2007-10-17 19:37:33

by Andreas Schwab

Subject: b43: cannot set channel to 12

The b43 driver in current wireless-2.6 cannot set the channel to 12:

# iwconfig wlan0 chan 12
Error for wireless request "Set Frequency" (8B04) :
SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument

iwlist still lists the APs on channels 12 and 13.

This is a 4318 in a iBook G4, using firmware version 410.2160.

Andreas.

--=20
Andreas Schwab, SuSE Labs, [email protected]
SuSE Linux Products GmbH, Maxfeldstra=DFe 5, 90409 N=FCrnberg, Germany
PGP key fingerprint =3D 58CA 54C7 6D53 942B 1756 01D3 44D5 214B 8276 4=
ED5
"And now for something completely different."

2007-10-21 14:34:30

by Larry Finger

Subject: Re: b43: cannot set channel to 12

Andreas Schwab wrote:
> Larry Finger <[email protected]> writes:
>
>> This is not a b43 problem. The standard loading of mac80211 sets an FCC regulatory domain, i.e. b/g
>> channels 1-11. You need to load mac80211 with a parameter of 'ieee80211_regdom=64'. That will allow
>> b/g channels 1-13. Technically, it sets the regulatory domain to Japan, but channel 14 is not allowed.
>
> Thanks, that works. (But I regard it as a regression.)

That is in the eye of the beholder. For those of us in FCC-land, the default behavior of bcm43xx
(channels 1-14) was a bug _AND_ a violation of regulations and law.

Handling regulatory domain information including allowed channels, power, etc. is still a big
weakness of all MAC layers, both hard and soft.

Larry

2007-10-17 19:50:14

by Larry Finger

Subject: Re: b43: cannot set channel to 12

Andreas Schwab wrote:
> The b43 driver in current wireless-2.6 cannot set the channel to 12:
>
> # iwconfig wlan0 chan 12
> Error for wireless request "Set Frequency" (8B04) :
> SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument
>
> iwlist still lists the APs on channels 12 and 13.
>
> This is a 4318 in a iBook G4, using firmware version 410.2160.

This is not a b43 problem. The standard loading of mac80211 sets an FCC regulatory domain, i.e. b/g
channels 1-11. You need to load mac80211 with a parameter of 'ieee80211_regdom=64'. That will allow
b/g channels 1-13. Technically, it sets the regulatory domain to Japan, but channel 14 is not allowed.

Larry

2007-10-18 13:59:05

by Michael Büsch

Subject: Re: b43: cannot set channel to 12

On Wednesday 17 October 2007 21:37:31 Andreas Schwab wrote:
> The b43 driver in current wireless-2.6 cannot set the channel to 12:
>
> # iwconfig wlan0 chan 12
> Error for wireless request "Set Frequency" (8B04) :
> SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument
>
> iwlist still lists the APs on channels 12 and 13.
>
> This is a 4318 in a iBook G4, using firmware version 410.2160.

That seems to be a mac80211 regulatory problem, not a b43 bug.

--
Greetings Michael.

2007-10-21 11:40:24

by Andreas Schwab

Subject: Re: b43: cannot set channel to 12

Larry Finger <[email protected]> writes:

> This is not a b43 problem. The standard loading of mac80211 sets an F=
CC regulatory domain, i.e. b/g
> channels 1-11. You need to load mac80211 with a parameter of 'ieee802=
11_regdom=3D64'. That will allow
> b/g channels 1-13. Technically, it sets the regulatory domain to Japa=
n, but channel 14 is not allowed.

Thanks, that works. (But I regard it as a regression.)

Andreas.

--=20
Andreas Schwab, SuSE Labs, [email protected]
SuSE Linux Products GmbH, Maxfeldstra=DFe 5, 90409 N=FCrnberg, Germany
PGP key fingerprint =3D 58CA 54C7 6D53 942B 1756 01D3 44D5 214B 8276 4=
ED5
"And now for something completely different."