Linksys WRT32X - radio2 in OpenWrt [Solved]

[boktai1000]

Hello everyone,

I've got a question related to the Linksys WRT32X in particular, and probably also applies to the WRT3200 since they are essentially brothers, but I only can confirm the WR32X in particular since it's what I own.

The Wireless chipsets/radios on the device are listed as radio0, radio1, and radio2.

Now I'm traditionally familiar with a 2.4GHz and 5GHz network, but in this case I'm scratching my head a bit with this third radio.

Is anyone familiar with this device and could explain to me a bit about what this radio (radio2) is actually doing, and what sort of recommendation I should do for my configuration (should I disable radio2..?)

Here's the configuration I'm looking for:

• A configured 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless network with a separate SSID, what would this look like in terms of the radio configurations with radio0, radio1, and radio2

Hoping to have a greater understanding of this mysterious radio in regards to this device, thank you for taking the time to read my question and I look forward to your response!

[hnyman]

@boktai1000

Is anyone familiar with this device and could explain to me a bit about what this radio (radio2) is actually doing, and what sort of recommendation I should do for my configuration (should I disable radio2..?)

It is a limited-feature radio chip without proper antennas (?), originally apparently meant for radar detection by the OEM wifi driver.
In general, that radio can be troublesome. Better to leave it disabled. (I do that in my WRT3200ACM)
But some people do use it, so it is usable to some extent.

Discussion about the "third radio":

Third radio in wrt3200acm?

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Just upgraded my WRT3200ACM from Linksys factory software to LEDE Reboot 17.01.4 r3560-79f57e422d / LuCI lede-17.01 branch (git-17.290.79498-d3f0685). I have the router working, but am unsure how the third radio should be configured (third radio is second 5GHZ radio). Should I be using same of different SSID, same or different channel? Which mode? I'm not sure I need the third radio, as I have no special requirements other than getting good coverage of the house. Thanks for your help, Tom

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[Solved] WRT3200ACM - stable, US, can't use DFS channels

Running a new WRT3200ACM with stable 17.01.4 + the Winbond patch (applied manually and rebuilt ... looking forward to a new stable). I'm in the US. No complaints so far, other than I can't seem to use any of the DFS-required 5GHz channels. Attempting to use any of those channels (change config, run wifi reload) disables the radio and logs this: Mon Apr 30 03:17:40 2018 daemon.warn hostapd: wlan0: IEEE 802.11 Configured channel (52) not found from the channel list of current mode (2) IEEE 802.1…

The country settings in that radio should not conflict the main radio (0 and 1)

The main radios use the mwlwifi driver with Marvell 88W8964, while the extra radio has mwifiex driver for Marvell 88W8887

[boktai1000]

Excellent! Appreciate the roundup of links and resources. Now to make sure I understand:

• Does radio2 offer any sort of performance benefits over radio0 for 5GHz (or 2.4GHz) performance?
• Country settings in radio2 should not conflict with radio0/1 - so does this mean if I use a "US" country code for radio0/1 I can't use that for radio2 -OR- that I need to use a similar country setting for all radios (US for radio0/1/2)?

I will likely end up leaving this radio disabled, I just want to understand what options I have available to me and that I wasn't making a configuration blunder by turning it off or possibly causing more issues by doing so.

[hnyman]

@boktai1000

Does radio2 offer any sort of performance benefits over radio0 for 5GHz (or 2.4GHz) performance?

No, as it has not proper antenna to my knowledge. It is likely meant originally to be an invisible radar detection helper for the main radio drivers (for using the DFS channels).

If you use if, it should have the same country codes as the main radio

[boktai1000]

Gotcha, I understand now. Thanks again for responding to my questions! Really appreciate it and have a great day

[tmomas]

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