[Soekris] Re: Atheros card and AP connect problem

[Geert Jan de Groot]

> We are trying to build a customized Linux 2.4.29 kernel image on the
> Soekris 4521 board. The board is currently populated by an Atheros card
> in the mini-PCI slot 
> Now, if we bring up all the interfaces including the Atheros interface,
> we find that the signal quality from/to Atheros is very bad and is not
> able to connect to the AP at all consistently. But on the other hand, if
> we bring down all the other cards/interfaces (even pulling out the
> Ethernet cable out of the RJ45 port on the board), we are able to
> successfully make the Atheros card interface to the AP. 

I suspect it's RF noise interference from the cat5 cables to
the antenna of the Atheros card.
Is the antenna for the Atheros card close to the RJ45's?

As an experiment, move the connector as far away from the cat5
ethernet as possible and see if that makes a difference.

While cat5 is usually below the limits for FCC radiation,
they do radiate RF noise. A soekris is "not bad" in this
regard, but holding an antenna close is asking for trouble.

It also depends on the quality of the link partner.
Typically, brandname hubs/switches are OK, but cheap Asian stuff
is the pits - I sometimes wonder if it really did pass the tests.

Geert Jan