[HH] Resend: DD-WRT 'Client Mode' 'Client Bridge' with Atheros chips

[Kurt Keville]

I will ping some folks I know over at the OpenFenway project (http://www.openairboston.com/fenway). It seems to me they went through this exact problem once back in the day. Their distro (OpenWRT / Open-Mesh) has common roots with DD-WRT and the drivers for their usually Atheros chipsets was nominally madwifi or madwifi-ng if memory serves. Broadcom chipsets use a different driver (HostAP maybe?) so it wouldn't surprise me if their implementation of client mode differs. Apologies for the walk down memory lane... 

On Aug 20, 2012, at 5:38 PM, Phil C. wrote:

> I emailed this message before I confirmed my subscription to the hardware
> hacking mail list. So I'm sending it again. (Apologies if you get a
> duplicate)
> 
> 
> I posted these questions on the DD-WRT forum a week 4 days ago and no one
> can help, so I will ask here.
> 
> I was trying to make a low cost bridge that has external antennas to help my
> friend whose Trendnet 4 port media bridge is not receiving a wireless signal
> that well.
> 
> I picked up a Rosewill (Newegg) RNX-N300RT. The hardware is identical to the
> TP-Link TL-WR841N V?. It uses an atheros chip.
> 
> I flashed it with this firmware:
>> ftp://dd-wrt.com/others/eko/BrainSlaye...P2/2012/
> 
> I followed the wiki Client Bridge instructions:
>> www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Client_Bridged
> 
> to set up a bridge with my WRT-54GL as the primary router (running V24 sp2).
> 
> I can get the N300 to maybe connect once after finishing the wiki
> instructions. After that, it does not work. I am seeing a lot of receive
> errors on the N300 status.
> 
> HOWEVER, >www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic....9#702019
> describes using "CLIENT MODE" for the TP-Link TL-WR841N V7 which is the
> brother unit of the Rosewill, but I'm not sure if the Rosewill RNX-N300RT
> hardware matches the TL-WR841N V7 or V8.
> 
>> www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Bridging
> says that Client Bridging is better than Client Mode, BUT SAYS that Client
> Bridge DOES NOT WORK with Atheros chips.
> 
> So is this telling me why I can't get client bridging to work?
> 
> And client mode should work?
> 
> TO FURTHER muddy things, I read somewhere that if the host router is
> Broadcom based that it will not communicate well with an Atheros based
> client.
> 
> Can anyone shed some light on Client Bridging/Client Mode with Atheros
> wireless routers?
> 
> MORE DETAIL ON THIS ISSUE IS CONTAINED IN this DslReports post that I
> started:
> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r27438567-DD-WRT-Client-Mode-Client-Bridge-w
> ith-Atheros-chips~start=8#27443841
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> 
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