Newbie with a dongle - can I make it an access point?

[boyfrog]

Hi there,
I have just bought a wifi dongle, and I want to use it to connect my Nintendo DS to the internet.
My broadband is currently a wired modem, and I thought I'd be able to just set up the dongle to be an access point.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to make it do this - it only seems to want to look for a wireless network, rather than sit there and be available for my DS to connect to.
Am I being a complete dolt? I know Nintendo released a dongle for this purpose, but being the smartass cheapskate I am I thought I'd buy a cheap 802.11.g dongle instead.
I'd be most grateful for any help :D
Many Thanks,
D.

[jlreich]

Welcome to the PC Guide forums.

What exactly did you buy? A wireless adapter?

If it is an adapter you must have a wireless router or access point if you already have a wired router for it to pick up a signal. An adapter is just a receiver, if there is nothing transmitting...

[boyfrog]

Yep, I bought a wireless adapter, thinking it would work as an access point.
Looks like I need to buy a real access point...
Know anyone who wants to buy a wireless adapter? Ebay here I come!
:p
Thanks for your help,
D.

[jlreich]

You might want to check the manual for the Nintendo DS to see what you will need before you go out and buy anything.

Does it have a wireless adapter built in? Or do you have to buy the adapter an adapter specifically for the DS? Or can you get a wireless adapter like you already have and plug it in the DS?

Either way you will need a wireless router to send the signal.

I just don't want to you to buy or sell anything until you make sure of what you are going to need.

[boyfrog]

Yes, the DS has a wireless feature built in.
You can buy a dongle that plugs into your PC, and the DS talks to that, and hooks straight up to a nintendo server.
This is where I made my mistake - thinking all wifi dongles would work.
I'm going to do some research on the difference between access points and routers - I shant be buying anything until I'm confident that it'll be right this time!
Thanks,
D.

[deddard]

The first thing to learn about wifi is that not everything is compatible.

I have a wifi enabled laptop (centrino), a wifi enabled pda and wifi enabled access points, PCI NICs, PCMCIA NICs and they don't all play happily.

I hate the generic term WIFI - it's taken as something which is compatible with other WIFI gear, but in reality it depends on a lot of factors.
A WIFI device can be 802.11b WIFI, have 802.11g but not be 802.11g WIFI compatible. It can also work the other way round.
Considering they're drafting the 802.11n standard, you'd think that they'd come up with a better description of things such as WIFI-b, WIFI-g etc, but I guess that's asking too much.

WHen you decide to get anything new, check carefully with the full specs otherwise you are going to get caught out.
It's a good idea to check for a compatibility list if there is one available.