AnimeSuki Forums

Vexx · 2010-02-11, 13:55

I seem to have a knack for owning cards that do not work "out of the box" with Ubuntu (that require ndiswrapper and a fair amount of bjorking around)

I have two laptops (thinkpads) that need to work cleanly for fairly compu-challenged folk. All is wonderful *except* the wireless situation.

Can anyone recommend *specific* cards that are known to work with Ubuntu 9.10? I can get arm-waving 'chipset' recommendations from the Ubuntu site and various forums but that isn't really helpful when browsing Newegg, Amazon, or whatever.

SirJeannot · 2010-02-11, 15:03

speaking of chipset, beware of the latest atheros - as this is the most recommended card. ath5k and especially ath9k drivers need quite a bit of tweaking to work (debian testing on my side).

what type of card are you looking for?
usb/pcmcia/expresscard/minipci/minipci-e? this will greatly help narrow the choice.

my best bet - i mean mine right now

- would be an intel 3945. it's been around for some time, is well supported and works out of the box. no injection possible but it's been doing the job perfectly on my x60.

Miles Teg · 2010-02-11, 15:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vexx

Can anyone recommend *specific* cards that are known to work with Ubuntu 9.10? I can get arm-waving 'chipset' recommendations from the Ubuntu site and various forums but that isn't really helpful when browsing Newegg, Amazon, or whatever.

The problem is that manufacturer like to swap chipset on their card and that make the choice for card very hard.

It's an (old) USB card but I know it works, and it's completely plug'n play with Ubunt 9.10.

NetGear, Inc. WG111v3 54 Mbps Wireless [realtek RTL8187B]

The important point is that it's the v3, the v3 use the realteak chipset for the other version I am not sure.

Vexx · 2010-02-11, 15:47

aye, forgot to mention the "pcmcia" part. Yeah, I've been caught by the manufacturer 'chipset of the week' problem as well.

Just seems kind of silly that this rather large issue remains outstanding in 'linux-land' thanks to manufacturer flakiness.

My USR pcmcia cards I have a pile of are the 5411 model with BCM4318 internals... the base install half-recognizes it but fails. Using ndiswrapper will probably work but that seems to require a reboot (which isn't an option when you're 'trying before installing' the OS). Maybe this is an excuse to put Ubuntu on one of my flash sticks.... if the laptops will even boot from a stick. Hmmm, have to check that tonight.

Thanks for inputs-to-date.

SeijiSensei · 2010-02-11, 21:34

I've had very mixed success with PCMCIA cards. One resource you might want to check is the Wireless LAN for Linux page from a guy at HP. I've also taken to searching the newegg listings for linux products. This TRENDnet card gets very positive reviews with both XP and Ubuntu and costs about $20. One reviewer says it worked OOB with both those platforms.

I tried an SMC and had mixed success. I run WPA-PSK2 here and have had mixed experiences where the Windows or the Linux side will connect but not both

My living room box uses a Linksys USB adapter that has drivers in the stock kernel, but that's too clunky for a laptop.

Anything that requires ndiswrapper is a no-go for me. On new machines I generally stick to Intel since the drivers are open.

grey_moon · 2010-02-12, 06:16

If you are going to do any wifi auditing then check the application sites for support. Personally I use the aircrack site anyway because their table is very detailed in how the cards work for their product in linux

http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?...bility_drivers

SirJeannot · 2010-02-12, 11:48

In my case, i ve gotten excellent results with orinocco cards, which to my knowledge all atheros based. I m not sure they still manufactured though.

chikorita157 · 2010-02-12, 15:52

Linksys USB Wireless G v4 works great with Linux and Mac OS X since it uses a Ralink chipset, which the drivers are open sourced. Any Ralink wireless chipset should work fine since Ralink provides open sourced and updated drivers for these wireless crads.

martino · 2010-02-12, 16:05

RTL8187 <--- avoid this if you plan to do any torrenting. It no longer causes connection disconnects (thank god for those kernel fixes), but still drops down to 140kB/s after a few hours of use, and rmmod/modprobe gets kind of annoying after a while when you want the full speed back up.

Edgewalker · 2010-02-19, 02:39

Internal laptop wireless cards tend to be fairly cheap and prone to failure anyways. I have been using a basic WUSB54G ( which did work 'outside the box' ) external card with my Linux laptop for a long time, and it gets twice the reception as the internal card.

Claies · 2010-02-19, 12:16

I have used this Rosewill RNX-G1 dongle for my laptop at home, because its internal wireless card will not cooperate with my parents' router. Ubuntu uses it well out of the box.

I don't remember how it works under gnome-networkmanager (I believe it was really good), but it clearly sees the dongle after filling in the correct wireless interface in wicd (just say eth1 instead of eth0, or something).

2010-02-11, 13:55	Link #1
Vexx Obey the Darkly Cute ... Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ... Age: 66	Wireless cards and Ubuntu I seem to have a knack for owning cards that do not work "out of the box" with Ubuntu (that require ndiswrapper and a fair amount of bjorking around) I have two laptops (thinkpads) that need to work cleanly for fairly compu-challenged folk. All is wonderful except the wireless situation. Can anyone recommend specific cards that are known to work with Ubuntu 9.10? I can get arm-waving 'chipset' recommendations from the Ubuntu site and various forums but that isn't really helpful when browsing Newegg, Amazon, or whatever. __________________ "It Really IS Rocket Science", Novel series rough drafts; vol. 1 thru vol. 3 complete Volume 4 in work, Visit the thread for short stories!

2010-02-11, 15:03	Link #2
SirJeannot AT Field Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: #animesuki Age: 14	speaking of chipset, beware of the latest atheros - as this is the most recommended card. ath5k and especially ath9k drivers need quite a bit of tweaking to work (debian testing on my side). what type of card are you looking for? usb/pcmcia/expresscard/minipci/minipci-e? this will greatly help narrow the choice. my best bet - i mean mine right now - would be an intel 3945. it's been around for some time, is well supported and works out of the box. no injection possible but it's been doing the job perfectly on my x60. __________________ "facts Jeremy, facts!" - non factual Jeremy.

2010-02-11, 15:47	Link #4
Vexx Obey the Darkly Cute ... Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ... Age: 66	aye, forgot to mention the "pcmcia" part. Yeah, I've been caught by the manufacturer 'chipset of the week' problem as well. Just seems kind of silly that this rather large issue remains outstanding in 'linux-land' thanks to manufacturer flakiness. My USR pcmcia cards I have a pile of are the 5411 model with BCM4318 internals... the base install half-recognizes it but fails. Using ndiswrapper will probably work but that seems to require a reboot (which isn't an option when you're 'trying before installing' the OS). Maybe this is an excuse to put Ubuntu on one of my flash sticks.... if the laptops will even boot from a stick. Hmmm, have to check that tonight. Thanks for inputs-to-date. __________________ "It Really IS Rocket Science", Novel series rough drafts; vol. 1 thru vol. 3 complete Volume 4 in work, Visit the thread for short stories!

2010-02-11, 21:34	Link #5
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	I've had very mixed success with PCMCIA cards. One resource you might want to check is the Wireless LAN for Linux page from a guy at HP. I've also taken to searching the newegg listings for linux products. This TRENDnet card gets very positive reviews with both XP and Ubuntu and costs about $20. One reviewer says it worked OOB with both those platforms. I tried an SMC and had mixed success. I run WPA-PSK2 here and have had mixed experiences where the Windows or the Linux side will connect but not both My living room box uses a Linksys USB adapter that has drivers in the stock kernel, but that's too clunky for a laptop. Anything that requires ndiswrapper is a no-go for me. On new machines I generally stick to Intel since the drivers are open. __________________ Taking Anime Seriously - Politics by the Numbers - Sports by the Numbers - MAL List - Avatars - Images

2010-02-12, 06:16	Link #6
grey_moon Yummy, sweet and unyuu!!! Join Date: Dec 2004	If you are going to do any wifi auditing then check the application sites for support. Personally I use the aircrack site anyway because their table is very detailed in how the cards work for their product in linux http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?...bility_drivers __________________

2010-02-12, 11:48	Link #7
SirJeannot AT Field Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: #animesuki Age: 14	In my case, i ve gotten excellent results with orinocco cards, which to my knowledge all atheros based. I m not sure they still manufactured though. __________________ "facts Jeremy, facts!" - non factual Jeremy.

2010-02-12, 15:52	Link #8
chikorita157 ひきこもりアイドル IT Support Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Pennsylvania , United States Age: 34	Linksys USB Wireless G v4 works great with Linux and Mac OS X since it uses a Ralink chipset, which the drivers are open sourced. Any Ralink wireless chipset should work fine since Ralink provides open sourced and updated drivers for these wireless crads. __________________ Chikorita157's Anime Blog \| Atelier Shiori (Personal Sideblog) \| Tumblr \| Twitter

2010-02-12, 16:05	Link #9
martino makes no files now Join Date: May 2006	RTL8187 <--- avoid this if you plan to do any torrenting. It no longer causes connection disconnects (thank god for those kernel fixes), but still drops down to 140kB/s after a few hours of use, and rmmod/modprobe gets kind of annoying after a while when you want the full speed back up. __________________ "Light and shadow don't battle each other, because they're two sides of the same coin"

2010-02-19, 02:39	Link #10
Edgewalker Nani ? Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Emerald Forest ( yes its a real place. )	Internal laptop wireless cards tend to be fairly cheap and prone to failure anyways. I have been using a basic WUSB54G ( which did work 'outside the box' ) external card with my Linux laptop for a long time, and it gets twice the reception as the internal card.

2010-02-19, 12:16	Link #11
Claies Good-Natured Asshole. Join Date: May 2007 Age: 34	I have used this Rosewill RNX-G1 dongle for my laptop at home, because its internal wireless card will not cooperate with my parents' router. Ubuntu uses it well out of the box. I don't remember how it works under gnome-networkmanager (I believe it was really good), but it clearly sees the dongle after filling in the correct wireless interface in wicd (just say eth1 instead of eth0, or something).