Mailing List os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com Archived Message #1788

From: "Andy Willis" <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com> Full Headers
Undecoded message
Subject: Re: [OS2Wireless]Getting worse performance with new GenMAC 2.0
Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 07:39:52 -0700
To: OS/2 Wireless Users Mailing List <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com>

Isaac Leung wrote:
Is anyone else seeing the same issue?

I have a Thinkpad T40p with the built-in wireless (It is Atheros chipset).
Using GenMAC 1.6 with XWLAN 2.14, it has been pretty much flawless.
(Warp 4.52 with FP5)

I tried GenMAC 1.7 a while ago, it was worse so I switched back. I
recently upgraded to GenMAC 2.0 with XWLAN 3.0 and it shows the same
behaviour. MUCH worse!


Here's the symptoms:
- The reception shows typically 5-10% weaker signal, for whatever
reason. (I'm in a small apartment, so it's easy to be repeatable to be
in the same physical location).
- It takes MUCH longer to acquire IP address, sometimes it fails to
ever acquire unless I ask to "scan for connection" again.
- Connection fails after some time. i.e. I can surf and connect to all
the web sites for about the first 10-15min.  or whatever, but then it
"dies". XWLAN shows green and connected, but I cannot even ping my own
router or any other web site.


Any tips or suggestions?
I've reverted back to 1.6 for now since the newer editions are
essentially unuseable for me.



Thanks,
Isaac
I had no problems connecting to either of my AP's (home and work) with any 1.x.  It did seem to take quite a while to acquire an IP but I couldn't say it was out of the norm as it has been so long since I connected windows via wireless I don't recall how long it took.  2.0 seems to take about as long via a WEP connection but WPA seems to get an IP much faster (there are some variables I need check before I can say that definitively).
I have noticed that with genmac 2.0 (whether with wlan 2.14 or 3.0) it does show to have a weaker signal.  What I have not determined as yet is whether the signal is actually weaker or if the guage is more sensitive/accurate.  I have also seen stronger signal than I have ever gotten as well - such as right now I am seeing 100% which the strongest I had ever seen from this AP is 88% and my T42 is/has been literally 3ft directly above the AP.  I have been watching the signal strenght and it has dropped to 86% (which is what it used to mostly sit at) but has mostly been 90 - 100%.  I don't know why it has so much variance which it used to not have but with the range involved 90+% seems more reasonable than 86-88% but the more constant numbers seem more plausible so that one is a hard call.
Andy

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