crazy wifi idea-need help

[cowctcat]

So, i have a dell x51v pda which can access the internet through the usb connection to my pc. Through the pda's wifi adapter i can wirelessly connect to my laptop. Being too cheap to buy an actual wifi router i want to find a way to bridge the two connections in the pda so i can use it as a wireless access point. Any suggestions

[Smith6612]

You can try setting up an Ad-Hoc network via the Wireless card on the laptop and then tell Windows to bridge the connection between the Wireless Card and the Ethernet adapter. Of course just as a heads up, if you're not behind something that's serving up local DHCP addresses as it is, you'll want your laptop to act as a DHCP server.

Sorry if this is too technical. I can tell you what I mean though more in depth if you'd prefer.

[spadija]

Wouldn't that just turn the laptop into an access point? (and only if it has an Ethernet connection) Since I don't know anything about Dell PDAs I can't say for sure, but it might be possible. You might be better off just getting a router though when you consider the amount of time and frustration you'll spend to get from "I've almost got it..." to "it works!", especially when you can get a router for around $40.

Also, this probably doesn't help much, but on the off chance that you are running Windows 7 and your laptop's wireless card (and its driver) supports access point mode, you can use a program called Connectify to turn your laptop into a wireless access point.

[Smith6612]

Wouldn't that just turn the laptop into an access point?

Yes it would I think that's what the OP was trying to ask for. But I do agree on the router part anyways. I forgot to mention last night that going down the path of getting a router does help with security due to NAT.

[Nekaid]

You would need to set the laptop as an access point to bridge the connection. Or, just get a cheap wireless router.

[tmaloof]

Aren't wireless routers relatively cheap these days? Just spend the $40 and do it the right way