b43 no link quality

lman · 2009-03-01 15:03:21

Hi,

when i create or connect to an adhoc on my bcm4318 with the b43 driver:
iwconfig wlan0 mode Ad-Hoc
ifconfig wlan0 up
iwconfig wlan0 essid "test_net"

the iwconfig shows:

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bg  ESSID:"test_net"  
          Mode:Ad-Hoc  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Cell: 4A:53:74:9C:DE:96   
          Tx-Power=27 dBm   
          Retry min limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr=2352 B   
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

The link quality is always 0... and it doesn't connect anywhere in wicd
Any help?

Last edited by lman (2009-03-01 15:03:42)

lman · 2009-03-02 09:22:35

I tried with ndiswrapper... there is link quality only for brief moments, after that nothing

R00KIE · 2009-03-02 09:47:39

And are both wireless cards configured in the same way with the same ESSID and channel?
Anyway if you want to connect two PCs without using a switch or a router just grab a crossed cable and use it, the connection will be faster and will give you less trouble.

lman · 2009-03-05 09:13:19

i wanted to share my internet connection with my laptop..., and yes, same essid, same channel

R00KIE · 2009-03-05 13:43:07

Are you sure that what you want is ad-hoc? Ad-hoc as far as I know is intended to connect 2 PCs in order to share files or something like that.
Otherwise you want infrastructure mode. One PC/Router will be configured has AP and the client's card will be in managed mode (I think). At least iwconfig always says my wireless card is in managed mode.

anrxc · 2009-03-05 19:37:45

Ad-hoc as far as I know is intended to connect 2 PCs in order to share files or something like that.

No, it's a regular network and can be used with more clients, in situations where an AP is not available.

lman, I run an Ad-Hoc network at home and connecting b43 to it is tricky, it never connects at first try, what usually does it is connection attempt, then ping-ing another machine in the network and then re-connecting, or connect, then switch to monitor mode, then connect again. Sometimes it takes a few "cycles". Always check dmesg in the process, every scan, new client or connection attempt is logged.

Ad-Hoc

#!/bin/sh

ifconfig wlan0 down

iwconfig wlan0 mode Ad-Hoc channel 6 essid WLAN
#iwconfig wlan0 key restricted s:xxxxxxxxxxxxx

ifconfig wlan0 192.168.1.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.1.255 up
route add -net 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 wlan0
#route add default gw 192.168.1.1 wlan0

Monitor

#!/bin/sh

ifconfig wlan0 down

iwconfig wlan0 mode monitor
iwconfig wlan0 essid Scanner channel 6

ifconfig wlan0 up

Oh, and once you do connect you might still get incorrect link information, I never got good readings from acx100, rt2400 or rt2x00, rt61 or rt71 and now with bcm43xx or b43... It's just a weak spot. Atheros drivers were always good on that point (an I hope Intel owners had good results).

R00KIE · 2009-03-05 20:45:53

I stand corrected then ^^;
By the way, why not set the pc with the connection to the internet as AP ?

anrxc · 2009-03-05 21:33:52

Not all drivers support Master mode, and some that do don't work very well (as can be seen from this thread where plain ol' Ad-Hoc gives people trouble).

Edit: of course I agree it should definitely be tried, if available, in case it gives better results.

Last edited by anrxc (2009-03-05 21:41:24)

lman · 2009-03-06 09:33:37

thank's for the replys
the master mode doesn't work with my driver - it says invalid argument...

I'll try it one more time when i get back home...

Arch Linux

#1 2009-03-01 15:03:21

b43 no link quality

#2 2009-03-02 09:22:35

Re: b43 no link quality

#3 2009-03-02 09:47:39

Re: b43 no link quality

#4 2009-03-05 09:13:19

Re: b43 no link quality

#5 2009-03-05 13:43:07

Re: b43 no link quality

#6 2009-03-05 19:37:45

Re: b43 no link quality

#7 2009-03-05 20:45:53

Re: b43 no link quality

#8 2009-03-05 21:33:52

Re: b43 no link quality

#9 2009-03-06 09:33:37

Re: b43 no link quality

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