Hey was wondering what mediocre, wireless USB NICs you like on Slackware boxes.

I'm thinking of picking up twenty or thirty cheap NICs at Amazon or Newegg and reincarnating some of my neighbors boxes off grid out here in the remote mountain regions of Humboldt.

A steak and beers kinda thang, They shall be assimilated.

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this belongs in the Slackware forum ask a mod to move it.

Not specific to Slackware, but my sticks work under most distros, & BSD => ADDON NWU271

rtl8192cu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw_TMSC.bin

(Uses the urtwn driver on OpenBSD)

http://www.addon-tech.com/new_/product/html/?55.html

read ALL the post:
"Hey was wondering what mediocre, wireless USB NICs you like on Slackware boxes."

1 members found this post helpful.

I've got very good experience, good signal, link stability, ath9k - supported since the 2.6.x kernels ( https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/ath9k ), with this Atheros powered TP-Link TL-WN722N Version 1:
https://www.tp-link.com/en/products/...TL-WN722N.html
The Version 1 (1.10) is about 10 USD here in Europe. Careful, they got now a new release - Version 2 - that is based on some realtek chipset and I have no experience with these new models.

This list could be helpful to identify the Linux Kernel supported WiFi NICs:
https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers

1 members found this post helpful.

There are lots of USB WiFi dongles supported in any Linux kernel these days and you can look through any config file to see which ones they are but I find Ethernet connected units easier since they require no driver modules beyond a working NIC. I haven't used one in years but they are commonly called Access Points, Range Extenders and Bridges and require no setup and usually are 3-way switchable. I owned a DLink unit that came in a pouch only slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes that could provide 3 distinct services, very versatile and inexpensive.

If you have an old ethernet router with wifi laying around you might be able to plug in to the LAN side ethernet ports, reconfigure the router to act as a client/bridge and use it as a wifi adapter and it will connect to your main router for internet, search google for info on this, i did it with a linksys wrt54g and i also installed dd-wrt on it which works better, i did this several years ago, i have since switched to an Alpha AWUS035NH which is a USB wifi adapter which is Linux compatible, there are also some little bitty multi purpose travel router that are multi purpose like that, the TP-Link TL-WR802N has one ethernet port that you can plug a PC in to and config it as a client adapter for wifi access too

there is always more than one way to skin a cat

3 members found this post helpful.

You can get USB network cards guaranteed to work with Linux from ThinkPenguin.

I know. I bought one from them once.

I did read ALL the post....

...so, if Slackware has that driver, then it works on Slackware too........think about it.

Yes this is indeed Slackware specific, lol. I don't want to have to hassle with things like this @fatmac:
https://slackbuilds.org/result/?search=broadcom&sv=14.2

I had considered Realtec, but again, I don't wanna be installing firmware. Your suggestion is appreciated though. I like the idea that @okie offered, and I think I've done that with an old 802.11g Linksys of some sort, but I think that's not really practical in this instance.

@frankbell, I have purchased from ThinkPenquin before, as a matter of wanting to contribute toward that cause, but they're a bit expensive - thank you for the link, as I did note the TPE-N150USB NICs are supported out of the box after checking. They do note that firmware would need to be installed if you're running Debian, another reason why this thread is Slackware specific.

@abga, thanks for that advice about the Atheros based NICs. I went ahead and ordered a couple of them to check before getting more, based on your recommendation

I also like the notion of the 'dongle' based wifi adapters that are RJ-45 based, and I'm going to look around on eBay for some old used, and cheap ones - Thanks for thinking outside the box on that one @enorbet! In a nutshell, most of the folks living out here off-grid in the mountains w/solar and diesel genset powered homes are not serviced by WISPs, and I'm although I'm looking into the possibilities of a wireless backhaul and then bouncing that up and over the ridges, etc., I'm not sure there's a sustainable business model to support that given the sparse population. what I've done so far is to install Wilson Electronics' weboost.com cellular amplifiers w/beam antennas mounted on 36' push-up pole masts. This works well for me here at this cabin, and is relatively reliable for connection oriented protocols. The only other component needed is a phone with WiFi hostspot capability over Verizon. In my tests I've had much more dismal results with any other carrier.

Finally, a special thanks goes out to Keith Hedger for recognizing that this is the subforum this thread belongs in.

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Yes this is indeed Slackware specific, lol. I don't want to have to hassle with things like this @fatmac:
https://slackbuilds.org/result/?search=broadcom&sv=14.2

I had considered Realtec, but again, I don't wanna be installing firmware. Your suggestion is appreciated though. I like the idea that @okie offered, and I think I've done that with an old 802.11g Linksys of some sort, but I think that's not really practical in this instance.

@frankbell, I have purchased from ThinkPenquin before, as a matter of wanting to contribute toward that cause, but they're a bit expensive - thank you for the link, as I did note the TPE-N150USB NICs are supported out of the box after checking. They do note that firmware would need to be installed if you're running Debian, another reason why this thread is Slackware specific.

@abga, thanks for that advice about the Atheros based NICs. I went ahead and ordered a couple of them to check before getting more, based on your recommendation

I also like the notion of the 'dongle' based wifi adapters that are RJ-45 based, and I'm going to look around on eBay for some old used, and cheap ones - Thanks for thinking outside the box on that one @enorbet! In a nutshell, most of the folks living out here off-grid in the mountains w/solar and diesel genset powered homes are not serviced by WISPs, and I'm although I'm looking into the possibilities of a wireless backhaul and then bouncing that up and over the ridges, etc., I'm not sure there's a sustainable business model to support that given the sparse population. what I've done so far is to install Wilson Electronics' weboost.com cellular amplifiers w/beam antennas mounted on 36' push-up pole masts. This works well for me here at this cabin, and is relatively reliable for connection oriented protocols. The only other component needed is a phone with WiFi hostspot capability over Verizon. In my tests I've had much more dismal results with any other carrier.

Finally, a special thanks goes out to Keith Hedger for recognizing that this is the subforum this thread belongs in.

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Maybe: https://www.netgear.com/home/product.../WNDA4100.aspx

Back in September 2015, when I first got my most recent Work Laptop with a built-in Killer Wireless ( Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 32)[/b] ) was not yet supported by the Linux 3.10.y Kernel in Slackware 14.1+current.

I bought one of these: AirLink101 AWLL6075 Wireless N Mini USB Adapter for about $10.00 US.

It still works great now that I have 'settled into' Slackware64 14.2 running the 4.4.131 Kernel.

However, that model is no longer available

Amazon recommends this: Airlink101 AWLL5088V2 Wireless N 150 Ultra Mini USB Adapter

While I can't vouch for that specific model, if it works as well as the predicessor, it would be a keeper !

HTH.

-- kjh