Solved Broadcom BCM4306, or BCM2050 support?

Chris_H

Chris_H

Greetings, all.
I was gifted a PCI wireless NIC, and just got the opportunity to plug it into a spare I had, to see how it worked. Sadly, FreeBSD didn't even notice it. :( OK, it's a Broadcom -- see closed source; so I didn't have unrealistic expectations. ;) But I do know that alot of work has been done with Broadcom chips, so I'm guessing it's not "out of reach".
Anyone working on this one , or both of these?
Details:
It's an Askey (model number unknown) I was only able to find an FCC ID: H8NWLH3010
Links to any useful details I could find:
https://fccid.io/H8NWLH3010 (has all the docs, as well as the manual)
https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Askey_WLH3010 (has good links too)
OK, from the users manual provided to the FCC:
Code: 
Host Interfaces: Mini PCI
Form factor: Type III B
Chipset: Broadcom BCM 4306 & BCM 2050
Operation Voltage: 3.3VDC
Network Standards: IEEE 802.11b (Wi-FiTM) standard and IEEE 802.11g draft standard (54G)
Modulation Techniques: DBPSK,DQPSK,CCK,16QAM,64QAM
Modulation Technology: OFDM,DSSS
Data Rate: 802.11b: 11, 5.5, 2, 1 Mbps 802.11g: 54, 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9, 6 Mbps
Network Architectures: Infrastructure and Ad Hoc
Operating Frequencies: 2.4-2.497 GHz
Operating Channels: 802.11b: 11 for North America, 14 for Japan, 13 for Europe (ETSI)
                                802.11g: 13 for North America, 13 for Europe (ETSI), 13 for Japan
...
Yea, I know. It's pretty old stuff. But still useful in a utilitarian sort of way. I had hoped to use for a WAP/Gateway in the house, or garage.
Anyway... Given FreeBSD provided no joy, I decided to spin up a CentOS live DVD I had, and see if I had any luck there. Here's the results (from dmesg(8)):
Code: 
cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
b43legacy-phy0: Broadcom 4306 WLAN found (core revision 4)
b43legacy-phy0 debug: Found PHY: Analog 1, Type 2, Revision 1
b43legacy-phy0 debug: Found Radio: Manuf 0x17F, Version 0x2050, Revision 2
b43legacy-phy0 debug: Radio initialized
b43legacy-phy0: Loading firmware b43legacy/ucode4.fw
Broadcom 43xx-legacy driver loaded [ Features: PLID ]
b43legacy ssb0:0: firmware: requesting b43legacy/ucode4.fw
b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43legacy/ucode4.fw" not found or load failed.
b43legacy-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 3).
microcode: CPU0 sig=0xf33, pf=0x4, revision=0xb
platform microcode: firmware: requesting intel-ucode/0f-03-03
Microcode Update Driver: v2.00 <tigran@aivazian.fsnet.co.uk>, Peter Oruba
sr 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 5
sd 2:0:1:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0
cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:
cfg80211:  DFS Master region: unset
cfg80211:  (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp), (dfs_cac_time)
cfg80211:  (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm), (N/A)
cfg80211:  (2457000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm), (N/A)
cfg80211:  (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm), (N/A)
cfg80211:  (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 160000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm), (N/A)
cfg80211:  (5250000 KHz - 5330000 KHz @ 160000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm), (0 s)
cfg80211:  (5490000 KHz - 5730000 KHz @ 160000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm), (0 s)
cfg80211:  (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 80000 KHz), (N/A, 2000 mBm), (N/A)
cfg80211:  (57240000 KHz - 63720000 KHz @ 2160000 KHz), (N/A, 0 mBm), (N/A)
microcode: CPU0 updated to revision 0xc, date = 2005-04-2
So it appears there's hope -- the card isn't recognized in FreeBSD, because it's dead. :)

Any information, or pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

--Chris
 
OK. A little followup. After attempting better search criterium; it seems that if_bwi(4) might well carry the "magic" I need. Posting if_bwi_load="YES" to loader.conf(5), provides:
Code: 
[man=8]dmesg[/man]
bwi0: <Broadcom BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless Lan> mem 0xdfd00000-0xdfd01fff irq 18 at device 10.0 on pci0
ioapic0: routing intpin 18 (PCI IRQ 18) to lapic 0 vector 51
bwi0: BBP: id 0x4306, rev 0x2, pkg 0
bwi0: MAC: rev 4
bwi0: PHY: type 2, rev 1, ver 1
bwi0: RF: manu 0x17f, type 0x2050, rev 2
bwi0: invalid antenna gain in sprom
bwi0: 11b rates: 1Mbps 2Mbps 5.5Mbps 11Mbps
bwi0: 11g rates: 1Mbps 2Mbps 5.5Mbps 11Mbps 6Mbps 9Mbps 12Mbps 18Mbps 24Mbps 36Mbps 48Mbps 54Mbps
and from /var/log/messages
Code: 
Starting Network: bwi0.
bwi0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 2290
  ether 00:90:96:5d:36:9b
  nd6 options=29<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>
  media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (autoselect)
  status: no carrier
Starting Network: bwi0.
bwi0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 2290
  ether 00:90:96:5d:36:9b
  nd6 options=29<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>
  media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (autoselect)
  status: no carrier
So it appears it's doable, albeit with a little coaxing. :)

--Chris
 
OK. Now that I've discovered it works. Does anyone know how I can set it up as a WAP (access point/gateway)?

Thanks!

--Chris
 
Indeed I am, and I actually found it by myself. :)
But am really grateful you took the time to post the link, sidetone !

On a sad note. After reading all the goodness in that doc, I performed a test to discover whether I could create the AP, I had intended, with this NIC. But the results were less than gratifying:
Code: 
ifconfig wlan0 list caps
drivercaps=2181c001<STA,SHSLOT,SHPREAMBLE,MONITOR,WPA1,WPA2,BGSCAN>
Bummer, HOSTAP is missing. :(

Anyone care to make a recommendation on a PCI wireless NIC for use as a HOSTAP?

Thanks!

--Chris
 
Thanks for the recommendation, Phishfry .
Yea, I figured pretty much any Atheros based card would be good, given their broad support on FreeBSD. But I was hoping for a specific model, and one that's HOSTAP capable. It's not easy finding them by brand, without taking it out of the box, and popping the cap off the chip -- something their not fond of at the store. ;)
Any you know of, that fit the bill?

Thanks again, for the recommendation, Phishfry !

--Chris
 
Well the AR9280 and AR9380 are what i recommend. There are some Atheros that have issues. Mainly AR9285 and AR9287.
So back to the question. MiniPCI or desktop PCI form factor? None of the above chipsets support PCI.
I would avoid all branded cards and stick with laptop modules. Even in a desktop. Some TPLink Atheros PCI cards have problems as well as Dlink.
This info is from the pfSense forums. I think some use a different bridge chip than the Atheros reference design.

Another question is what band. The 5 ghz modules are better if your equipped for them.
Note PCI cards are really old now and selection is limited for 802.11N

Here is an example of working miniPCI cards.
AR5416 and AR9220
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251462236583
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201579518779

Here is the paddlecard. Note the PCI notch for 5V.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171910147205

Lots of 802.11G on Ebay I can recommend if you happy with that or on a budget.
Note all ath(4) supported devices are hostap capable. It is built into the driver.
 
Phishfry said:
Well the AR9280 and AR9380 are what i recommend. There are some Atheros that have issues. Mainly AR9285 and AR9287.
So back to the question. MiniPCI or desktop PCI form factor?
Click to expand...
Sorry, forgot to address that question. :p
Mini/PCIe. All my proposed "stations", at home, are equipt' with PCIe.
Phishfry said:
None of the above chipsets support PCI.
I would avoid all branded cards and stick with laptop modules. Even in a desktop. Some TPLink Atheros PCI cards have problems as well as Dlink.
This info is from the pfSense forums. I think some use a different bridge chip than the Atheros reference design.

Another question is what band. The 5 ghz modules are better if your equipped for them.
Note PCI cards are really old now and selection is limited for 802.11N

Here is an example of working miniPCI cards.
AR5416 and AR9220
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251462236583
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201579518779

Here is the paddlecard. Note the PCI notch for 5V.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171910147205

Lots of 802.11G on Ebay I can recommend if you happy with that or on a budget.
Note all ath(4) supported devices are hostap capable. It is built into the driver.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the recommendations, Phishfry ! Much appreciated.

--Chris
 
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