Do I Really Need An ORiNOCO Card?

Karhu · 05-22-2004

Have been digging around here quite a bit in an effort to find my answer to no avail so I thought I'd throw up a post.

I run both Linux and Windoze XP and am yet to purchase a Wi-Fi card. I'd like to get into doing a bit of Wi-Fi searching in my local area (static location - no wardriving) and as such have heard a lot of talk about the 'rfmon' mode and the ORiNOCO card/chipsets.

My question is: Do I really need a card that supports the 'rfmon' mode to successfully do searching/sniffing of Wi-Fi networks. Further, is it imperative to get ORiNOCO?

Reason I ask is because from the pricing I have obtained thus far in Australia the ORiNOCO cards (PCI) are about 2X as much as say a comparable D-Link or Netgear.

Any thoughts guys? Can you suggest any other suitable cards?

Cheers, Moose

iceburn68 · 05-22-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karhu

Have been digging around here quite a bit in an effort to find my answer to no avail so I thought I'd throw up a post.

I run both Linux and Windoze XP and am yet to purchase a Wi-Fi card. I'd like to get into doing a bit of Wi-Fi searching in my local area (static location - no wardriving) and as such have heard a lot of talk about the 'rfmon' mode and the ORiNOCO card/chipsets.

My question is: Do I really need a card that supports the 'rfmon' mode to successfully do searching/sniffing of Wi-Fi networks. Further, is it imperative to get ORiNOCO?

Reason I ask is because from the pricing I have obtained thus far in Australia the ORiNOCO cards (PCI) are about 2X as much as say a comparable D-Link or Netgear.

Any thoughts guys? Can you suggest any other suitable cards?

Cheers, Moose

no, you don't need an orinoco. Esp. since you don't seem to think your going to get too involved in wardriving. In the future, if you do get more interested you could pick up an Orinoco card then . . .

peekitty · 05-22-2004

I wouldn't recommend Orinoco for Linux at all, patching the modules can be a major PITA. Go with something that has a Prism2 chipset such as the SMC EliteConnect, or Prism Nitro (54Mbit) such as the Compex WL54G. Both have antenna jacks, two RP-MMCX on the SMC and one MC-card on the Compex. Modules for either chipset are already in the 2.6 kernel tree and have support for rfmon out of the box.

dgstinner · 05-22-2004

I also don't do much wardriving but I use a Linksys WPC11v3 PCMCIA card and have gotten very good results with it. Like peekitty said, Prism2 is better with Linux but something with an antenna connector is preferred. I'll drive around my area with NetStumbler running on WinXP using my Linksys card and then go back later running Knoppix-STD with the same card to try to find any APs with SSID broadcasting turned off.

Karhu · 05-23-2004

Thanks for the input guys. Prism chipset it is...

Question is: does it matter what Prism chipset I get? I've seen a number of different types that are available.

Also, what are your recommendations on what 802.11 type of Wi-Fi my card should support?

Should I get the slower 11b, go with the faster 11g or get a card that has connectivity for all 3 (a, b & g)?

Thanks again.

Moose

peekitty · 05-23-2004

These questions have been answered so many times, please search the forum.

05-22-2004	#1 (permalink)
Karhu Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 4	Do I Really Need An ORiNOCO Card? Have been digging around here quite a bit in an effort to find my answer to no avail so I thought I'd throw up a post. I run both Linux and Windoze XP and am yet to purchase a Wi-Fi card. I'd like to get into doing a bit of Wi-Fi searching in my local area (static location - no wardriving) and as such have heard a lot of talk about the 'rfmon' mode and the ORiNOCO card/chipsets. My question is: Do I really need a card that supports the 'rfmon' mode to successfully do searching/sniffing of Wi-Fi networks. Further, is it imperative to get ORiNOCO? Reason I ask is because from the pricing I have obtained thus far in Australia the ORiNOCO cards (PCI) are about 2X as much as say a comparable D-Link or Netgear. Any thoughts guys? Can you suggest any other suitable cards? Cheers, Moose Last edited by Karhu : 05-22-2004 at 09:03 PM.

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05-22-2004	#3 (permalink)
peekitty Macaca Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S. Florida Posts: 1,056	I wouldn't recommend Orinoco for Linux at all, patching the modules can be a major PITA. Go with something that has a Prism2 chipset such as the SMC EliteConnect, or Prism Nitro (54Mbit) such as the Compex WL54G. Both have antenna jacks, two RP-MMCX on the SMC and one MC-card on the Compex. Modules for either chipset are already in the 2.6 kernel tree and have support for rfmon out of the box.

05-22-2004	#4 (permalink)
dgstinner Wardriver in Jersey Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 99	I also don't do much wardriving but I use a Linksys WPC11v3 PCMCIA card and have gotten very good results with it. Like peekitty said, Prism2 is better with Linux but something with an antenna connector is preferred. I'll drive around my area with NetStumbler running on WinXP using my Linksys card and then go back later running Knoppix-STD with the same card to try to find any APs with SSID broadcasting turned off.

05-23-2004	#5 (permalink)
Karhu Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 4	Thanks for the input guys. Prism chipset it is... Question is: does it matter what Prism chipset I get? I've seen a number of different types that are available. Also, what are your recommendations on what 802.11 type of Wi-Fi my card should support? Should I get the slower 11b, go with the faster 11g or get a card that has connectivity for all 3 (a, b & g)? Thanks again. Moose

05-23-2004	#6 (permalink)
peekitty Macaca Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S. Florida Posts: 1,056	These questions have been answered so many times, please search the forum.