[nycbug-talk] USB wireless for FreeBSD 9.x

[Brian Callahan]

On 9/8/2013 2:43 PM, Scott Robbins wrote:
> I have a Zenbook, using the AR9485 Atheros card.  Unfortunately, it won't
> be supported until 10 is released.  I've played a bit with CURRENT on this
> machine, but don't have the time or patience right now.
>
> I've tried a few of the options posted by the person who has created the
> driver to get it working on 9.2-RC3 but had no luck, and I don't want to
> spend a lot of time on it at this point.
>
>
> So, my first question, as I like the small form factor, has anyone used one
> of these?
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833162037
>
> It's a Buffalo WLI-UC-GNM, which does not seem to be specified in man(4)
> run, though a WLI-UC-GN is specified.  Some googling seems to indicate that
> it's supported, though one person was having trouble with it a year ago.
>
> What I'm finding, going through the various man pages, e.g., run, rum,
> urtw, etc., is that many of the cards listed are fairly old.  For example,
> the Asus USB-N13 is supported, but only in version A1.  B&H had the card in
> stock, including a used one for $12.00, but after skating over, bringing
> the laptop, it turned out that both the used and the new one were version
> B1, which is not supported.  (They were very nice there, they allowed me to
> try, despite what I'd seen on BSD forums, take the used one out of the box
> which will mean more work for them wrapping the plastic back, and try it on
> my laptop.)
>
> So, firstly, 10 RELEASE should be out within a few months, so I could be
> patient, but as my wife, who teaches dance to children frequently tells me,
> I have less restraint than some of her creative movement students (who are
> Kindergarten or pre-Kindergarten age.)
>
> I like the Buffalo one that I linked because of it's small form factor, but
> if no one has tried that, has anyone tried one that definitely worked for
> them that is still available?  I don't want to spend much over $20.00, and
> would prefer the small form factor.  After 10 hits RELEASE, I'll probably
> wind up offering it as a known to work USB wireless on this list.  :)
>
> So, TL;DR
>
> Has anyone tried the Buffalo WLI-UC-GNM as a USB wireless and found it to
> work?
> Does anyone have a USB wireless that they have found to work that is still
> readily available for not much more than $20.00?
>
> Thanks for any input.
>
>

Does FreeBSD not have urtwn(4)? I use this on OpenBSD/{macppc,sgi} with 
no problems:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/230973235744

If FreeBSD doesn't have urtwn(4) you still have options:

AFAIK, urtw(4) doesn't come in a small form factor; generally they look 
like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALFA-AWUS036H-USB-Wireless-G-WiFi-Adapter-5dBi-Antenna-REALTEK-RTL8187L-/171122065537

Something like this should work ("should" as in I haven't tested it 
myself but the chipset claimed in the ad is supported) with run(4):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ralink-RT3070-802-11n-WiFi-USB-WIRELESS-N-card-adapter-/261117253939
You have to be careful with Ralink as not all chipsets are supported 
(like RT5370, which is disappointing because they're also pretty small).

Though honestly, if this is just a stop-gap for you, I would scour eBay 
for some used dongle I knew was supported and cheap and call it a day.

HTH

~Brian