[ale] Flaky Wireless Connectivity

[m-aaron-r]

I gave a friend in need an old IBM Think Pad with Ubuntu 9.10 on it.
He's appreciative and loves tinkering with Linux and Free Software
on both his desktop and his portable. He did the in-place updates
to 10.04 LTS on the laptop while house sitting for me last week, which
may or may not have anything to do with a problem we are having
with wireless.

The WiFi hardware here is a Proxima PCMCIA a/b/g wireless card
that I included with the gifted laptop.

The card is finding signal and connecting just fine with the wireless
routers at our respective homes -- one open, the other password
protected.  Unfortunately, the actual internet connection to the WiFi
router at HIS home is in need of monetary repair, so he is needing
to be a bandwidth mooch at the moment.

The laptop / wireless card also finds the (open) WiFi signal at his
local coffee house BUT, for some odd reason, we cannot connect
to it. Signal is not the strongest, but it is registering about 30%
(which is comparable to the signal strength when we successfully
connected to the wifi at his home).

So WTF mates?  Any magic tricks to try?

Help appreciated as always!
peace
aaron