[lug] cheap 802.11b for linux...

rise rise at knavery.net
Thu Mar 21 01:21:00 MST 2002


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On 20 Mar 2002, Ed Hill wrote:

> the (+/- $65) "PrismII based cards" (orinoco_cs driver) have only
> "limited functionality".

A NetGear MA401 is probably in that category (at least the El Cheapo), but
as the PrismII and Prism2.5 chipsets are pretty much the most common I'd
be kind of surprised if any limitations weren't fixed reasonably quickly.
Intersil has also been notably more supportive of open source development
than certain other companies...

> So can someone please provide:
>
>   - a first-hand account of how good/bad these cards are,  and/or

Works just fine for me using the orinoco_cs drivers.  The prism2_cs (part
of the linux-wlan-ng project) also work, but were more of a pain to
configure manually (/etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.opts works great though).  I've
used Prismstumbler to do a little AP-scanning and this works fine too.
I suspect their range isn't going to be as good as an Orinoco or Symbol
card and they lack the external antenna connector.

One caveat, I haven't managed to get iwconfig to switch the channel while
using the orinoco_cs driver.  Auto-associating seems to work fine with the
few networks I've tested against (Cafe Sole among them).  This may be the
"limited functionality".

>   - a recommendation for a decent/cheap alternative?

Given that the better cards can be had cheaply on the net, the only reason
I bought a NetGear was that it was available the day I wanted it from a
retail outlet.  I've been happy enough with it that I'd say it's not a bad
option, but you can do better.

- -- 
Jonathan Conway						      rise at knavery.net

	 "You really don't want to leave a logo on a victim."
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