[plug] Wireless Access Point Options

[Trevor Phillips]

I ended up getting a TP-Link PCI wireless card (Atheros Chipset) for
$40 (supports the 108MHz dodgy turbo mode), and using the MadWifi
(http://madwifi-project.org/) driver, configuring it as an Access
Point. I did have all sorts of problems, some related to me missing
the obvious, some just general Wifi hassles, and a few related to
problems with the MadWifi driver.

The last is still an issue, but I've worked around it. It seems to be
a known issue with the MadWifi driver, with no clear fix, but the
issue seems to be aggravated by certain wireless devices. In my case,
I believe it was my Squeezebox Duet triggering the problem.
Fortunately, I can configure the Squeezebox remote to control the
player Ad Hoc, and have the player now wired.

End result, I have workable wireless AP for my laptops (and Wii).
Signal strength isn't as great (the aerial being this small thing
buried at the back of my server), but I plan on getting a cable &
maybe a better aerial, which should solve that problem.

The MadWifi driver is also legacy and non-free, but its FOSS
successor, ath5k, doesn't support AP mode yet - but looks like it will
from kernel 2.6.31. I'll probably wait for that kernel then give it a
go, given the current setup is at least workable.

-- 
Trevor Phillips  - http://dortamur.livejournal.com/
"On nights such as this, evil deeds are done. And good deeds, of
course. But mostly evil, on the whole."
      -- (Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters)