Know of generic, great USB wireless w Atheros?

My debit card (Bluebird) works within the States only, but PayPal is another story - long story short it's rare I get any money on it. And now with $10 on it I'd like to maximize a Chinese parts order.

Regular Atheros 150Mbps USB wireless units are $4 apiece, but some generic units cost less and are 300Mbps. Barring further advice I might order 2 x 150 Mbps and have reliable wireless for Pogoplug, Beelink or maybe even DreamPlug is the image requires it. I've learned Realtek units aren't helpful at my skill level, and some cheap generic units at least show the driver CD, which zooming in shows "RTL..." so I'm asking anyone who knows for pretty sure.

I PM'ed Gravelrash but I know he's got a 4-ton press and might be busy minting bitcoin lol.

Not Alex Express either, it's got to be eBay.

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as long as it has the atheros chipset and you feel comfortable dealing with the seller, any chip will do the deed :))

@Joe: R U talking about these 600 Mbps USB WiFi adapters? Most of the subject lines claimed it is a 600 Mbps WiFi, but the specs clearly show much less than that. So, be very careful to read the specs before you place an order.

Thanks you guys. Although audio devices aren't as crucial as networking devices, those slightly-over $1 audio USB things you recommended a while back (specifically this and this) have been fantastic for diagnostics, and I've never lacked audio since. Little miracles.

And you can't forget the Realtek wireless USB nightmare we had a while back. So Atheros is it then. I made an offer for two for $5, which I doubt they'll do but still, also my limited research shows TP-Link sticks are likely to have Atheros, so I'll also keep an eye out at thrift stores.

For what ti's worth, the highest leverage dollar spent abroad is items like HDMI to old digital ports on monitors , SATA hard drive adapters with separate power lines (it works for SATA and SAD but doesn't adapt one to the other) and things like that where it leverages hobby investment money.

I don't even know how much I'll use my future Atheros, but it's less of a headache knowing I've got that then the Realtek outside of Windows and OSX.

And I'll say this, there are a couple Linux projects I've failed (or long-term pending lol), but every time I learned something valuable that helps in some other part of my rig.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2018 08:39PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

Gravelrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> as long as it has the atheros chipset and
> you feel comfortable dealing with the seller, any
> chip will do the deed :))

+1. Atheros is always recommended.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner

Joey stated "Barring further advice I might order 2 x 150 Mbps and have reliable wireless for Pogoplug, Beelink or maybe even DreamPlug is the image requires it."

Both the Beelink and DreamPlug have onboard wireless. If you're having issues with that perhaps I can help you get it working.

Ray

rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> perhaps I can help you get it working.
>
> Ray

:thumsbup

Gravelrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rayknight Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > perhaps I can help you get it working.
> >
> > Ray
>
> :thumsbup

+1

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner

Groove doo-chi this should be in either next week or August; you know how Chinese shipping works .

It was this neat article on the wireless chips Linux is okay with lately, including Ralink 3070, Atheros AR9271, and Realtek 8187. The article does on to I'm pretty sure mention the Realtek I have here, which isn't even fun to install on Windows or Mac lol

Now, I'm not sure what I want to do wirelessly anyway, but as someone mentioned a while back,a hummingbird feeder camera on a Pi or something like that. Maybe a squirrel harasser LOL They come to take bird food away those little f*ckers - I'd love not only a camera but some way to make s sound to mess with them. I'd never be cruel, just entertainment value. And maybe make a video while doing it.

Some of the best times being poor is needing a part and knowing you had the foresight to have it on hand ages ago.

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JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It
> was this neat article on the wireless chips Linux
> is okay with lately, including Ralink 3070,
> Atheros AR9271, and Realtek 8187.

That article is discussing USB wireless adapters. The onboard adapter in the DreamPlug and the Beelink X2 both use SDIO as the interface to the wireless which uses completely different drivers than USB. Both of these units can have different adapters depending on when they were manufactured. The DreamPlug may have either the Marvell 88W8688 which uses the libertas driver or the Marvell 88W8787 which uses the mwifiex driver. If your unit has the 8787 then you may need to blacklist the libertas driver in order to get wifi working properly. The Beelink X2 uses either the Realtek RTL8189ETV which uses the 8189es driver or the AP6181 module that uses the bcmdhd driver. I don't have any experience with the bcmdhd driver, but haven't had any issues with my Beelink X2 that has the Realtek chip.

Ray

rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> >
> It
> > was this neat article on the wireless chips
> Linux
> > is okay with lately, including Ralink
> 3070,
> > Atheros AR9271, and Realtek 8187.
>
> That article is discussing USB wireless adapters.
> The onboard adapter in the DreamPlug and the
> Beelink X2 both use SDIO as the interface to the
> wireless which uses completely different drivers
> than USB. Both of these units can have different
> adapters depending on when they were manufactured.
> The DreamPlug may have either the Marvell 88W8688
> which uses the libertas driver or the Marvell
> 88W8787 which uses the mwifiex driver. If your
> unit has the 8787 then you may need to blacklist
> the libertas driver in order to get wifi working
> properly. The Beelink X2 uses either the Realtek
> RTL8189ETV which uses the 8189es driver or the
> AP6181 module that uses the bcmdhd driver. I
> don't have any experience with the bcmdhd driver,
> but haven't had any issues with my Beelink X2 that
> has the Realtek chip.
>
> Ray

Thank you very much Ray, that's curing what ails me. If I may ask, what do you run on the BeelinkX2 for an OS where the wireless works?

I'm just prepping like a TV chef, get all the stuff ready. For what it's worth, the "Atheros" USB wireless I bought came in yesterday and has an RLink chip in it, so the packaging says. But it's variety and I can always keep an eye out at garage sales.

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JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> "Atheros"
> USB wireless I bought came in yesterday and
> has an RLink chip in it, so the packaging says.
> But it's variety and I can always keep an eye out
> at garage sales.

Send it back thats not atheros thats ralink and not what you want

Gravelrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> "Atheros"
> > USB wireless I bought came in yesterday
> and
> > has an RLink chip in it, so the packaging says.
> > But it's variety and I can always keep an eye
> out
> > at garage sales.
>
> Send it back thats not atheros thats ralink and
> not what you want

Great idea - I did contact the seller and ask why they called a Ralink RT5370 an Atheros and the response was I should send a picture, which I did, scanned it and made an annotation lol. A lot of things I'd let go, but for the same price I could have gotten a RaLink with twice the speed and detachable antenna. the other Atheros (real ones) were a little higher in price, but maybe I'll spot a deal if they get me a printable return label. YEAH!

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was I should send a picture, which I did ???????
You should have just pointed him to his ad, its in the blurb lower down, so they obviously knew it wasnt an Atheros chipset



JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gravelrash Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > >
> >
> "Atheros"
> > > USB wireless I bought came in yesterday
> > and
> > > has an RLink chip in it, so the packaging
> says.
> > > But it's variety and I can always keep an eye
> > out
> > > at garage sales.
> >
> > Send it back thats not atheros thats ralink and
> > not what you want
>
> Great idea - I did contact the seller and ask why
> they called a Ralink RT5370 an Atheros and the
> response was I should send a picture, which I did,
> scanned it and made an annotation lol. A lot of
> things I'd let go, but for the same price I could
> have gotten a RaLink with twice the speed and
> detachable antenna. the other Atheros (real ones)
> were a little higher in price, but maybe I'll spot
> a deal if they get me a printable return label.
> YEAH!

Gravelrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> was I should send a picture, which I did
> ???????
> You should have just pointed him to his ad, its in
> the blurb lower down, so they obviously knew it
> wasnt an Atheros chipset
>

He offered me a 30% refund. !@#$%

dear customer. thanks for your reply we are so sad for this situation. may i know can the item still work?, if you don´t mind, how about refund 30% for this without return the item? as you know the shipping fee is very expensive and shipping time is long we can’t ask for compensation from our post agency without the item. and we have to pay the shipping fee, ebay fee etc. It’s hard to run a small business on ebay these day. Hope you could understand us. wait for your news,

I've had money in my life before and $4 is not a big loss, but I might stipulate he has to quit advertising Atheros when it isn't Atheros. At first I thought it was worth letting go. Now I'm kind of really mad!

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demand a full refund or open up a dispute via ebay - as the item is misadvertised

Gravelrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> demand a full refund or open up a dispute via ebay
> - as the item is misadvertised

Thanks a for the advice right where I've got a blind spot.* I messaged the seller back and will see.
I make blunders even after precautions and that's why I'm not usually hard-nosed about forcing a refund, but in this case he hasn't changed his false merchandising.

* and glad Meghan Markle married a Brit! :-D
** just now I search to make sure I've got her name spelled correctly and the news says she dropped an F-bomb. I figured 'well yeah, she probably got screwed out of an Atheros too' (lol)

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2018 02:42PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

Reply:

"hi customer ,sorry for this inconvenience ,we also cheated by our supplier who provide us bad item ,sorry ,how about refund you 50% for this as compensation ? pls ,we are small seller ,our workmate sell this item at low profit ,hope you can understand , or if you do not want this item any more ,based on ebay policy ,we have to respect your opinion to accept your return ,is it ok for you ? and we will pay shipping fee also ,if you agree ,we will send our address to you soon ,wait for your news,

Reminds me of a Chinese seller who sold bad RAM, one out of four sticks smelled like a burnt transformer and didn't work. So he sent another one and one didn't last either. He gave me a sob story and I found a great supplier in the States here (atechcomponents). The rest of my dealings with Chinese sellers has been very good.

I hate tangling with someone else's bad karma, you know?

What should I do? I'm sure what he sent me is worth $2, certainly not any more than that.

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continue with the demand for full refund and cost of postage, or offer to accept a full refund and you will dispose of the item when the refund has been received to save him the cost of postage, whilst providing 5* feedback

if that fails open the dispute via ebay and tick the item not as advertised box

Gravelrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> continue with the demand for full refund and cost
> of postage, or offer to accept a full refund and
> you will dispose of the item when the refund has
> been received to save him the cost of postage,
> whilst providing 5* feedback
>
> if that fails open the dispute via ebay and tick
> the item not as advertised box

I agreed. Make them correct their mistake (if it is not their intention to mislead) and give them 5* rating for that effort. We'd want to give the honest sellers the benefits of the doubts.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner

AFAICT, mistake like this, especially from a Chinese seller on eBay, AliExpress, and/or some non-EU/US online stores, is done purposely to attract unaware buyers. Such a seller MUST be responsible to rectify the issue, else to provide 100% refund. On either or both AliExpress / eBay, I had encountered such a seller many times especially when buying some Li-ION batteries and always got my money back once I provided a solid proof.

Gravelrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> continue with the demand for full refund and cost
> of postage, or offer to accept a full refund and
> you will dispose of the item when the refund has
> been received to save him the cost of postage,
> whilst providing 5* feedback
>
> if that fails open the dispute via ebay and tick
> the item not as advertised box


I sent that as a reply, not word for word but the same content. Reply just came in::

"hi customer ,sorry for this inconvenience , how about refund you 60% for this as compensation ? pls ,we are small sellr ,our workmate sell this item at low profit ,hope you can understand , or if you do not want this item any more ,could you pls return it back to us ? we will pay for shipping fee ,is it ok for you ? Here is our return address: xxxxxxxxxxxx SHENZHEN China xxxxxxxxx could you pls tell us how much is the shipping fee ?wait for your news,"


Wow. Just sad how much time can be vampire'd out of a person.

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JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "hi customer ,sorry for this inconvenience , how about refund you 60% for this as compensation ? pls ,we are small sellr ,our workmate sell this item at low profit ,hope you can understand , or if you do not want this item any more ,could you pls return it back to us ? we will pay for shipping fee ,is it ok for you ? Here is our return address: xxxxxxxxxxxx SHENZHEN China xxxxxxxxx could you pls tell us how much is the shipping fee ?wait for your news,"
>
You should respond to the seller that you can't use the item because it is not within the specs you are looking for and don't mind to ship it back to the seller. Since this is the seller's fault, seller is responsible for the shipping cost. And, also offer a suggestion to update his/her ad so that it will provide the correct specs.

habibie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > "hi customer ,sorry for this inconvenience ,
> how about refund you 60% for this as compensation
> ? pls ,we are small sellr ,our workmate sell this
> item at low profit ,hope you can understand , or
> if you do not want this item any more ,could you
> pls return it back to us ? we will pay for
> shipping fee ,is it ok for you ? Here is our
> return address: xxxxxxxxxxxx SHENZHEN China
> xxxxxxxxx could you pls tell us how much is the
> shipping fee ?wait for your news,"
> >
> You should respond to the seller that you can't
> use the item because it is not within the specs
> you are looking for and don't mind to ship it back
> to the seller. Since this is the seller's fault,
> seller is responsible for the shipping cost. And,
> also offer a suggestion to update his/her ad so
> that it will provide the correct specs.

He changed the advertising, this is real good, so I feel he's trying. I just sent him a proposal - refund me 50% and I'll donate the part to a Thrift store or poor people in general. Which, usually when I help the poor the poor are richer than me lol
I could still be a dick and just use it too. But it isn't the Atheros I wanted, and this tangent can wait a while.

I'm really mystified at using Linux wirelessly, but also using ethernet connected to a router. I've got routers here. The one thing I have too many of. All because people bought them, didn't know they could change the IP to 192.168.178.1 and it would work with most other commercial modems cable companies provide.

Here things get murky with my already precarious knowledge of Linux, because to plug in Ethernet from Pogo into a router, not many router firmwares can handle using it to find another router so well. Tomato router can work, but last I checked it's no longer developed and... wait, what was the reason I'm talking about this in the first place? Oh yeah, the idea to have a RPi at the bird feeder and yell at the squirrels :-D WHICH... is the same principle of those popular front door cameras that alert you if there's motion detected, and you can speak to a package thief :-D

I wait...

-edited- I had the IP wrong, fixed.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2018 09:23PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

Okay there's a little over $2.00 in my PayPal, so cool. I should Make Offer of $2 on another one, just to show him I'm an American lol

Thanks gents, while I don't have your your stick-to-it-iveness, your influence contributed to a bad item no longer advertised, and the seller got a corrective sting. And I've got $2 for a Torx wrench LOL

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> And I've got $2 for a Torx
> wrench LOL

What a bargain :)) when you have Apple device such as Macbook Pro like I do, it is very annoying to have to buy these weird screwdirvers to be able to upgrade the SSD.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner

bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > And I've got $2 for a Torx
> > wrench LOL
>
> What a bargain :)) when you have Apple device
> such as Macbook Pro like I do, it is very annoying
> to have to buy these weird screwdirvers to be able
> to upgrade the SSD.

I think there's a major update coming up for Macbook Pros, early June if I'm not mistaken. I've got Snow Leopard preserved here, still works fantastic and lots of software support still.

There's some people including myself kicking around the idea of making a Hackintosh out of the Intel parts before Apple manufactures their own chips.

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