Wireless Strength: Windows vs Linux

[lug at the-leveys.us (Don Levey)]

discuss-bounces at blu.org wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 22, 2006 at 06:34:22PM -0500, Don Levey wrote:
>> I'm noticing something odd on my wife'a laptop.  I put a DLink
>> wireless card in it so we can move it around the house; in Windows
>> XP the reported signal strength (per the OS itself) is always very
>> strong.  However, in Linux (Fedora 4), the reported strength is
>> mediocre at best.  The antenna is perhaps as much as 20-30 feet from
>> the laptop, and even moving the thing into the same root 3' away
>> brings me only to about 50% signal strength when in Linux.  Is this
>> just a function of the reporting tools I'm using (wlassistant, KDE
>> panel applet), or is there truly some sort of signal enhancement
>> going on in Windows? 
>> 
>>  -Don
> 
> Don, this is total guessing FWIW:
> 
> Does the card have a native Linux driver?  If not perhaps the probably
> native Win driver may be configuring internal registers in the card
> differently causing the card to react differently in the two OS's.
> 
> Come to think of it, thats true even if it has a native Linux driver.
> Oh well. Never mind.

Well, just for clarity:
I'm using the latest MadWIFI driver - it's an Atheros-based card.
 -Don