What wireless card?

DanielT · 05-16-2004

Hello,

I got sick of searching the internet and trying ensure compatablity with my system (linux) so it's time to ask the people in the know.... (erm.. thats you)

I need a new wireless pcmcia card, with an external antenna connector, it needs to be at least 802.11 b/g (preferably a/b/g) and needs to work on linux (for kismet, airsnort etc.)

oh yea, and i know about the orinoco cards but i can't find anywhere that sells them in the UK

(yea yea, i know they are on ebay, but i prefer not to buy from there, been messed about already with two "orinoco" cards from there)

thanks

JTX · 05-16-2004

Look here to find out what chipset the card runs, then do a search for "the chipset + Linux + drivers" on Google.

As most people will tell you, it's best to get an 802.11b only card (Orinoco, Prism2/2.5/3), as they are known to support raw monitoring mode (rfmon). Do some reading on http://www.kismetwireless.net/

King_Ice_Flash · 05-16-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielT

Hello,

I got sick of searching the internet and trying ensure compatablity with my system (linux) so it's time to ask the people in the know.... (erm.. thats you)

I need a new wireless pcmcia card, with an external antenna connector, it needs to be at least 802.11 b/g (preferably a/b/g) and needs to work on linux (for kismet, airsnort etc.)

oh yea, and i know about the orinoco cards but i can't find anywhere that sells them in the UK

(yea yea, i know they are on ebay, but i prefer not to buy from there, been messed about already with two "orinoco" cards from there)

thanks

Ok... First of all, an wireless card that uses the A standard will not have an antenna connector (atleast not in the US). If you want one that works with linux, most prism cards work with the HostAP drivers. If you want to use an a/g card, you will want one with the atheros chipset. This way you can use the MadWiFi drivers. Otherwise get an Orinoco classic so you can use the patched Orinoco drivers. Orinoco cards are available in the UK, you just have to look. If you are going to get an Orinoco card make sure it is the one with the square end. (search this site for "orinoco pictures." Here are the instructions for installing kismet with any of the above mentioned cards.

Here is the orinoco cards:
http://netstumbler.org/showthread.php?t=7823

http://www.linux-wlan.org/docs/wlan_adapters.html.gz has a list of chipsets. have fun.

Drat, beaten again

peekitty · 05-16-2004

I'm going to go against the grain on this one. I'd suggest looking at the Compex WL54G, it's a G card that uses the Prism Nitro chipset and support is already in the kernel as of 2.5.6. Best of all, it has an MC connector, so your Orinoco pigtails will fit. As for the 802.11A support, if you really need to have an external antenna, you can pull the card out of a Proxim 8571 AP. They turn up on eBay all the time for about $20. There are two drawbacks though; the dual pigtails are permanently attached and they look very fragile. The connectors are standard SMA (not reverse polarity.)

05-16-2004	#1 (permalink)
DanielT Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 1	What wireless card? Hello, I got sick of searching the internet and trying ensure compatablity with my system (linux) so it's time to ask the people in the know.... (erm.. thats you) I need a new wireless pcmcia card, with an external antenna connector, it needs to be at least 802.11 b/g (preferably a/b/g) and needs to work on linux (for kismet, airsnort etc.) oh yea, and i know about the orinoco cards but i can't find anywhere that sells them in the UK (yea yea, i know they are on ebay, but i prefer not to buy from there, been messed about already with two "orinoco" cards from there) thanks

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05-16-2004	#2 (permalink)
JTX kawaii desu ne Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 72	Look here to find out what chipset the card runs, then do a search for "the chipset + Linux + drivers" on Google. As most people will tell you, it's best to get an 802.11b only card (Orinoco, Prism2/2.5/3), as they are known to support raw monitoring mode (rfmon). Do some reading on http://www.kismetwireless.net/

05-16-2004	#4 (permalink)
peekitty Macaca Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S. Florida Posts: 1,056	I'm going to go against the grain on this one. I'd suggest looking at the Compex WL54G, it's a G card that uses the Prism Nitro chipset and support is already in the kernel as of 2.5.6. Best of all, it has an MC connector, so your Orinoco pigtails will fit. As for the 802.11A support, if you really need to have an external antenna, you can pull the card out of a Proxim 8571 AP. They turn up on eBay all the time for about $20. There are two drawbacks though; the dual pigtails are permanently attached and they look very fragile. The connectors are standard SMA (not reverse polarity.)