is control of wireless NIC tx power possible?

aristotelix · 07-26-2011, 05:36 PM

hello everyone
I would like to ask if there is a way to control the transmission power of my wireless network card?? I am using Intel 5100 agn with the iwlagn driver.

jefro · 07-26-2011, 07:38 PM

Do you want more power or less? I think you can reduce power but raising it may be difficult.

aristotelix · 07-27-2011, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefro

Do you want more power or less? I think you can reduce power but raising it may be difficult.

i want to reduce the transmission power.... how is this possible?

onebuck · 07-27-2011, 08:16 AM

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

Quote:

excerpt from 'man iwconfig';

txpower
For cards supporting multiple transmit powers, sets the transmit power in
dBm. If W is the power in Watt, the power in dBm is P = 30 + 10.log(W). If
the value is postfixed by mW, it will be automatically converted to dBm.
In addition, on and off enable and disable the radio, and auto and fixed
enable and disable power control (if those features are available).
Examples :
iwconfig eth0 txpower 15
iwconfig eth0 txpower 30mW
iwconfig eth0 txpower auto
iwconfig eth0 txpower off

Just a few links to aid you;

  1 Linux Documentation Project 
2 Rute Tutorial & Exposition 
3 Linux Command Guide  
4 Bash Beginners Guide 
5 Bash Reference Manual 
6 Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide 
7 Linux Newbie Admin Guide 
8 LinuxSelfHelp 
9 Utimate Linux Newbie Guide
10 Linux Home Networking
11 Virtualization- Top 10

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

aristotelix · 07-27-2011, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebuck

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

Just a few links to aid you;

  1 Linux Documentation Project 
2 Rute Tutorial & Exposition 
3 Linux Command Guide  
4 Bash Beginners Guide 
5 Bash Reference Manual 
6 Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide 
7 Linux Newbie Admin Guide 
8 LinuxSelfHelp 
9 Utimate Linux Newbie Guide
10 Linux Home Networking
11 Virtualization- Top 10

The above links and others can be found at 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

Hello and thank you for your reply
I tried the iwconfig txpower command and it works fine for my wnic.. now I will have to test it on an ad hoc network and see how it behaves. do you know if changing the tx power works for all wireless cards?

onebuck · 07-27-2011, 07:19 PM

Hi,

Not all cards will support the function. Note the excerpt form 'man iwconfig;

Quote:

For cards supporting multiple transmit powers, sets the transmit power in
dBm. If W is the power in Watt, the power in dBm is P = 30 + 10.log(W). If
the value is postfixed by mW, it will be automatically converted to dBm.
In addition, on and off enable and disable the radio, and auto and fixed
enable and disable power control (if those features are available).

Read the bold statement above. Most cheaper wireless don't have multi-functionality, bare minimum.

aristotelix · 07-31-2011, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebuck

Hi,

Not all cards will support the function. Note the excerpt form 'man iwconfig;
Read the bold statement above. Most cheaper wireless don't have multi-functionality, bare minimum.

thanks