a wireless card for my d520

Are you sure you don't already have a wireless network adapter?  Most laptops shipped withing the last two years come standard with wireless adapters.  First check to see whether or not you already have one.  It would be MiniCard in the MiniCard slot behind a door on the bottom of the D520 -  See the following:

 <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

Steve

hi there, first of all ; are you one hundred percent it does not have one. Press FN+F2, and see if the light comes on, ( this turns the wireless on or off ), if not the one that dell supplies, and reccommends is here :

Thanks Jim and Steve.

There is no WLAN card inside my laptop. I have tried the Fn+F2 keys as well as I opened the door behind the laptop and the WLAN card slot is free.

Now how do I know if a card will be compatible with my laptop before I buy it?

Thankyou

The one i posted in the link is right, you may want to double check by contacting dell support.

Just to confirm what james201 said, the Dell 1390 Card that for which he provided the link is the same card that would normally have shipped with the D820 laptops.  So, there is no doubt that it would work.

Steve

Sorry, here is the link I mentioned in my previous post

http://www.impactcomputers.com/additional-parts-for-dell-equipment-by-category-internal-parts-and-assemblies-boards---wireless.html

When I click the compatibility link on that page, it lists only Inspiron models. Latitude d520 is not listed.

I also found this link where there are cards in the 10-20$ range. However, they don't list the compatible models. Is there a way to find the compatibility of Dell part#430-xxxx with a particular model laptop such as the d520?

Thanks once again for all your assistance.

Note that the D520 can only take a MiniCard.  MiniPCI cards will not work, thus most of the cards on your link will not work.    As I said in my previous post, the Dell 1390 Card was the one that was shipped with D520s.   Thus there is NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER THAT IT WILL WORK, despite what it says on Dell's page!!!!

Steve

The three wireless card options the Latitude D520 could have shipped with are:

• Dell™ Wireless 1390 Mini-Card
• Dell Wireless 1490 Mini-Card
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Mini-Card

If you get one of those three, you are sure to get it to work.  If you get a different flavor of mini-card it should work, assuming you have the correct drivers, but isn't garunteed by Dell since we did not test the system with other cards.

Since you have a linksys router I would recommend the linksys "G" PCMCIA adapter.

The antennae connect to the card using a co-axial "snap" connection.  If you can see something that small, you'll notice they look similar to a cable-TV coax cable (except the card has the male connection).

The easiest way to connect the antennae is to carefully line up the connector with the spot on the card it connects to, and then gently push down on it with your fingertip until it snaps into place.  It takes a decent amount of pressure, but not enough to endanger the card or computer.  If you can't easily pull the antenna free then you've gotten it connected properly. ;)

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@d520user wrote:
Your description of the cable and connectors were exactly how they were. But I used all my finger power and could not get it in. The cable would very easily come off once I open that door. But I will try to fix it properly if I ever dare to open that door again. Thankyou Larry.:smileyindifferent:

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I learned through trial and error the best way to describe it to people. ;)

If the antenna comes off easily, then it isn't getting connected as it should.  I noticed on the few cards I looked at up close that the 'ring' part of the connection on the antenna is usually made of 3 or 4 smaller peices, with gaps as you go around the circle.  If that 'ring' isn't lined up right with the connector on the card then it won't snap into place as it should.  For people like myself that have fat fingers, getting the connection lined up while still being able to see it to tell is the biggest challenge.  If you have someone you can borrow that has narrow fingers (e.g., the proverbial 13 year old that programs your VCR clock :D) you might have them connect the antennae (had a Florida retiree do that once ... she put me on hold to go borrow the neighbors son to connect the antenna ;)).