[Tfug] Need advice - consumer fraud caught on a WiFi adapter

Sat Dec 6 09:12:32 MST 2008

1. Does Airlink promote or list this AWLL6070 device as
using an Atheros chipset? What does their website or data
sheet say? Does the box say anything to that effect? Maybe
there are "versions" of that device.

2. Who do you claim has defrauded you? The Ubuntu database?

3. Did you open the device to determine exactly what chipset
the device uses? If not, maybe there are pictures of the
printed wiring board somewhere on the internet.

4. Perhaps the Linux drivers don't enumerate this device
well. (Maybe the Linux software is in error)

5. When you confront Frys.could you take in a hidden camera
to document this? Some of us would like to see what happens.
I would like to be there personally to observe when the
manager hears this geeky conspiracy story that most people
wouldn't give a flying piece of dung about. But, I won't be
able to make it up there in time.

6. Do the cell phone provider's TOS and AUP allow sharing?
Are there bandwidth caps on this plan? What is the fee?

7. Is this worth $20 of your time?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim March" <1.jim.march>
To: "Tucson Free Unix Group" <tfug at tfug.org>; "Main PLUG
discussion list" <plug-discuss at lists.plug.phoenix.az.us>
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2008 10:59 PM
Subject: [Tfug] Need advice - consumer fraud caught on a
WiFi adapter

> Guys, this is a wild one...
>
> So I'm still trying to find a WiFi adapter that can
> "broadcast" and
> thus share my cellmodem connection.  The Broadcom B43 is a
> failure, I
> know the various Intel chips fail too, so it's now time to
> try and
> find something Atheros-based, pref. on a USB port.
>
> At the Fry's Electronics on Baseline in Phoenix, I set up
> my laptop
> with cellmodem and start doing research on a pile of
> adapters
> (googling part numbers for specs and people's
> experiences).  I find an
> N-class USB device from Airlink101 (part number AWLL6070)
> that's
> listed as Atheros-based in at least one database:
>
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HardwareSupportComponentsWirelessNetworkCardsAirlink101
>
> I ask right there at Fry's permission to unwrap it, plug
> it in and see
> what's up.  While Fedora 10 doesn't auto-detect it to a
> "plug and
> play" level, I did lsusb and got:
>
> ---
> [jim at critter ~]$ lsusb
> Bus 002 Device 002: ID 14b2:3c27 Atheros Communications
> Inc
> Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root
> hub
> Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root
> hub
> Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root
> hub
> Bus 005 Device 002: ID 046d:c404 Logitech, Inc. TrackMan
> Wheel
> Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root
> hub
> Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0c88:180a Kyocera Wireless Corp.
> Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root
> hub
> Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root
> hub
> Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root
> hub
> [jim at critter ~]$
> ---
>
> So I figure with some gyrations to get either MadWiFi or
> Ath5k up,
> I'll get her running.  It's on sale for about $20.  Kewl.
>
> Get it to where I'm staying tonight in Phoenix, I try
> various things
> to get Atheros drivers up.  Nothing doing...card appears
> flat dead
> other than responding to lsusb.  Ohhhkay...maybe it's an
> oddball
> Atheros chipset?
>
> So I google "Fedora 10" with the device ID:
> "14b2:3c27"...and I get
> links like this:
>
> http://linux.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/Fedora/2008-07/msg01914.html
>
> ...telling me that the device ID refers to an rt2870
> chipset - which
> in turn can't broadcast.
>
> Wait, what?
>
> So I get to terminal as root and do:
>
> yum install rt2870
>
> Sure enough, after a reboot the card works - right there
> in Network
> Manager, it displays itself as being "Atheros".  I try and
> share my
> cellmodem through it via Network Manager 7 and it fails
> bigtime.  Run
> iwconfig and get:
>
> ---
> jim at critter ~]$ iwconfig
> lo        no wireless extensions.
>
> eth0      no wireless extensions.
>
> ra0       RT2870 Wireless  ESSID:""  Nickname:"RT2870STA"
>          Mode:Auto  Frequency=2.462 GHz  Access Point:
> 00:18:02:78:B3:F3
>          Bit Rate=150 Mb/s
>          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
>          Link Quality=70/100  Signal level:-88 dBm  Noise
> level:-97 dBm
>          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid
> frag:0
>          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed
> beacon:0
>
> pan0      no wireless extensions.
>
> ppp0      no wireless extensions.
>
> [jim at critter ~]$
> ---
>
> Uh huh.  OK.  What we have here is fraud.  A Netgear USB
> WiFi device
> that says right on the box "Atheros" was $50.  Somebody
> set up this
> cheapo card to be a fake Atheros device.  It's not like I
> was the only
> one taken in: the Ubuntu WiFi listed above has the false
> info.
>
> I'll be showing this to the Fry's manager tomorrow night,
> and will
> prep a letter to Atheros on this Monday.  Anybody know
> what else I
> should do?
>
> On another note: Ubuntu (at least Hardy or Intrepid) would
> have likely
> auto-detected the RT2870 driver and it would have been a
> bit harder to
> sort this out, at least until I ran iwconfig.
>
> Jim
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tucson Free Unix Group - tfug at tfug.org
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>

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