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First 400 mW Wi-Fi mini-PCI cards support Linux

Jun 8, 2005 — by Henry Kingman — from the LinuxDevices Archive — views

Ubiquiti Networks is now shipping the first FCC/CE-approved mini-PCI Wi-Fi cards with 400 mW of transmit power. The “Super Range” SR2 and SR5 cards support 802.11b/g and 802.11a, respectively, and should work under Linux. The cards target outdoor applications such as long-range access points and back-hauls.

(Click for larger view of SR-2 mini-PCI card)

According to Ubiquity, the SR2 and SR5 should work with any hardware or software that supports devices based on Atheros 5004 chipsets. This includes access-point oriented SBCs (single board computers) from WRAP, Soekris, and Mikrotik, as well as Linux drivers from the MadWiFi (Multi-band Atheros Driver for Wi-Fi) project. The cards also work with the commercial StarOS router operating system, Ubiquiti says.


The SR5 with optional heatsink

The SR2 and SR5 cards could supplant the 200mw Prism-2 based Senao and various 300mw Atheros-based cards favored by many Wi-Fi hotspot implementors. However, at $109, they cost slightly more than most other long-range Wi-Fi cards.

According to an EETimes story, the SR cards deliver 400mw of RF into 50-ohm unbalanced loads. Ubiquiti claims that early reports suggest the cards deliver a 6 dB+ power output improvement over Atheros-based CM-9 cards. Claimed receive sensitivity ranges from 54Mbps at -78dBm to 1Mbps at -97dBm.

Additional details can be found in the brief EE Times story, here.

Availability

The SR2 and SR5 are available now, optionally with low-loss SMA antenna connectors and heatsinks (pictured at right), from various distributors.


 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.



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