Im thinking about replacing the Broadcom based mini-pci wl card with an Atheros. Can anybody recommend a good Atheros mini-pci card which is known to work with the WL-500gP ?

The reason why im doing this is because i want to use the features of the 2.6 kernel, and this (7.07 based on 2.6) version does not yet support the Broadcom wl card - is there any plans for Broadcom wl support on 2.6 in the future?

Thanks for your help!

The developers are working on stabilizing the 2.6 kernel so I guess it's a matter of time. What features do you need from the 2.6 kernel?

I would like to have a Logitech Webcam 4000 pro attached to the box, and for that i need the PWC driver version 10.x. which is not possible (afaik) to compile on a 2.4 based system.
The reason why i need the PWC 10.x driver is that with the pre 10 driver, the PWCX module is needed, which #1 will taint the kernel and #2 I havent be able to find it or compile it for version 2.4.34. I also plan to buy a UVC based camera (performance should be better than PWC), and for that driver i also need the 2.6 kernel.

Well, thats at least what i have digged up around the net, please correct me if i am wrong :-)

I understand. Have you contacted Luc Saillard about 2.4 support?

Gigabyte GN-WI01HT MINI PCI is used successfully by some people here.

Regards

I have ordered 2 Atheros Minipci Wireless Adapter WIFI Mini PCI AR5006X off ebay, will post back when i receive them.

I ordered 2 because i have a Asus wl700gE and a Asus wl500gp and i would like to get them both on a 2.6 kernel while im at it...

I looked at ebay for some Atheros cards and found this:

ATHEROS 802.11g 54Mbit WIFI WLAN MINI PCI CARD WPA2 RG
descr from ebay:
- Atheros Chipset AR2413+SST12LP14

This is working fine for WPA 2, remember to install hostapd-mini :-)

Installed on ASUS WL-500g Premium

(Last edited by SyncRo on 16 Aug 2007, 23:53)

Got the first one today, will test it on my wl500gp with a 2.6 kernel, hopefully tonight.

I thought, the WL-700gE has onboard Wifi, and no Mini PCI? :-O

Checked it, and you are right... Oh well good thing they were cheap :-)

Runs almost smooth on the wl500gp:

Some minor trouble though:
# Encrypted wifi wont work not psk and not psk2, the signal just stays unencrypted
# USB2 works, but the usb stick/hd does not, there isnt even a /dev/scsi entry
# PWC module wont even compile, so webcam remains untested

Does anybody have any tips for me?

Installed hostapd (ipkg install hostapd) then it worked

Installed kmod-nls-base, kmod-fs-ext3, kmod-nls-cp850  (ipkg install kmod-nls-base kmod-fs-ext3 kmod-nls-cp850) then it worked (device is /dev/sda*)

# PWC module wont even compile, so webcam remains untested
Does anybody have any tips for me?

Hello "clausbruun",

I've got a WL-500gP here in my hands, and I don't see any obvious screws or clips that will open the case and allow access to the Mini-PCI slot.  How did you open your WL-500gP?  Can it be re-closed to look like new?

Thanks,
David Baldock

Followed this http://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?pid=34834#p34834 - now it works! - I have set it up with Motion and Cambozola, it really works like a charm. If you need the PWC module then let me know i will make it available to you.

@dbaldock: Remove the small rubber feets, below there are some screws :-)

-cb

Thanks!

I've installed the new Atheros Mini-PCI WiFi G+ 802.11g/b 108Mbps card (with Atheros AR5005GS AR2414 Chipset) in the WL-500gP.  Now I get to work on installing Kamikaze 7.07.

Take Care,
David Baldock

I have done the same, although I haven't done lots of testing

I've installed a Atheros card (Wistron CM9) in my WL-500g Premium too and flashed Kamikaze 7.07 (bcm47xx-2.6).

I get lots of segfaults, the system is unstable and the buttons not working. I'll stick to Kamikaze 7.07 (brcm-2.4) with Broadcom WiFi for now.

(Last edited by forum2006 on 29 Aug 2007, 19:52)

Weird, its working just perfect here.

I purchased a TP Link atheros card ( http://www.tp-link.com/products/product_spe.asp?id=21 ) and it works fine in WL-500Gp under kamikaze 7.07 (brcm47xx-2.6) and X-wrt. But if i turned WIFI on/off, the air led always remains off. Anybody have the same problem?

Mine is also always off on the wl500gp...

it's normal.The air LED do not show wlan status with atheros cards/driver.

Thanks for clearing that up.
I dont mind much, but was curious :-)

I also purchased a TP Link TL-WN560G MiniPCI Atheros card, and I also have WL-500gP under kamikaze 7.07 (brcm47xx-2.6).
I installed card and installed hostapd package. Wifi is working but without encription. When I enable PSK encryption wifi is not working.

/etc/config/wireless:

config wifi-device  wifi0
    option type     atheros
    option channel  5
# disable radio to prevent an open ap after reflashing:
#    option disabled 1

config wifi-iface
    option device   wifi0
    option network    lan
    option mode     ap
    option ssid     skynet2
    option hidden   0

    option encryption psk
    option key    <my_passphrase>

EDIT: sorry my mistake :-s

(Last edited by clausbruun on 5 Sep 2007, 08:21)

andron, do you use hostapd-mini or hostapd?