via usb wifi card - problems

[nicolas]

I got the via usb wifi card/dongle with the mini2440 package. But havent tried it until yesterday.

Under wince, upon plugging in the card the os slows down and is unable to find any wireless access points.
Within a minute, the card is also very hot.
Unplugging the card restores the OS to its normal speed/operation.
I can manually configure the AP and make it try to connect, but it fails to connect.

I also tried connecting it to a Windows Vista machine, and it also gets hot and fails to find any networks.

Any ideas ?

[janiz]

My VT6656 can find and connect to WPA2 APs in Linux fine but sorry I haven't tried other OSes.

What I can tell is that yes it gets HOT. Actually very hot when transmitting data and it's just on USB1.1 with ~400KB/s, it's hard to imagine what would happen running full speed.

I guess this is not the best wifi dongle in the market..

[esky-sh]

I got the via usb wifi card/dongle with the mini2440 package. But havent tried it until yesterday.

Under wince, upon plugging in the card the os slows down and is unable to find any wireless access points.
Within a minute, the card is also very hot.
Unplugging the card restores the OS to its normal speed/operation.
I can manually configure the AP and make it try to connect, but it fails to connect.

I also tried connecting it to a Windows Vista machine, and it also gets hot and fails to find any networks.

Any ideas ?

Had you tried latest drivers for windows vista from VIA?

[nicolas]

I used the drivers from Windows Update.
Ill try to see if theres any newer ones from VIA.

[armboarder]

On XP PC it worked OK and it got very hot.
I've plugged-it on my TQ2440 it also get very hot.
But it seems that the card works intermittently, I can see Access point list for a moment, but then all dissappear, WinCE slow down.
I've tried to connect to the access point but on the driver log I see "Failed to associate", and doesn't connect (WEP Shared key).
It also reboots sometimes when I connect or disconnect the USB Wifi.
I will try to improve the power circuit of my card: adding some 10uF and 100nF + another power source for the USB.

[nicolas]

Yes I saw that same issue, "But it seems that the card works intermittently, I can see Access point list for a moment, but then all dissappear"

When it first loads the wireless utility, i can see some access points but they go away (in wince and windows vista)

I also noticed, it doesnt get hot if the computer doesnt have the drivers for it.
Once it has the drivers isntalled it starts to get hot.

[nicolas]

Ive narrowed it down to a power issue, i think.

On the PC (Win Vista) when I try a powered usb hub, im able to find AP's and connect properly.
Back on the PC directly it doesnt work.
Try a USB on the back ( direct to motherboard so full 500ma) then it works properly.

Also explains why it gets so hot.

Will try with a multimeter later to see how much current it actually trying to draw.

[admin]

Ive narrowed it down to a power issue, i think.

On the PC (Win Vista) when I try a powered usb hub, im able to find AP's and connect properly.
Back on the PC directly it doesnt work.
Try a USB on the back ( direct to motherboard so full 500ma) then it works properly.

Also explains why it gets so hot.

Will try with a multimeter later to see how much current it actually trying to draw.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience here and this will help us a lot for ones facing same issue!

[armboarder]

I've measured the current drawn by Wifi "USB stick version" on Mini2440 board.
It's 300 mA (@5.33V) when searching for network and then it drops to 240 mA when it's conected to the network.
Because of this high "current" I want to switch on and off the wireless network. I think I'll put a transistor to make the switch. Which kind of transistor should I use ? Which side should I place it to the ground or to the Vcc ?
Is it OK to put a ULN2803 to the ground?

[nicolas]

Strange, 330ma is fine for any usb port.
I wonder what the issue must be then.