Questions about Broadband Adapters

[whiteninja]

Alrighty, I've got a few questions about the BBA for the GC.

• I was looking around on eBay and I saw several BBA, but some of them had different things after "DOL" for example "DOL-105" and there was a "DOL-1A-something-or-other." Are there different types of BBA's that you need for GC's made in different countries, or is there just one generic one?
  
• The BBA looks just like a smal, black box, but I thought you were supposed to hook it up to your computer, and there are never any cables shown with it.
  
• I currently have horrid dial-up, but will soon get Verizon DSL; I can use that to go online, right? I know some ISP's don't let you get online.
  
• Is there anyplace other than eBay that you can get them cheaply?

With a little luck, maybe I can get online in a month or two.

[Phantom_RAcast]

- The BBA goes into the bottom of your gc. and you connect it to your cable modem. it does not come with the cables.
- I think verizon works I know someone who used it to get online
- store.nintendo.com has them for $30

[whiteninja]

If it doesn't come with cables, then where do you buy those?

[Phantom_RAcast]

just look around at computer places or online for cat5 cables

[Scott Bull]

CAT5+ cables also work, as do most CAT6 cables, I'm using a fibre-optic transfer cable myself, they're quite expensive, (around £25 per metre), but eliminate a lot of the lag, and are also more secure, I'd strongly recommend one of these, (you need to make sure it's compliant with the GC though, as there's only a few types that work).

[NetNomad]

The way I did it was:

1. Bought the BBA directly from nintendo's store. Ebay seemed to be too much of a hassle for this.

2. Bought a keyboard adapter from Ebay for $10.

3. Bought a Linksys Wireless G router... we were going to do this anyway to connect the other computers in our house wirelessly.

4. I had two options: buy a wireless adapter for the GC which would have cost LOTS of money, or buy a 50 ft. ethernet cable and string it through the house from the router location (main floor) to the GC (basement). This was quite an ordeal, involving manipulation of holes in the garage and basement walls, but it got done anyway. It just barely reaches the cube (with about a foot's worth of slack, not much more).

I don't know about Verizon DSL... even though my Dad's a retired Verizon employee (thus we would get a discount), we can't get DSL out here, so we have to get Comcast's cable internet (ugh). Should not have any problems though.

[whiteninja]

So to go online, you need the BBA and either a wireless router or Cat5 cables.... this is starting to sound like it's getting expensive.... But meh, the way I see it is: On average, since Oct 2004, I've spent $12-13 a month (WaveBird, memory card, EP3, etc.). So, if I go online, and stop buying other things, I'll actually spend less money then if I continued on my current path.

If the fiber optic cables are so expensive, then just move your GC near to the computer. (Mine's about 4 meters away, but that's still way to much money for me.)

Edit: Oh, yeah, on a scale from 1 to 10, how usefull is a keyboard?

[NetNomad]

I'd say about an 8... I've heard some who claim to have mastered the soft keyboard, but that seems dubious to me. Once you get over a bit of remapping if you're using a kb adapter, it's a lot simpler. Not to mention the lobby actions.

I should clarify one thing: when I said ethernet cable, I meant that I connected my GC to my router with a direct link - not wireless. My wireless router is not currently used by anything that connects wirelessly (that'll come later, methinks). So any router should work... or there are other options, maybe, but I don't know them, sorry. :ermm:

[Serpent7]

Without a keyboard, it's extremely funny, and difficult. I found that I leveled up faster though, because every time I wanted to say something, I couldnàt be bothered to type it out...

[Scott Bull]

But with a keyboard, especially an ASCII/SAMMY you can type something, and attack at the same time, so you don't get your a*se whopped or surrounded by enemies.