back to list| Mailing List os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com Archived Message #1819 |
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Isaac Leung wrote:Many of the newer card drivers are reporting more accurate signal strength readings. Performing a site survey the other day, I got a signal while next to an AP of 125%. Today, I updated the Intel driver for my 2915 card form IBM's latest released Win driver package (and no, I am not advocating this to everyone, but I was trying to resolve a particular problem, which seems to have been addressed under Windows with the newer drivers from Intel), and got a much more believable 92% reading (there are other AP's bouncing signals around, so I would not expect to see 100%, in any case). Read the release notes (related to the Intel drivers, at least) here: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-62875 . I can't vouch for possible changes in the Philips drivers (the one Atheros tri-mode card I have on my desk is flakey, so I can't even test this for you right now).
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).
With or without encryption?- It takes MUCH longer to acquire IP address, sometimes it fails to
ever acquire unless I ask to "scan for connection" again.
Driver issue, most likely. This was the case with the Intel drivers - under Windows - until I applied the package released by IBM/Lenovo on November 17. See what Intel has to say about this here (this issue dealt with WPA connections, specifically): http://support.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/cs-022509.htm .
- 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.
I see unencrypted connections performing about the same with regard to association and DHCP response time. I can't comment on WEP, as I haven't used it previously (and don't recommend people use it - at all). As we're only now able to utilize WPA, I have no frame of reference, but I see connections on par with what I've seen under Win32 with similar drivers and hardware.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).
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 have noticed that with genmac 2.0 (whether with wlan 2.14 or 3.0) it does show to have a weaker signal....my comments, above.
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.I am one room away from the AP (a WRT54GL v5, running DD-WRT v2.3 SP2 vpn firmware). I am reporting 71% signal strength (g-only) and full 54Mbps bandwidth. On my tri-mode AP, a WRT55AG v1.0 with LinkSys firmware (wish I could find some good open source firmware for this unit, as the encryption is ancient), I see - hang on; switching connections, now - 55% at 54Mbps under 802.11g (mixed mode) - it took 20 seconds to get a DHCP address from my NetWare server on that segment - and 70% / 54Mbps under 802.11a (DHCP renewed in about five seconds after re-associating).
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