Nl-2511cd Plus Ext2 Mercury

kimbell · 02-09-2005

I just purchase the nl-2511cd card. These are supposed to be the most highly supported Linux wireless devices but mine is not seen. I have tried both KNOPPIX-std and Operator with kernel 2.4.25. The latter actually has hostap on the live CD. The "dmesg" says unsupported card in slot 0, but it identifies the card as "Eval-Reva and ISL37100P". Using net card config it says there is no supported wireless card also. My questions are must I change the firmware to get the card recognized? Do I have to configure the card manually for normal client mode? Did I get hosed. Is this card not a PRISM?

I do not have windows on my labtop and I do not plan on using it.

Dutch · 02-09-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimbell

I just purchase the nl-2511cd card. These are supposed to be the most highly supported Linux wireless devices but mine is not seen. I have tried both KNOPPIX-std and Operator with kernel 2.4.25. The latter actually has hostap on the live CD. The "dmesg" says unsupported card in slot 0, but it identifies the card as "Eval-Reva and ISL37100P". Using net card config it says there is no supported wireless card also. My questions are must I change the firmware to get the card recognized? Do I have to configure the card manually for normal client mode? Did I get hosed. Is this card not a PRISM?

SEARCH!!! Dumbass...

Dutch

RedSector · 02-09-2005

The mercury is a peice of crap Prism 3 with crap recieve sensitivity which isn't well supported. The latest wlan_ng drivers *might* work with it. However, the regular Senao NL-2511 CD EXT2 is Prism 2.5 based has exelent recieve sensitivity and works well in pretty much anything.

kimbell · 02-09-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dutch

SEARCH!!! Dumbass...

Dutch

O.K. I found that the MERCURY has the prism 3 chipset. Is this a peice of junk compared to the Orinoco gold card? Will this card work on a desktop with a pci cardbus adapter and hostap?

RedSector · 02-09-2005

I found the regular Senao 2511 (the Prism 2.5 one) outpreforms the ORiNOCO, however the ORiNOCO will outpreform the Mercury. The Mercury should work with the wlan_ng and the hostsp drivers, but I hear Prism 3s in general are remarkabley flakey.

kimbell · 02-09-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimbell

The "dmesg" says unsupported card in slot 0, but it identifies the card as "Eval-Reva and ISL37100P".

Can anyone tell me what to do from here. The example config found in the aircrack doc does not help because there are no wireless extenstions found.

RedSector · 02-09-2005

Of course aircrack wont work if the card isn't working

You will probably need to install the latest wlan_ng driver first.

Re@liTy · 02-13-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimbell

Can anyone tell me what to do from here. The example config found in the aircrack doc does not help because there are no wireless extenstions found.

You need to edit the manfid entry in the hostap_cs.conf file.
(I think it's in /etc/pcmcia)
Change it to:

card "SENAO MERCURY"
version "WLAN", "11Mbps_PC-Card_3.0", "ISL37100p", "Eval-RevA"
manfid 0x000b, 0x7100
bind "hostap_cs"

This card should then work fine - Kismet, Aircrack etc etc.

kimbell · 02-14-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Re@liTy

This card should then work fine - Kismet, Aircrack etc etc.

What about aireplay?

sylvain · 02-15-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimbell

What about aireplay?

the same... it just depends on the hostap drivers..if hostap works aireplay will work... I guess you have not read the readme of aircrack/aireplay..n00b

kimbell · 03-07-2005

Is the Senao 2011 ext2 a prism 2.5 card? I used Auditor CD and I see that it choose to use the hostap drivers. I cannot confirm the chipset. Is the card a re-labled nl-2511?

RedSector · 03-07-2005

Look at the model numbers. Is the number 2011 the same as 2511? No. The 2011 is 100mW while the 2511 is 200mW. Other than that I think they're the same.

Just as an extra bonus nugget of info:
NL = No label
SL = Senao Label
EL = EnGenius Label

So in otherwords the *L prefix really dosent mean much other than what sticker is on your card.

HaQue · 07-05-2005

Ijust recieved 2 of these and even though there *is* alot of help for these cards, it took quite abit of time to come to grips with what was needed to flash the firmware, and ID it correctly. If you are pretty new to firmware/linux/drivers and all things confusing, then that makes it harder.

the easiest way for the card to be ID'd, firmware discovered and flashed is to use hostap.

I used the development version frm http://hostap.epitest.fi/
the files you need are:
hostap-driver-0.4.1.tar.gz
hostap-utils-0.4.0.tar.gz

you can get the latest ones available though, it cant hurt!

then, extract each of them to their directories and make sure that in the makefile KERNEL_PATH is pointing to your kernel source dir. For example, if you have a symbolic link to /usr/src/linux2.6.xx called /usr/src/linux:
then make sure the path entry is:
KERNEL_PATH=/usr/src/linux

If you want to flash the firmware, you need to enable it by uncommenting it in:

/hotap-driver-0.4.1/driver/modules/hostap_config.h

like so:

/* Include code for downloading firmware images into volatile RAM. */
#define PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT

/* Allow kernel configuration to enable download support. */
#if !defined(PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT) && defined(CONFIG_HOSTAP_FIRMWARE)
#define PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT
#endif

#ifdef PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT
/* Allow writing firmware images into flash, i.e., to non-volatile storage.
* Before you enable this option, you should make absolutely sure that you are
* using prism2_srec utility that comes with THIS version of the driver!
* In addition, please note that it is possible to kill your card with
* non-volatile download if you are using incorrect image. This feature has not
* been fully tested, so please be careful with it. */
#define PRISM2_NON_VOLATILE_DOWNLOAD // <--- change this line!
#endif /* PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT */

now you can do:

make clean // make sure nothing old is laying around
make // compile it
make install // if nothing stuffs up in make, installs the modules

if your card is in, reinsert it so the drivers take effect. Now you can check the firmware and stuff by:

hostap_diag wlan0

you should see something like:
wlan0: NICID: id=0x801b v1.0.0 (PRISM III PC CARD (SST parallel flash))
wlan0: PRI: id=0x15 v1.1.1
wlan0: STA: id=0x1f v1.4.9

or similar. go here for more details:

http://linux.junsun.net/intersil-prism

flashing it is described there.

I had success flashing my PCMCIA card to v1.8.4 station firmware.

there is a table that shows what firmware goes with what card on that page.

my card works perfectly in linux, but windows xp detects it, but wont load the drivers for it. Ive heard the compaq wl100 drivers may work so Im going to try that.

any questions, email me at haque@air-stream.org

cheers!

02-09-2005	#1 (permalink)
kimbell Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 38	Nl-2511cd Plus Ext2 Mercury I just purchase the nl-2511cd card. These are supposed to be the most highly supported Linux wireless devices but mine is not seen. I have tried both KNOPPIX-std and Operator with kernel 2.4.25. The latter actually has hostap on the live CD. The "dmesg" says unsupported card in slot 0, but it identifies the card as "Eval-Reva and ISL37100P". Using net card config it says there is no supported wireless card also. My questions are must I change the firmware to get the card recognized? Do I have to configure the card manually for normal client mode? Did I get hosed. Is this card not a PRISM? I do not have windows on my labtop and I do not plan on using it. __________________ Last edited by kimbell : 02-09-2005 at 08:43 AM. Reason: Addition

02-09-2005	#3 (permalink)
RedSector Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 673	The mercury is a peice of crap Prism 3 with crap recieve sensitivity which isn't well supported. The latest wlan_ng drivers might work with it. However, the regular Senao NL-2511 CD EXT2 is Prism 2.5 based has exelent recieve sensitivity and works well in pretty much anything. __________________ Get thine ass into the Church The Church of Wifi

02-09-2005	#5 (permalink)
RedSector Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 673	I found the regular Senao 2511 (the Prism 2.5 one) outpreforms the ORiNOCO, however the ORiNOCO will outpreform the Mercury. The Mercury should work with the wlan_ng and the hostsp drivers, but I hear Prism 3s in general are remarkabley flakey. __________________ Get thine ass into the Church The Church of Wifi

02-09-2005	#7 (permalink)
RedSector Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 673	Of course aircrack wont work if the card isn't working You will probably need to install the latest wlan_ng driver first. __________________ Get thine ass into the Church The Church of Wifi

03-07-2005	#11 (permalink)
kimbell Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 38	Is the Senao 2011 ext2 a prism 2.5 card? I used Auditor CD and I see that it choose to use the hostap drivers. I cannot confirm the chipset. Is the card a re-labled nl-2511? __________________

03-07-2005	#12 (permalink)
RedSector Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 673	Look at the model numbers. Is the number 2011 the same as 2511? No. The 2011 is 100mW while the 2511 is 200mW. Other than that I think they're the same. Just as an extra bonus nugget of info: NL = No label SL = Senao Label EL = EnGenius Label So in otherwords the L prefix really dosent mean much other than what sticker is on your card. __________________ Get thine ass into the Church The Church of Wifi Last edited by RedSector : 03-07-2005 at 12:37 PM.*

07-05-2005	#13 (permalink)
HaQue Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3	Nl-2511cd Plus Ext2 Mercury Ijust recieved 2 of these and even though there is alot of help for these cards, it took quite abit of time to come to grips with what was needed to flash the firmware, and ID it correctly. If you are pretty new to firmware/linux/drivers and all things confusing, then that makes it harder. the easiest way for the card to be ID'd, firmware discovered and flashed is to use hostap. I used the development version frm http://hostap.epitest.fi/ the files you need are: hostap-driver-0.4.1.tar.gz hostap-utils-0.4.0.tar.gz you can get the latest ones available though, it cant hurt! then, extract each of them to their directories and make sure that in the makefile KERNEL_PATH is pointing to your kernel source dir. For example, if you have a symbolic link to /usr/src/linux2.6.xx called /usr/src/linux: then make sure the path entry is: KERNEL_PATH=/usr/src/linux If you want to flash the firmware, you need to enable it by uncommenting it in: /hotap-driver-0.4.1/driver/modules/hostap_config.h like so: /* Include code for downloading firmware images into volatile RAM. / #define PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT / Allow kernel configuration to enable download support. / #if !defined(PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT) && defined(CONFIG_HOSTAP_FIRMWARE) #define PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT #endif #ifdef PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT / Allow writing firmware images into flash, i.e., to non-volatile storage. * Before you enable this option, you should make absolutely sure that you are * using prism2_srec utility that comes with THIS version of the driver! * In addition, please note that it is possible to kill your card with * non-volatile download if you are using incorrect image. This feature has not * been fully tested, so please be careful with it. / #define PRISM2_NON_VOLATILE_DOWNLOAD // <--- change this line! #endif / PRISM2_DOWNLOAD_SUPPORT */ now you can do: make clean // make sure nothing old is laying around make // compile it make install // if nothing stuffs up in make, installs the modules if your card is in, reinsert it so the drivers take effect. Now you can check the firmware and stuff by: hostap_diag wlan0 you should see something like: wlan0: NICID: id=0x801b v1.0.0 (PRISM III PC CARD (SST parallel flash)) wlan0: PRI: id=0x15 v1.1.1 wlan0: STA: id=0x1f v1.4.9 or similar. go here for more details: http://linux.junsun.net/intersil-prism flashing it is described there. I had success flashing my PCMCIA card to v1.8.4 station firmware. there is a table that shows what firmware goes with what card on that page. my card works perfectly in linux, but windows xp detects it, but wont load the drivers for it. Ive heard the compaq wl100 drivers may work so Im going to try that. any questions, email me at haque@air-stream.org cheers!

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