Which Atheros AR5B95?

[Paul van der Vlis]

Op 15-04-15 om 09:55 schreef Paul van der Vlis:
> Hello,
> 
> I am selling Lenovo X200s laptops in the Netherlands and I would like to
> replace the Intel 5300 wifi with an Atheros AR5B95, AR9285 chipset.
> 
> But, I would like to have some advice which one. Is it all the same, or
> are there differences?
> 
> I need a PCI Express Mini Card, see this picture:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#/media/File:MiniPCI_and_MiniPCI_Express_cards.jpg
> 
> I see them e.g. from e.g. Azurewave, Anatel, and used from many laptops
> like ASUS X5DAB.
> 
> Is 

here somebody who knows more?

Somebody wrote me in private e-mails, and I have learned a lot:

I thought you could use the open source firmware with these cards, but
that's not true! The closed source firmware is on the card, so you don't
have to load it, so you can build a FSF-free laptop with it, because
"it's a circuit". Ahum, not really what I wanted...

You can use the AR9281, AR9285, AR9287 (sometimes called AR9278X), it's
not a big difference and they are all good and all are using the ath9k
driver (maybe some of them have bluetooth).

Only the AR9280 is really different because it's dual-band, so you can
use the more quiet 5 Ghz band.

AR5B95 is only a marketing name.

He learned me that there are long and short types of this card. I have
the long type, but in a Lenovo X200(s) you can also use the half long type.

The open source ath9k firmware is only for the USB stick, and the
quality of the connection with that USB stick is not really good. This
is not only with the open source firmware, but with the closed source
firmware too.

With regards,
Paul van der Vlis.


-- 
Paul van der Vlis Linux systeembeheer, Groningen
http://www.vandervlis.nl/