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Topic: Asus 500gP with TP-Link TL-WN660G - weak signal

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Hi everybody!

I have a Asus WL500g Premium and I replaced the internal broadcom miniPCI card with the TP-Link card TL-WN660G. When I was using White Russian the card was working properly but since I'm using Kamikaze the signal strength got really weak. The maximum distance is about 10 meters from the router.

Does anyone know a solution? Maybe use the old driver which was used in White Russian. Or could it just be a configuration problem?

Thanks

Alex


iwconfig output:
ath0      IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"home"  Nickname:""
          Mode:Master  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: 00:14:78:56:54:12
          Bit Rate:0 kb/s   Tx-Power=18 dBm   Sensitivity=1/1
          Retry:off   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=37/70  Signal level=-59 dBm  Noise level=-96 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:8  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

dmesg output:
Linux version 2.6.22 (nbd@ds10) (gcc version 4.1.2) #3 Thu Jul 26 18:00:50 CEST 2007
CPU revision is: 00029006
ssb: Core 0 found: ChipCommon (cc 0x800, rev 0x03, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Core 1 found: Fast Ethernet (cc 0x806, rev 0x06, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Core 2 found: Fast Ethernet (cc 0x806, rev 0x06, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Core 3 found: USB 1.1 Hostdev (cc 0x808, rev 0x03, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Core 4 found: PCI (cc 0x804, rev 0x08, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Core 5 found: MIPS 3302 (cc 0x816, rev 0x03, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Core 6 found: V90 (cc 0x807, rev 0x02, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Core 7 found: IPSEC (cc 0x80B, rev 0x00, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Core 8 found: MEMC SDRAM (cc 0x80F, rev 0x02, vendor 0x4243)
ssb: Initializing MIPS core...
ssb: set_irq: core 0x0806, irq 2 => 2
ssb: set_irq: core 0x0806, irq 3 => 3
ssb: set_irq: core 0x0804, irq 0 => 4
ssb: Sonics Silicon Backplane found at address 0x18000000
Determined physical RAM map:
memory: 02000000 @ 00000000 (usable)
Initrd not found or empty - disabling initrd
On node 0 totalpages: 8192
  Normal zone: 64 pages used for memmap
  Normal zone: 0 pages reserved
  Normal zone: 8128 pages, LIFO batch:0
Built 1 zonelists.  Total pages: 8128
Kernel command line: root=/dev/mtdblock2 rootfstype=squashfs,jffs2 init=/etc/preinit noinitrd console=ttyS0,115200
Primary instruction cache 16kB, physically tagged, 2-way, linesize 16 bytes.
Primary data cache 16kB, 2-way, linesize 16 bytes.
Synthesized TLB refill handler (20 instructions).
Synthesized TLB load handler fastpath (32 instructions).
Synthesized TLB store handler fastpath (31 instructions).
Synthesized TLB modify handler fastpath (30 instructions).
PID hash table entries: 128 (order: 7, 512 bytes)
Using 132.000 MHz high precision timer.
Dentry cache hash table entries: 4096 (order: 2, 16384 bytes)
Inode-cache hash table entries: 2048 (order: 1, 8192 bytes)
Memory: 29872k/32768k available (2030k kernel code, 2896k reserved, 297k data, 120k init, 0k highmem)
Calibrating delay loop... 263.16 BogoMIPS (lpj=526336)
Mount-cache hash table entries: 512
NET: Registered protocol family 16
ssb: PCIcore in host mode found
registering PCI controller with io_map_base unset
PCI: fixing up bridge
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:00:00.0 to 64
PCI: Fixing up device 0000:00:00.0
Time: MIPS clocksource has been installed.
NET: Registered protocol family 2
IP route cache hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
TCP established hash table entries: 1024 (order: 1, 8192 bytes)
TCP bind hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
TCP: Hash tables configured (established 1024 bind 1024)
TCP reno registered
squashfs: version 3.0 (2006/03/15) Phillip Lougher
Registering mini_fo version $Id$
JFFS2 version 2.2. (NAND) © 2001-2006 Red Hat, Inc.
io scheduler noop registered
io scheduler deadline registered (default)
Serial: 8250/16550 driver $Revision: 1.90 $ 2 ports, IRQ sharing enabled
serial8250: ttyS0 at MMIO 0x0 (irq = 3) is a 16550A
serial8250: ttyS1 at MMIO 0x0 (irq = 3) is a 16550A
b44.c:v1.01 (Jun 16, 2006)
eth0: Broadcom 10/100BaseT Ethernet 00:18:f3:59:d7:5f
eth1: Broadcom 10/100BaseT Ethernet 40:10:18:00:00:2d
flash init: 0x1c000000 0x02000000
Physically mapped flash: Found 1 x16 devices at 0x0 in 16-bit bank
Physically mapped flash: Found an alias at 0x800000 for the chip at 0x0
Physically mapped flash: Found an alias at 0x1000000 for the chip at 0x0
Physically mapped flash: Found an alias at 0x1800000 for the chip at 0x0
Amd/Fujitsu Extended Query Table at 0x0040
Physically mapped flash: CFI does not contain boot bank location. Assuming top.
number of CFI chips: 1
cfi_cmdset_0002: Disabling erase-suspend-program due to code brokenness.
Flash device: 0x800000 at 0x1fc00000
bootloader size: 262144
Creating 4 MTD partitions on "Physically mapped flash":
0x00000000-0x00040000 : "cfe"
0x00040000-0x007f0000 : "linux"
0x000f8000-0x007f0000 : "rootfs"
mtd: partition "rootfs" doesn't start on an erase block boundary -- force read-only
0x00200000-0x007f0000 : "rootfs_data"
0x007f0000-0x00800000 : "nvram"
nf_conntrack version 0.5.0 (256 buckets, 2048 max)
ip_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team
TCP vegas registered
NET: Registered protocol family 1
NET: Registered protocol family 17
802.1Q VLAN Support v1.8 Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
All bugs added by David S. Miller <davem@redhat.com>
VFS: Mounted root (squashfs filesystem) readonly.
Freeing unused kernel memory: 120k freed
Warning: unable to open an initial console.
Algorithmics/MIPS FPU Emulator v1.5
diag: Detected 'ASUS WL-500g Premium'
b44: eth0: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex.
b44: eth0: Flow control is off for TX and off for RX.
Probing device eth0: found!
mini_fo: using base directory: /
mini_fo: using storage directory: /jffs
b44: eth0: Link is up at 100 Mbps, full duplex.
b44: eth0: Flow control is off for TX and off for RX.
BFL_ENETADM not set in boardflags. Use force=1 to ignore.
PPP generic driver version 2.4.2
wlan: 0.8.4.2 (svn r2568)
ath_hal: module license 'Proprietary' taints kernel.
ath_hal: 0.9.30.13 (AR5210, AR5211, AR5212, AR5416, RF5111, RF5112, RF2413, RF5413, RF2133, REGOPS_FUNC)
ath_rate_minstrel: Minstrel automatic rate control algorithm 1.2 (svn r2568)
ath_rate_minstrel: look around rate set to 10%
ath_rate_minstrel: EWMA rolloff level set to 75%
ath_rate_minstrel: max segment size in the mrr set to 6000 us
wlan: mac acl policy registered
ath_pci: 0.9.4.5 (svn r2568)
PCI: Enabling device 0000:00:02.0 (0000 -> 0002)
PCI: Fixing up device 0000:00:02.0
ath_pci: switching rfkill capability off
ath_pci: switching per-packet transmit power control off
wifi0: 11b rates: 1Mbps 2Mbps 5.5Mbps 11Mbps
wifi0: 11g rates: 1Mbps 2Mbps 5.5Mbps 11Mbps 6Mbps 9Mbps 12Mbps 18Mbps 24Mbps 36Mbps 48Mbps 54Mbps
wifi0: turboG rates: 6Mbps 12Mbps 18Mbps 24Mbps 36Mbps 48Mbps 54Mbps
wifi0: H/W encryption support: WEP AES AES_CCM TKIP
wifi0: mac 7.9 phy 4.5 radio 5.6
wifi0: Use hw queue 1 for WME_AC_BE traffic
wifi0: Use hw queue 0 for WME_AC_BK traffic
wifi0: Use hw queue 2 for WME_AC_VI traffic
wifi0: Use hw queue 3 for WME_AC_VO traffic
wifi0: Use hw queue 8 for CAB traffic
wifi0: Use hw queue 9 for beacons
wifi0: Atheros 5212: mem=0x40000000, irq=6
device eth0.0 entered promiscuous mode
eth0.0: dev_set_promiscuity(master, 1)
device eth0 entered promiscuous mode
eth0.0: add 01:00:5e:00:00:01 mcast address to master interface
br-lan: port 1(eth0.0) entering learning state
br-lan: topology change detected, propagating
br-lan: port 1(eth0.0) entering forwarding state
eth0.1: add 01:00:5e:00:00:01 mcast address to master interface
NET: Registered protocol family 24
device ath0 entered promiscuous mode
br-lan: port 2(ath0) entering learning state
br-lan: topology change detected, propagating
br-lan: port 2(ath0) entering forwarding state
tun: Universal TUN/TAP device driver, 1.6
tun: (C) 1999-2004 Max Krasnyansky <maxk@qualcomm.com>
device tap0 entered promiscuous mode
br-lan: port 3(tap0) entering learning state
br-lan: topology change detected, propagating
br-lan: port 3(tap0) entering forwarding state

(Last edited by 5_o_clock on 19 Sep 2007, 12:48)

Try with PRE-7.09 and Kernel 2.4.

Kernel 2.6 is unstable and sucks in many ways (this is what I have figured out so far)...

just to add to that (I have a 500Gp as well), if you want to use kamikaze and 2.6 use 7.06 it has the last known good kernel in it, the other have 2.6.22  - which causes random segfaults.

What I do is use the kernel bits from 7.06 and the package bit from 7.07,9 or trunk.

Hi guys!

Thank you for your tips. Sorry for taking so long to respond.. I have tried 7.06 before but with the same result: I only got a weak wireless signal.

@forum2006: today i flashed your image with the madwifi version included it was the same result. Only when I used White Russian the signal was normal. So I idea was to use PRE-7.09 with Kernel 2.4 and the madwifi version from White Russian.

Could this work?

Thanks

Alex

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