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    High powered USB/mini PCIe card in AP mode

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Wireless
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    • W
      wallabybob
      last edited by

      You could try a http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB2-0-High-Power-500mw-RT3070-150Mbps-150M-b-g-n-11n-Wireless-WiFi-Adapter-card-/230689039571 which is reported to have a chipset supported in FreeBSD by the run driver which supports AP mode.

      If you prefer a mini-PCe card a search on eBay for Atheros mini PCIe will likely turn up a number of cards with Atheros chipset. I have seen reports of Atheros cards with chipsets supporting 802.11N working in "802.11G compatible" mode on FreeBSD. The FreeBSD Atheros driver, ath, supports AP mode. I have also seen a small number of reports of problems with specific Atheros chipsets in FreeBSD.

      I have no experience with either of these suggestions.

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      • J
        Joshy
        last edited by

        Thanks for the input!  I'd really like to get a mini-PCIe, but I read somewhere that some Atheros chipsets didn't support AP mode.  The waters get so muddy sometimes.  I'll do a little more searching and see what I can come up with.  As cheap as that USB adapter is I might get it even if just for laptop use.  That's a great price and 500mw is alot of power.

        Edit: I did try looking on ebay for "atheros mini pcie" and there's tons.  But alot of them are low power per the FCC ID.  After 3 hours of searching FCC IDs I never found one over about 20dbm.  I was hoping for at least 23dbm.

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        • W
          wallabybob
          last edited by

          @Joshy:

          I'd really like to get a mini-PCIe, but I read somewhere that some Atheros chipsets didn't support AP mode.

          In FreeBSD the supported Atheros USB chipsets don't support AP mode. (see the FreeBSD man page for uath at http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=uath&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.3-RELEASE&arch=default&format=html
          As best I can tell, the supported Atheros PCI/PCIs chipsets all support AP mode. (See the ath man page at http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=ath&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.3-RELEASE&arch=default&format=html ).

          @Joshy:

          Edit: I did try looking on ebay for "atheros mini pcie" and there's tons.  But alot of them are low power per the FCC ID.  After 3 hours of searching FCC IDs I never found one over about 20dbm.  I was hoping for at least 23dbm.

          Sometimes a better antenna (directional but higher gain) is a better (more considerate) option than higher power.

          See http://www.compex.com.sg/productinfo.asp?item=miniPCIe&acc1Panel=1&acc2Panel=0 for some mini PCIe cards with Atheros chipsets claiming 23dBm power at 5GHz or 2.4GHz.

          Edit: Add a couple of missing URLs.

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          • J
            Joshy
            last edited by

            Thank you for the feedback wallabybob.  Since the permanent installation of a high powered card would be in the middle of nowhere(nothing but farmland for at least 1/4 mile in all directions) I think I'm being fairly considerate of others.  If the permanent installation would be in a city I would definitely agree with you.  I try to be considerate when I can.  At home I have a low powered router with a 14dbi antenna(it looks like a baseball bat) and I get great coverage in my entire house.

            BTW… Your first link doesn't work.  Not sure what exactly you were linking to.

            The last link is very nice!  I would order a WLE200N2-23 but I can't find anyone selling it on ebay/Amazon/Google.  Rather odd.  I've emailed them(Singapore!) to see how to purchase one.

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            • W
              wallabybob
              last edited by

              @Joshy:

              BTW… Your first link doesn't work.  Not sure what exactly you were linking to.

              Sorry, try this:   and http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=ath&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.3-RELEASE&arch=default&format=html for the man pages for the uath and ath drivers.

              @Joshy:

              I would order a WLE200N2-23 but I can't find anyone selling it on ebay/Amazon/Google.  Rather odd.  I've emailed them(Singapore!) to see how to purchase one.

              If you say where you live, another reader might be able to suggest a local seller of Compex cards.

              I have no idea if any of those Compex cards work with FreeBSD. Compex may be able to tell you.

              Now I'll go fixup that earlier reply.

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              • J
                Joshy
                last edited by

                I'm outside Chicago, Illinois in the USA.

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                • J
                  Joshy
                  last edited by

                  Got those devices in the mail from the ebay link.  They work great!  Thanks for the help!

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                  • M
                    MaxPF
                    last edited by

                    Just ordered the one in the ebay link. Not bad for $11.55.

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                    • C
                      Clear-Pixel
                      last edited by

                      There seem to be a few cheap Chinese USB devices based on the Ralinktech RT3070.

                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB2-0-High-Power-500mw-RT3070-150Mbps-150M-b-g-n-11n-Wireless-WiFi-Adapter-card-/230689039571?pt=US_USB_Wi_Fi_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item35b62364d3 - Reported as Functioning in hostap mode
                      http://www.geetek.net/products/janus-ii/6/2
                      http://www.meritline.com/geetek-janus-ii-usb-high-power011n-300mbps-adapter-with-dual-high-gain-5dbi-depole-antennas–-p-92493.aspx?source=s2010&strcoup=MLCR19JN&dealid=47025
                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/EDUP-High-Power-150M-1000mW-WiFi-USB-Wireless-N-Adapter-Card-RT3070-Ralink-6DBI-/321004532728?pt=US_USB_Wi_Fi_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item4abd5c73f8
                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ralink-RT3070-Long-Range-High-Gain-1000-mW-Wireless-N-USB-WIFI-B-G-N-Adapter-/290661632668?pt=US_USB_Wi_Fi_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item43acc88a9c
                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Power-150M-1000mW-WiFi-USB-Wireless-Adapter-RT3070-/250824909812?pt=US_USB_Wi_Fi_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item3a665463f4
                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/150M-Hight-Power-USB-Wireless-Wifi-Adapter-1000mW-RT3070-/150937983715?pt=US_USB_Wi_Fi_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item23249adae3
                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wlan-WiFi-Wireless-150Mbps-802-11N-USB-Adapter-6dBi-Antenna-LG-N23-Ralink-RT3070-/200845866526?pt=US_USB_Wi_Fi_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item2ec358b61e

                      Some venders are posting the chip with a suffix on the end RT3XXXL
                      Anyone know why the L?

                      <–----------------------------------------
                      It's been posted and reported that the Ralinktech RT3572 chip is functioning in client mode.
                      http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,55794.0.html
                      Ralinktech
                      http://www.ralinktech.com/en/02_products/product_list2.php?cata2_sn=301&cata3_sn=

                      Device: Rosewill RNX-N600UBE - RT3572 chip
                      Reported as Functioning in client mode
                      Problems Reported: None as of Yet

                      Device: Linksys/Cisco AE1000 300Mbps 802.11n Dual-Band Wireless - RT3572 chip
                      No Data as of Yet
                      Problems Reported: N/A
                      –---------------------------------------->

                      Please test and report back details.

                      • Wireless Range?

                      • Are Connections/Connectivity Rock Solid?

                      • Up and Download speed on USB 2.0?

                      • Unit Cold, Warm or Hot to the touch?

                      • What your setup - IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n?

                      • What Ver. of Pfsense are you running?

                      • What Driver for hostap mode?

                      • And anything else worth mentioning.

                      HP EliteBook 2530p Laptop - Core2 Duo SL9600 @ 2.13Ghz - 4 GB Ram -128GB SSD
                      Atheros Mini PCI-E as Access Point (AR5BXB63H/AR5007EG/AR2425)
                      Single Ethernet Port - VLAN
                      Cisco SG300 10-port Gigabit Managed Switch
                      Cisco DPC3008 Cable Modem  30/4 Mbps
                      Pfsense 2.1-RELEASE (amd64)
                      –------------------------------------------------------------
                      Total Network Power Consumption - 29 Watts

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                      • C
                        Clear-Pixel
                        last edited by

                        Has Anyone tried the TP-LINK TL-WN7200ND word is it's based on the RT3070

                        I would think there would be less chance of burning your house down versus these CHEAP fly by night China outfits.

                        http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/?model=TL-WN7200ND
                        http://wikidevi.com/wiki/TP-LINK_TL-WN7200ND

                        HP EliteBook 2530p Laptop - Core2 Duo SL9600 @ 2.13Ghz - 4 GB Ram -128GB SSD
                        Atheros Mini PCI-E as Access Point (AR5BXB63H/AR5007EG/AR2425)
                        Single Ethernet Port - VLAN
                        Cisco SG300 10-port Gigabit Managed Switch
                        Cisco DPC3008 Cable Modem  30/4 Mbps
                        Pfsense 2.1-RELEASE (amd64)
                        –------------------------------------------------------------
                        Total Network Power Consumption - 29 Watts

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • M
                          MaxPF
                          last edited by

                          The slow boat from China finally arrived and I can confirm that this:

                          http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB2-0-High-Power-500mw-RT3070-150Mbps-150M-b-g-n-11n-Wireless-WiFi-Adapter-card-/230689039571?pt=US_USB_Wi_Fi_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item35b62364d3

                          works perfectly in hostap mode on my Alix box running 2.0.2

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                          • M
                            MaxPF
                            last edited by

                            UPDATE:
                            After a couple of weeks of testing, unfortunately I have found that this wifi dongle causes my Alix boards to reboot randomly at least once a day or more and when it is working, the wifi signal is not very stable.
                            Oh well, I can't expect much from a $11 device.

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                            • M
                              MaxPF
                              last edited by

                              UPDATE #2:

                              After changing all the "Regulatory settings" back to default instead of setting them manually, I haven't had a reboot in 5 days, so it may be working after all.
                              For the record I'm running 2.1 build from dec.23.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • ?
                                Guest
                                last edited by

                                I bought the same USB wifi device as you did on ebay.

                                I tried it twice, it worked somewhat, but my pfsense system crashed twice and my config got wiped both times. I had perform a restore/reload of the firmware/config.
                                I have since removed the device from the system, hasn't crashed since.

                                The signal level was lower than using a separate WRT54G running Tomato as an access point. Not sure I will retry this device as it , I think, caused the only crashes I have ever had of pfsense.
                                Running the latest 2.1 beta.

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                                • M
                                  MaxPF
                                  last edited by

                                  Mine keeps working well and I have reached 7 days uptime since I made the changes in the configuration. As for signal strength I can't complain, I have my Alix box setup in the basement and get good signal up to the 2nd floor of my house. Hopefully it will stay this way.

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