Rating: 
Summary: One huge initial problem, but now working well!
Review: After a HUGE initial hassle, I got this up and running and it has worked well since. I bought this some time ago I think it was pretty newly released and the documentation had some holes in it...specifically it didn't mention that the software for the "host" machine was required if you wanted to set up security encryption. I was attempting to set the security without this and the two protocols being used were not matching. Contacting Netgear Tech Support was a nightmare. It took multiple emails and multiple phone calls. After about a week, I finally found someone who could help and I got an answer.Now for the good news... Once that was resolved, I have not had another problem with this. In fact, I even upgraded to Windows XP from Windows 98se and still had no problems. (Now that is impressive...just about every other piece of hardware did have troubles with XP when it was first released!)
So all in all, I am now very happy with this Access Point. But it only gets 3 stars because it was a really bad start.
Rating: 
Summary: Great connection for a great cost
Review: After an intensive research into 802.11a due to potential cross talk with my 2.4GH wireless telephone and four wireless web cameras (X10 runs on 2.4GH) I decided I would *try* the 802.11b due to its cost and availability. I am pleasantly surprised that there is zero cross talk or interference. All cameras and phone in use, no problems! Though the phone does interfere with the cameras, it does not with the network connection...
Setup was brainless, plug and play 100% for both the access point and the pcmcia card (NetGear MA401) both bought at Fry's for an excellent price.
The marketing states 1650 feet-line-of-sight and 500 feet indoors (common construction, etc.) I walked my laptop, connected via the wireless connection, down the street a city block and the connection was still useable for web browsing. Did I mention the access point was laying on my garage floor, surrounded by motorcycles? I was impressed to say the least.
I have mounted the access point on the ceiling of the garage (connected to one of the remote hubs on the home network) and the signal strength and distance useable have doubled.
I highly recommend this unit, and NetGear pcmcia cards to connect to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Netgear Customer service: "It does not work 85% of the time"
Review: After I installed it, it did not work. I called customer service at Netgear who said that the product "did not work 85% of the time" and suggested that I return to Amazon to "replace with another manufacturer's product". That Cable Modem and DSL providers who assign a dynamic IP address instead of a static address causes incompatibility with the access point. Customer service was nice but admitted they have a major problem with the product that they have not been able to fix. Unbelievable!! Mark Maybell
...March 21, 2002
Rating: 
Summary: Great range; cheap; minor card problems
Review: Bottom line: - works great overall - great coverage, even at the edges of my yard - works with my company's network access system (based on Nortel EAC) - cheap (<[price] after rebate as I write this) - couldn't get the Cisco 340 card to work, had to use the Orinoco WaveLAN card (but I was making progress) Initial setup: easy. Follow the setup poster that comes with it, no problem. It comes with a little Windows utility to let you configure it via USB. The utility is a bit picky in how you get the settings to stick. The trick: click 'Set' one more time with nothing selected to write the values after you've changed them all. The next thing is to find a PC card that works. I have two: the Cisco 340, and a Lucent (Orinoco) WaveLAN Silver card. (I use the Cisco card on our 802.11 network at work.) The utilities that come with the Cisco card have a nifty feature that allows you to switch, in theory, between "work" mode and "home" mode. I say in theory, because I never actually got it to work (more on this later). I then stuck in the WaveLAN card. Voila, I'm up! Using the default Windows (2k) driver & everything. Really fast too. I walk the perimeter of my property with my laptop, exposing my geekiness to all my new neighbors, with a ping to one of my other machines going constantly, and I only drop a packet or two as I walk. In other words, great coverage, much better than I actually expect. A note about placement: my office is on the second floor of my house at the extreme south end, right over the driveway, so it's pretty close to one end of my lot (which is about 70x120 or thereabouts). Even at the extreme other end of my lot, the WaveLAN signal strength meter reads 3/5, which is still okay. It's 5/5 throughout the entire inside of my house. Before I go too much further, I grab the latest drivers and firmware from orinocowireless.com. This gives me a link status meter and a configuration utility. (Note: do the driver first, then the firmware, at least for this card.) The company I work for uses Nortel's EAC so I can get into the company LAN; I try it and it works properly. Okay, now to put some actual security in place. The little client utility thingy that came with the new card driver lets me configure a WEP key, so I go do that. After experimenting, I find that I can set the keys to what I want, but I must use 'Open System' as the authentication method; 'Both' and 'Shared Key' don't work. At this point, I'm pretty happy, since everything is more or less working the way I want. However, I go back to the Cisco card for one last fight to see if it's worth trying to get it going. After major playing around, I make progress: in the 'Aironet Client Utility', the SSID must match the ESSID of the Netgear (which comes from the factory set as 'Wireless' for the Netgear and 'tsunami' for the Cisco). Set it to 'Wireless' on your laptop and as if by magic, it associates with the access point. However, it still does not connect, and at this point, I don't spend the time to pursue it any further. I suspect with a little more work, I could get this going... I was able to do just about everything I was hoping with this device, and I'm glad since I shelled out the [price]. It's cheap, has great coverage, and works well both for just basic surfing around as well as access into my company's network. I've heard some bad things about the range on the comparable Linksys access point, so I was pleased that the Netgear covered my entire house (and property) with a good strong signal.
Rating:
Summary: Good Wireless Value for Experienced Users
Review: Cutting to the chase: the documentation is not very good. The "Quick Start" insert is laughably terse and will be completely worthless to the nephyte networker. Even the more detailed documentation included on the CD will provide little insight on the ins and outs of proper wireless LAN set up. That said, the ME102 is a solid wireless access point that delivers 802.11b standard networking (I'm writing my review on a laptop in a downstairs room that's connected to the Netgear). If you've done your homework and have decided upon an 802.11b solution, the ME102 is a product worthy of consideration. Recommended
Rating:
Summary: Netgear ME 102 Wireless Access Point
Review: Earlier this year I installed a Netgear 314 router to share a cable modem and that has worked very well. I have just ordered and installed the Netgear ME 102 Wireless Access Point and the Netgear 403 card in my laptop and it works great and was easy to install. I am writing this review on my laptop while sitting unattached in a comfortable chair in another room. I am going to have to move the wireless access point to a higher and more central location. The range drops quickly when the signal is going through walls and right now the cable modem and access. The cable modem and access point are at one end of the house and my goal of sitting on the living room sofa at the other end of the house is not yet realized. Where I'm sitting now, the signal is passing through two walls over a distance of 40 feet and the signal strength is 60 percent. I'm pleased.
Rating:
Summary: I would recommend it ...
Review: I bought a DLINK access point and USB adapter from Amazon and had nothing but trouble getting it to function in a stable manner. Returned it to Amazon and got a Netgear ... setup without great difficulty in a couple of hours and so far it is working great even with encryption turned on. Encryption brought the DLINK to a crawl with the access point and adapter in the same room. The Netgear is working across the hall with two walls between with the same signal strength as when in the same room ... fantastic.
Rating:
Summary: Inexpensive, but a little difficult to set up...
Review: I bought this wireless AP to give my wife's laptop PC broadband Internet access around the house. It works pretty well and was easy to set up without encryption, but adding 128-bit WEP encryption was time consuming and frustrating. Netgear needs to improve its documentation on that. I ended up getting help from one of the USENET newsgroups as well as Netgear's tech support line. It required downloading and installing a firmware upgrade and updated configuration software from Netgear's website - something the average consumer may not be comfortable with. The Netgear tech support rep was helpful in configuring the AP, but declined to give me any advice on configuring the wireless card because it isn't a Netgear product (all I wanted to know was how and where to enter the encryption key). Also, there is a marked decline in the effective range of the unit with 128-bit encryption enabled. Having said that, now that it's up and running, it's great. But if you're not a network or PC techie, be prepared for a fairly steep learning curve.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to set up. Not expensive.
Review: I found it very easy to set up with my AT&T cable network. All I had to do was set the DCHP to on and leave everything else on default. It worked easily on the first attempt!
Rating:
Summary: Easy to set up. Not expensive.
Review: I found it very easy to set up with my AT&T cable network. All I had to do was set the DCHP to on and leave everything else on default. It worked easily on the first attempt!
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