[lug] WirelessN

[Michael J. Hammel]

My kingdom to be able to run wire from my bedroom office to the TV.  I'm
outta hair to pull on this one.  I'll summarize - maybe someone can see
what I'm doing wrong (if anything).

Problem:  802.11g not fast enough for watching online video in HD on our
big screen TV.
Solution:  Bought these wirelessN products:
Linksys WRT320N -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124332&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-
Linksys WMP600N - 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124342&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

WMP600N supported by rt2860sta driver and can run at 5GHz (to avoid
congestion in 2.4GHz ranges).  Using F12 on media computer for this
card.  Distance from internet router to media computer is well under
500ft, perhaps 50-100ft.

Setup that works before WirelessN:
1. Sony Bravia TV, in opening above fireplace in living room.
2. Media computer behind TV, video/audio connected to TV.
3. Media computer uses wired eth to 802.11g AP that connects to WRT54G
running DD-WRT.

Setup after WirelessN:
1. Added WMP600N to computer.
2. Replaced WRT54G with WRT320N to connect to Internet.  WRT54G set to
router only and connected to WMP600N.  Goal: 802.11n on WRT320N,
80211.{bg} on WRT54G.
3. Configured WRT320N for 5GHz with auto channel selection.
4. Configured WRT320N to use WirelessN only (not mixed ABGN because
apparently there is only one radio so only one type can be used at a
time).

Current problem:
WMP600N usually fails to connect to WRT320N.  When it does connect,
iwconfig reports low signal quality (10 of 100), a cell address that
does not match the MAC address of the WRT320N, a frequency in the 2.4GHz
range and a 300Mbs connection.  The WMP600N appears to come up and
configure correctly every time, but ping to any other node on my network
fails.  Ping from my network to the WMP600N fails too. 

lspci reports the WMP600N to be RT2800, not 2860.  I can find no driver
for 2800 so I'm assuming either the card reports wrongly or the 2860 is
the driver to use for 2800.

The WRT320N has three internal antennas, but these are not accessible
from the outside (no rabbit ears on this model - this part scares me).
WRT320N can run DD-WRT but I've not installed that firmware - using
original firmware to verify basic functionality.

I've tried forcing the channel to 161, for example, using RT2860STA.dat
file, but I always connect in 2.4GHz range - never 5GHz.

Before I punt and retun the WMP600N and replace it with a 802.11n AP,
does anyone have suggestions on how to make this combination work?  I've
tried variations on configuring the /etc/Wireless/RT2860/RT2860STA.dat
file and unloading/reloading the driver but that doesn't seem to help.
I tried moving the media computer in front of the TV but that didn't
help.  I have a pretty good signal (70 of 100) using the 802.11g AP and
WRT54G in the same locations.

Does having the media computer w/N-card behind the TV cause problems
with signals?  If so, why does the 802.11g work okay in roughly the same
location?  Is there are better N-card and/or better N-router to use?  Is
an AP wired to the media computer likely to perform better with this
WRT320N? 

Seems to me I went through similar pains trying to get 802.11g working.
*sigh*
-- 
Michael J. Hammel                                    Principal Software Engineer
mjhammel at graphics-muse.org                           http://graphics-muse.org
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