Bear in mind that this method is a work in progress but should work for almost any linux version with minor modifications.
1. Have ndiswrapper, iwconfig, and dhcpcd tools available.
2. I put a static version of dhcpcd in my /root dir.
3. put your vendor supplied cd in your drive.
4. copy your cd contents to an accessible area.
5. ndiswrapper -i rt61.inf
6. ndiswrapper -l
rt61 : driver installed
device (1814:0401) present
7. I created a network.sh script:
#/bin/bash
clear
echo Starting ndiswrapper...
modprobe ndiswrapper
echo Turning on wireless card...
iwconfig wlan0 key [your wep key here]
echo Setting IP Address...
ifconfig wlan0 up
echo Running dhcp...
./dhcpcd wlan0
echo Done
echo
7. chmod 770 network.sh
8. ping [yourfavouritedomain]

The key to getting this card working is getting the proper key into the card. After that, it should automatically scan for wireless networks and latch onto one that matches the encryption key.

iwlist wlan0 scanning should also give you some usefull output - it will scan for wireless networks.

Good luck and happy networking!
codifex maximus