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Wed, 29 Oct 2008

/xHW/wirelessCards: Linux-Compatible Wireless Cards

The cards are identified with the output of the "lspcmcia -v" command, with further comments below.

Socket 0 Device 0:	[orinoco_cs]		(bus ID: 0.0)
	Configuration:	state: on
	Product Name:   Lucent Technologies WaveLAN/IEEE Version 01.01 
	Identification:	manf_id: 0x0156	card_id: 0x0002
			function: 6 (network)
			prod_id(1): "Lucent Technologies" (0x23eb9949)
			prod_id(2): "WaveLAN/IEEE" (0xc562e72a)
			prod_id(3): "Version 01.01" (0xd27deb1a)

This Lucent card is one of the famous "Orinoco Gold" cards, though there seems to be so many versions that I am quite unsure what that "Orinoco Gold" label really means. I have so far been unable to find a power rating for this card. It uses the orinoco_cs driver.

Socket 0 Device 0:	[atmel_cs]		(bus ID: 0.0)
	Configuration:	state: on
	Product Name:   Belkin 11Mbps-Wireless-Notebook-Network-Adapter 
	Identification:	manf_id: 0x01bf	card_id: 0x3302
			function: 6 (network)
			prod_id(1): "Belkin" (0x3805a391)
			prod_id(2): "11Mbps-Wireless-Notebook-Network-Adapter" (0x04d6f391)

This Belkin F5D6020 Ver.2 card is a bit of an odd ball, requiring firmware. (Note that the Ver.1 card is a completely different Prism-based card that uses the orinoco driver.) Debian users must install the atmel-firmware package to get it working. Good card, but not particularly powerful.

Socket 0 Device 0:	[orinoco_cs]		(bus ID: 0.0)
	Configuration:	state: on
	Product Name:   INTERSIL HFA384x/IEEE Version 01.02 
	Identification:	manf_id: 0x0156	card_id: 0x0002
			function: 6 (network)
			prod_id(1): "INTERSIL" (0x74c5e40d)
			prod_id(2): "HFA384x/IEEE" (0xdb472a18)
			prod_id(3): "Version 01.02" (0x4b74baa0)

This nondescript card *does not* seem to work properly, and I do not think it is a Linux problem, though I am not absolutely sure. It will roam alright, but causes an error if you try to send it a WEP password. So it is useless on a WEP-protected network.

Socket 0 Device 0:	[orinoco_cs]		(bus ID: 0.0)
	Configuration:	state: on
	Product Name:   NTT-ME 11Mbps Wireless LAN PC Card   
	Identification:	manf_id: 0x0156	card_id: 0x0002
			function: 6 (network)
			prod_id(1): "NTT-ME" (0xcf5acb06)
			prod_id(2): "11Mbps Wireless LAN PC Card" (0xd74e4c54)
			prod_id(3): " " (0x3b6e20c8)

This is another nondescript card, but it works fine and is definitely a high-power card. It will work with the orinoco_cs driver, but if you blacklist orinoco_cs the hostap_cs driver will load instead. Under hostap, if you set the card mode to "Master", you have yourself a home-made wireless access point. (Just make sure the rest of your network setup is correct to support this[1], ie. static IP, routing to the internet, DHCP if desired....)

[1] http://blog.langex.net/index.cgi/Admin/LAN/build-your-own-router.html

posted at: 06:11 | path: /xHW/wirelessCards | permanent link to this entry

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Wed, 29 Oct 2008