[KLUG Members] Sprint Mobile Broadband Cards

[Bruce Smith]

At work we have both the PC-5740 and the Merlin S620, and I've tried
both cards on SuSE Linux 10.0 (Dell Laptop).

The PC-5740 works fine.  It appears as a modem in Linux, and you simply
have to tell it that it's a Sprint modem and to dial "#777".  I also
edited /etc/ppp/options and commented out all the lines that start with
"lcp", otherwise the connection drops too often.  Pretty painless.
FWIW, it also works fine on my Powerbook in both Ubuntu Linux and OS-X.

The Merlin S620 is not recognized in Linux at all, and I couldn't get it
to work.  I got it working on Mac OS-X with a kernel driver patch thing.

No idea about the AirCard 580.

If I was buying, I'd definitely go with the PCS Connection Card PC 5740.
My boss has that one, and uses it on his SuSE 10.0 laptop regularly.

 - BS


> Does anyone know if the EV-DO-ready Sprint PCS Connection Cards are 
> compatible with Linux. If so I have three to choose from: Sprint PCS 
> Connection Card PC 5740 or the Sprint PCS Connection Card by Sierra 
> Wireless (AirCard® 580) or the Sprint PCS Connection Card by Novatel 
> Wireless™ (Merlin S620™). Any recommendations would be helpful. And no, 
> I still do not have my SUSE 10 Thinkpad to the point where I can work 
> with it. Lots of little issues, learning curves etc.
> Peter