Help- TP-Link wireless card TL-WN851N doesn't work with ath9k driver

[tomreagan84]

Possibly in the morning, here's its spec from the website:

  	• Wireless LAN 	 
  	Wireless N PCI Adapter 	 
  	

TL-WN851N
	  	
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    Spotlight:

    * 300M Wireless transmission rate
    * MIMO technology with stronger signal penetration strength, wider wireless coverage, providing better performance and stability
    * CCA technology automatically avoids channel conflicts using its channel selection feature
    * Compatible with 11g and 11b equipment, Intel Centrino Compatibility tested

	 
				 
	
			
  	

Software Specification
Standards
	
IEEE 802.11n(draft 2.0), IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11b, CSMA/CA with ACK
Wireless Signal Rates With Automatic Fallback
	
11n: 270/243/216/162/108/81/54/27Mbps
        135/121.5/108/81/54/40.5/27/13.5Mbps
        130/117/104/78/52/39/26/13Mbps
        65/58.5/52/39/26/19.5/13/6.5Mbps
11g: 54/48/36/24/18/12/9/6M（adaptive）
11b: 11/5.5/2/1M（adaptive）
Frequency Range
	
2.4-2.4835GHz
Wireless Transmit Power
	
20dBm(MAX)
Modulation Type
	
OFDM/CCK/16-QAM/64-QAM
Receiver Sensitivity
	
270M: -68dBm@10% PER
130M: -68dBm@10% PER
108M: -68dBm@10% PER
54M: -68dBm@10% PER
11M: -85dBm@8% PER
6M: -88dBm@10% PER
1M: -90dBm@8% PER
Security
	
64/128/152 bit WEP, WPA/WPA2, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES)
Support Operating System
	
Windows 2000/XP/Vista

Hardware Specification
Interface
	
32-bit PCI
Antenna Type
	
Omni Directional, Detachable
Antenna Power
	
2 x 2dBi
Certifications
	
CE, FCC
Operating temperature
	
0°C~40°C (32℉~104℉)
Storage temperature
	
-40°C~70°C (-40℉~158℉)
Relative humidity
	
10% ~ 90%, non condensation
Storage Humidity
	
5%~95% non-condensing
Dimensions
	
5.2 × 4.8 × 0.9 in. (133 × 121 × 22 mm)

I can't see any info about the chip there though.

I've downloaded that backport, is stopped the system from freezing, so thanks for that.

The wireless now connects when I boot the system up, but after a couple of minutes it loses the connection. Its strange, its showing the signal at full strength, but won't connect to it.

I'll try the madwifi drivers tomorrow.

Thanks a lot for your help, I'll update you tomorrow.

[waterhead]

Thanks for the info, but I actually already check ed that site. The manufacturers almost never list the chipset that a wireless uses.

If you try Madwifi, you should try the latest developmental release. Some say the madwifi-trunk-current may work.
snapshots.madwifi.org

For my EeePC, I had to use the madwifi-hal version in Red Hat and CentOS. But that is a different chipset than what you have.

[tomreagan84]

Hi, I've installed the latest Madwifi trunk driver (29th april 09)

- it does not seem to help, it does exactly the same as the ath9k ie. network manager detects my wireless signal at full strength, but seems unable to connect to it.


Regarding my wireless card, I'm pretty sure its an atheros 5416 chipset.
This is from the "Microbarn" website:

TP-Link TL-WN851N 802.11n Draft 2.0 Wireless PCI Network Adapter Card, 300Mbps   	
TP-Link TL-WN851N 802.11n Draft 2.0 Wireless PCI Network Adapter Card, 300Mbps
Part #: NWI-TLPCIN
 

Availability: In Stock

Shipping: Usually ships within 1 business day

Discount Price: $22.99 for quantity of 25 or more
Our Price:
$23.99 

  Qty:

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    * Description

Related Items
TP-Link TL-WN811N 802.11n Draft 2.0 Wireless PC-CARD (CardBus) Adapter, 300Mbps
NWI-TLPCCARDN
TP-Link TL-WN821N 802.11n Draft 2.0 Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter, 300Mbps
NWI-TLUSBN
TP-Link TL-WR841ND 802.11n Draft 2.0 300Mbps Wireless Router, 4-port 10/100 Switch, Firewall
NWI-TLROUN

The TP-Link TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI adapter allows you to easily connect your desktop computer to your wireless access point or wireless router. It is compatible with 802.11n networks for blazing fast speeds up to 300Mbps, and its backwards compatible with older 802.11g and 802.11b networks.  This adapter employs multiple intelligent antennas providing even better wireless performance, transmission rates, stability and coverage. At the same time, CCA technology automatically avoids channel conflicts using its channel selection feature. This product can simultaneously operate bandwidth intensive applications such as voice, and video.

Specifications:

    * Interface: PCI
    * Wireless Standards: 802.11n draft 2.0, 802.11g, 802.11b
    * Transmit Speed: 300Mbps max
    * Transmit Power: 20 dBm max
    * Available Modes
          o Ad-Hoc Network
          o Infrastructure
    * Security
          o
            64 / 128 / 152 bit WEP
          o
            WPA / WPA2, WPA-PSK / WPA2-PSK (TKIP / AES)
    * Chipset: Atheros 5416
    * System Requirements: MS Windows 2000 / XP /Vista
    * Additional Information
          o Detachable 2 dBi reverse SMA connector Antennas
          o Internal Antenna
          o RoHS Compliant
          o Simple Configuration and monitoring


Manufacturer: TP-Link - TL-WN851N
Warranty: 1-year through Microbarn

Any more ideas would be welcome, thanks.

[tomreagan84]

Is an ndiswrapper worth a try?

[waterhead]

Even when you install the Madwifi driver, the ath9k driver will load by default. You have to blacklist the ath9k driver, and maybe even load the ath_pci driver manually.

What is the output of lsmod?

[tomreagan84]

Hi, sorry its taken me so long to reply. My internet company upgraded my router yesterday, I was hoping that would fix the problem but it hasn't.

I've blacklisted ath9k:

nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

blacklist ath9k
blacklist mac80211
blacklist cfg80211

I installed the latest madwifi trunk manually, and enabled it in hardware drivers, here are the relevant lsmod readings:

parport                49584  3 lp,ppdev,parport_pc
nvidia               8123768  36 
ath_pci               216384  0 
wlan                  254752  6 wlan_tkip,wlan_ccmp,wlan_scan_sta,ath_rate_sample,ath_pci
ath_hal               399968  3 ath_rate_sample,ath_pci
forcedeth              68368  0 
usbhid                 47040  0 
floppy                 75816  0 
fbcon                  49792  0 
tileblit               11264  1 fbcon

Is ath pci supposed to have a 0 next to it?

[tomreagan84]

Is it worth blacklisting ath9k and installing ath5k?

If so, what's the best way of doing this? I got the impression you weren't very keen on the compat wireless package.

[waterhead]

You mean it doesn't work with this driver either?

You asked about NDISwrapper, I guess you should try that. You will need a WinXP driver for your card, Vista drivers wont work. You also would have to remove/uninstall/blacklist the other divers.

Ath5k doesn't appear to be the correct driver for your card. If you wanted to pursue getting the Linux ath9k driver to work, you may want to ask the developers for some help. They can be contacted through their mailing list. They also have an IRC channel.

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