atheros 9285 wifi-n no faster than 802.11b

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dr.kevin

2[H]4U
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Feb 17, 2006
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almost every laptop has this atheros chip.

yet it runs like shit.

I have tried 2 different routers, updated to latest drivers.
I even checked driver settings to make sure it WASN'T locked in wifi B mode or something.
Doesn't matter if the router is 5 ft away or 30 ft away.

I tried the WRT54g, and another Westell broadcom G router.

but speed is capped at 1500 KB/s..... wifi B speed over the home network, when both pc's are using wireless. I can't transfer large files faster than that.

I have 2 laptops with this atheros chip, and you would think they would talk to each other better, and I would maybe see wifi G speed.

nope. only wifi B speed on a G router.

However, if one pc is on wired LAN, and the other is wireless, I can get over 3 MB/s between them. It's when they're both wireless that they are capped at wifi B speed.

Anyone have a solution ?

edit- maybe the router can't handle wireless to wireless transfers.
I enabled frame burst, and I was able to reach 1700 KB/s
 
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Have you tried switching channels? Do any other wireless devices have problems too? Atheros chipsets are not all bad, some are bad ass actually - but I'm not familiar with the 9285.
 
AR9285 is a single stream chip and is really low-end (it only does 150n)....
AR9280 or newer are much better
//Danne
 
diizzy said:
AR9285 is a single stream chip and is really low-end (it only does 150n)....
AR9280 or newer are much better
//Danne
Click to expand...

cheap or not, this card should be able to handle wireless G competently.

I am only doing basic home network file transfers. Any shitty card should be able to do that within the speed limits of the router.

it only does 150n ? doesn't apply to me. I'm only on a G network.
 
Again, have you tried changing channels? Download inssider and see what your airspace looks like. Choose a channel from 1, 6, or 11 depending on that isn't used around you.
 
that's the first thing i did when i set up the router.

i've always had it on channel 3.

channel 6 and 11 make the speeds worse.
channel 1 makes no difference compared to chan 3. Still talks at 10-12 mbit speed.

i tried a different adapter with a ralink chipset, and i'm still getting shit wireless speeds. It looks like these old G routers are simply shitty at handling wireless cross talk.

it doesn't make sense. I can download over 3 MB/s from a LAN box through my wireless. But that speed is cut in half when both ends are 100% wireless.

from a google search, I see i'm not the only one, and wireless to wireless shitty speeds seem to affect other broadcom routers.
 
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Lets see where the math gets us:

Wireless G = 54 Mbps half-duplex

Add PSK2 Encryption drops it to= approx 23 Mbps

Since the signal is half-duplex adding a second client divides your bandwidth by 2 giving you = approx 11 Mbps

And that is running wireless G at FULL speed.... walls and noise will lower your performance.
 
Depending on what you are transferring and the performance of the storage devices on each end your results may vary.

I've not experienced the issues you are seeing, but then again I perform a complete site survey, anytime I have wireless issues. SSIDinsider is a great tool.
 
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