Aranadin Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) Hi all, I'm just wondering what the standard txpower of wlan0 is for most people? Mine seems really low when I do a iwlist txpower, as it comes up at only 12dBm as depicted below. wlan2 unknown transmit-power information. Current Tx-Power=20 dBm (100 mW) mon0 unknown transmit-power information. Current Tx-Power=20 dBm (100 mW) wlan1 unknown transmit-power information. Current Tx-Power=20 dBm (100 mW) wlan0 unknown transmit-power information. Current Tx-Power=12 dBm (15 mW) This seems somewhat low to me, this is both on battery power and using the wall power... Edited February 9, 2015 by Aranadin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DataHead Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 It us probably your regional regulations. My "client mode" interfaces are default to 27, and ap is 18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aranadin Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Thanks for the reply, doing a get on the reg though show's the following... Executing 'iw reg get': country 98: (2402 - 2472 @ 40), (N/A, 20) (5170 - 5250 @ 80), (N/A, 17) (5250 - 5330 @ 80), (N/A, 20), DFS (5490 - 5600 @ 80), (N/A, 24), DFS (5650 - 5710 @ 40), (N/A, 24), DFS (57240 - 63720 @ 2160), (N/A, 40), NO-OUTDOOR Any idea what country 98 is? I know that I can change the power easily using say BO, but it still only changes the other adapters, wlan0 stubbornly sits at 12... :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DataHead Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/wireless.utilities&ved=0CC0QFjAF&usg=AFQjCNH-BRFWSQK9N11ZGSPZkvPS0MQ03g The value 98 represents a synthesized regulatory domain Edited February 9, 2015 by DataHead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry99705 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Country 98 is Aruba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aranadin Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 If only I was in Aruba... Sigh one can dream. Anyway that clears that little mystery up, but still leaves me with the issue concerning the low output, any ideas anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
va7acq Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I have this *exact* same issue. I'm using the 2.2.0 firmware, and have never bothered with the power settings on my MK5 until I read this thread. I checked, and sure enough, wlan0 is stuck at 12dBm just like the OP. wlan1 appears to be working fine up to 30dBm. I've searched for and read all of the txpower-related posts in this forum, and am familiar with the process to change regions and power levels using the provided documentation and tutorials. Even my local region (CA) is good up to 27dBm, but it stays stuck at 12dBm. Even 18dBm is looking pretty good right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry99705 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) I actually think that radio is hardware locked to that power level. Something about the chipset or something like that. I never really worried about the tx power, cars on the highway and the truckers in the parking lot for the factory beside my house connect if I leave my pineapple running all day. The closest of the two is almost 500 feet away outside my house. The walls of my house were built in 1832 and aren't very wifi friendly. Edited February 11, 2015 by barry99705 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebkinne Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 12 dbm is way too low. Wlan0 is supposed to be sat at 18. Please contact shop@hak5.org. Best regards, Sebkinne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorgeivan Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 same thing is happening to me Tx-Power=12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebkinne Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I have been told on IRC that this issue exists no matter what firmware is flashed on the device - is this correct? Did you recently receive your WiFi Pineapple MKV? Best Regards, Sebkinne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
va7acq Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I received my MK5 on Jan 5th, 2015. I did not note what the tx output level was on the 1.x or earlier 2.x firmwares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebkinne Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I received my MK5 on Jan 5th, 2015. I did not note what the tx output level was on the 1.x or earlier 2.x firmwares. Could you flash an earlier firmware and let us know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aranadin Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Hi Seb, yes I did recently receive it, my wife got me it for Christmas, and it was the same tx power on the original firmware, and also the recent update, could it be a bad batch of chips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
va7acq Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Could you flash an earlier firmware and let us know? Okay, I flashed 1.4.1 and 2.0.4, and both had the same results: wlan0 is stuck at 12 dBm. With each flash, I first confirmed the current power level, and then tried to set it to 18 dBm, and then 27dBm. It always stayed at 12 dBm. Do I have a lemon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aranadin Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Okay, I flashed 1.4.1 and 2.0.4, and both had the same results: wlan0 is stuck at 12 dBm. With each flash, I first confirmed the current power level, and then tried to set it to 18 dBm, and then 27dBm. It always stayed at 12 dBm. Do I have a lemon? Snap! And just to reiterate, these readings are the same on both battery and mains power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebkinne Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Thanks for letting us know, we are looking into it and will update this thread once we have concrete answers. Of course, we will make sure that this issue is resolved. Bets regards, Sebkinne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aranadin Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Fingers crossed for a swift resolution:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorgeivan Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 I have the same problem battery and wall power Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpetya Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Got mine yesterday, also : wlan0 Current Tx-Power=12 dBm (15 mW) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonmatrix Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Same Here.. Tx-Power=12 dBm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aranadin Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Any update on a resolution to this problem Seb? I've not heard anything back from my email to the shop as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebkinne Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Yup, we are a lot further with this issue now. We'll update this thread tomorrow :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rattyss Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I am waiting for the update as well. I am in the same situation. wlan0 12 dBm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Kitchen Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 TL:DR; It's reporting 12 due to an older 802.11b chip config, but the chip is locked at 18 regardless of what the system reports. First and foremost, when we receive concerns from the community, we take them very seriously. It's your input over the years that has led the focus of the WiFi Pineapple for generations. We've investigated the matter of some MK5 units reporting 12 dBm txpower for wlan0 and confirmed it with the manufacturer. The report from our manufacturer indicates that one of the testing and calibration stations made a regulatory configuration for a small number of MK5 units delivered in November and December of 2014. This change affects the CCK (Complementary Code Keying) configuration of the older 802.11 B protocol, and not the OFDM calibration of 802.11 G and N protocols used by the MK5. While this configuration results in the system reporting a lower wlan0 txpower than in actual use, the system is in fact transmitting at the full 18 dBm txpower. Extensively testing of affected and unaffected units has been carried out by the entire Hak5 team across the world (as Darren and Seb are currently on Hack Across Europe) and we have verified that the reported configuration is *only cosmetic*. The RF performance of all MK5 units tested are nearly identical. A huge thanks to Shannon, Sara, Paul at the warehouse, Rkiver at HakShop EU and our manufacturer for thoroughly investigating and testing the MK5. We're are continuing to monitor the situation and are investigating the possibility of patching in a future firmware. Thanks for your continued support. We greatly appreciate all of the input that has shaped the future of the WiFi Pineapple ecosystem, and the WiFi landscape at large. :) --Darren & Seb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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