LinuxQuestions.org - where does iwconfig get these?

- Slackware (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/)

- - where does iwconfig get these? (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/where-does-iwconfig-get-these-314204/)

where does iwconfig get these?

I am using an Orinoco Classic Gold 802.11 with 128 bit wep encryption on a 6 year old Compaq Laptop. I am able to use iwconfig to see some stats on my card. Where does iwconfig get these:

eth0 IEEE 802.11-DS ESSID:"LinuxHippy" Nickname:"LinuxHippyII"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437GHz Access Point: 00:E0:98:E1:94:21
Bit Rate:5.5Mb/s Tx-Power=15 dBm Sensitivity:1/3
Retry limit:4 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key: 74213f655733494f3a3f7e5b7b
Power Management period:2s mode:All packets received
Link Quality:35/92 Signal level:-60 dBm Noise level:-95 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:3 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

The WEP key and power settings are the 2 I'm most interested in.

iwconfig reads those directly from the driver memory, which is initally configured using iwconfig and the settings found in /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf in a Slack system.

It's possible to set the Tx-Power setting, but unless you know what you're doing, you're best to leave it at "auto", which is the default. At best, if you set it to something the card doesn't support, the card won't work. It is possible to cause lasting damage to the card with that setting. That setting isn't set by rc.wireless, but you can set it in a call from rc.local if you're sure you want to. Check man iwconfig for more detail on how to do that specifically. If you want to improve your wireless reception, you need to improve the AP's transmitting capabilities, and maybe invest in a can of pringles.