Re: [Gumstix-users] Compact wifi card

[Craig H. <cr...@gu...>]

I think part of the problem with these CF wifi cards (and pcmcia and  
USB and others too) is that the products sold are not all the same.   
For example, a model XY123 card from vendor ABC will contain a  
completely different chipset between revisions 1.0 and 2.0 of XY123  
-- but nothing on the packaging for the card or anything you can see  
before you buy will even tell you what revision of the product a  
given unit is.  So you'll do a google search for "XY123 linux driver"  
and find something like our wiki page which says it works -- but the  
info pertained to revision 1.0 which was sold last year, not 2.0  
which is what you get if you buy new today.  It seems like a  
particularly horrible practice of the wifi card vendors to substitute  
completely new product and give it the same model number and just  
change a revision number, but it seems to be utterly commonplace to  
do so.

My advice, after having done some work at gumstix to try and identify  
possible chipset alternatives for future wifi products, is that  
ralink's chipsets have by far the best linux support available for  
"modern" chipsets.  So I would suggest trying to find cards which  
include, in their current revision, ralink chipsets.  If you don't  
mind only getting 802.11b (rather than g) and/or don't mind buying  
used product on ebay or elsewhere, then I would strongly advise  
sticking with the MA701 -- as far as I know, every revision of that  
card ever made had the same chipset, but the firmware revision on a  
given card might not be up to scratch.  Flashing new firmware though  
is somewhat well documented online, and can be done from a gumstix  
(I've done it myself several times).  Using the latest firmware on  
the MA701 "just works".

C

On May 18, 2007, at 9:55 AM, Bruce D. Lightner wrote:

> David Fonseca wrote:
>> greetings all,
>>
>> So the wifistix can not become an access point, I need to buy a
>> compact wifi card to use with the netCF expansion board to make my
>> gumstix/robostix be able to host a wireless server. I would like to
>> know which card apart from the netgear MA701 is suitable for this
>> application, what are some recommendations?
>
> What I can tell you is to beware of the Ambicom WL1100C-CF 802.11b  
> Wifi
> card.  It simply did not work for me...a newly purchased card.  I
> "fooled" with the driver a bit, like others have clearly done, and  
> then
> finally gave up.
>
> I asked this group a few weeks back for comments, but received none.
>
> Then, I bought a used Netgear MA701 compact flash card (also 802.11b)
> and it seems to be working just fine.
>
> Having been "burned" once (by the gumstix Wiki FAQ), I *too* would  
> like
> to know who has had a positive *personal experience* with any CF WiFi
> card on the gumstix computers, besides the Netgear MA701.  And, I'd  
> like
> to "hunt down" the person that posted on the Wiki the claim: "the
> Ambicom WL1100C-CF card which is 802.11b works fine"! :-)
>
> I'd especially like to know if anyone has made any of the newer
> 802.11*g* CF WiFi cards work.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Bruce
>
> -- 
>  Bruce D. Lightner
>  Lightner Engineering
>  La Jolla, California
>  Voice: +1-858-551-4011
>  FAX: +1-858-551-0777
>  Email: lig...@li...
>  URL: http://www.lightner.net/lightner/bruce/
>
>
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