An update that may help someone else with this problem.
It seems that the delay in detecting and logging on to the wireless link may have been due to the settings and interference.
I discovered (using netstumbler) that a neighbour had an open link working on the same channel (11, the default one). I reconfigured mine to run on channel 6, set the router to not broadcast the SSID and enabled 128 bit WEP and now it seems to connect instantly.
Might be worth a try if anyone else has this problem.
VP