I occasionally build or upgrade OpenWrt routers. Sometimes, this involves adding wireless capability to a device that previously was wired-only. So every now and then, I need to source a Wi-Fi card. The question, of course is, what do I buy that will work for my purpose? Specifically, is there any easy way to check (before buying) whether a particular model of W-Fi card supports the access point (AP) mode? If not general, then perhaps manufacturer-specific? There are some easy no answers to this question (Intel, I am looking at you!), but what about Atheros? I am having a hard time finding this kind of information... I obviously don't know where to look; will someone enlighten me, please?
Also, I tend to avoid Broadcom due to some misadventures in the past, but those happened years ago, so opinions on whether Broadcom should be a consideration once again are welcome. If you choose to advocate for Broadcom, please list specific models with AP mode you have used.
Well. Best bet right now (bang for buck) is to use cards with mediatek chipsets - mt7915 are best suetable for APs but a bit overpriced. If you cheaper you can buy mt7921k - i own one providing decent performance on 2.4Ghz (100mbps wifi6 vs 50 wifi4)
AP features for mt7921/ mt7922 are limited (number of connected clients, etc.), mt7915/ mt7916 really are the way to go.
The other alternative would be QCA, but those tend to be more expensive.
Neither of them tends to be easily available. DBDC cards might help, but at the expense of performance (DBDC makes two 2x2 virtual cards out of one 4x4 radio).
There's no point to even look at Broadcom, Intel, lantiq/ MaxLinear, Marvell/ NXP, Quantenna/ Onsemi or Realtek.
A cheaper option is usually to outsource the wireless side to a dedicated (OpenWrt supported-) wireless router/ AP.
Assuming QCA stands for "Qualcomm Atheros", how do I figure out whether a specific model supports AP mode? Especially when looking at older models from the Wireless N age? (I occasionally need those.) Is there a list to check against? Or does (did) the manufacturer actually publish this information, but I am so weak in my search engine fu that I can't find it?
'All of them' (details may vary, exceptions apply)
The AR9xxx/ QCA9xxx/ QCN5xxx/ QCN9xxx series is meant for AP uses, the notebook cards tend to be more problematic (avoid the SDIO based QCA61xx, very personally I'd skip the QCA6xxx and WCNXxxx ranges). QCA6390 'should' work, but no personal experience with that chipset.
