# Broadcom 4306 (rev 3) Wireless LAN master mode

## Audiossis

Does anyone know if "master" mode is supported for the b43 driver in the current kernel? 

I heard a rumor that was supposed to be enabled by default in the 2.6.28 kernel, but I can't get it to work!

I've also been unsuccessful with the various patching methods I have found on the web.

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## Audiossis

** BUMP **

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## Audiossis

OK so either no one knows or no one cares to answer.  :Sad: 

Does anyone know when gentoo-source 2.6.28-r1 is due for release?

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## Audiossis

COME ON!!! IT'S A SIMPLE QUESTION PEOPLE!!!

I find it very hard to believe that out of more than 135,000 registered users on this forum that no one knows the answer!!!

It then logically follows that either no one reads new posts or no one gives a s**t!!!

So much for the "Gentoo Community". I got more help from Fedora forums........

If you don't know the answer then could someone please post a link to a page where I might find out for myself????

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## Hu

According to the forum, your thread had 83 views as of when I opened the index.  Thus, out of 135,000 registered users (your number), only 83 of them have loaded your thread.  That may be excessive, since it is probably counting when you opened the thread to post responses.

I read new posts, and I do not respond if I cannot provide constructive feedback.  You will generally be able to find one or more bugs at https://bugs.gentoo.org/ when new kernel releases are scheduled.  Typically, I see a tracker meta-bug that blocks any packages that fail under the new kernel, and sometimes an enhancement bug to mark the new package as stable.  You may also see some timeline discussion on the Gentoo mailing lists, though that is usually only for major releases, rather than patches on stable releases.

If you are especially eager to use the new sources, you can install them while they are still marked as testing for your architecture.

Finally, it seems a bit odd to think that someone would know where to learn the answer to this question, be willing to take the time to help someone who does not seem particularly grateful or polite, and yet not know the answer.

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## candrews

I agree 100% with what Hu said. Audiossis, you are very out of line... you aren't paying for support. We're all volunteers here.

Anyways...

I've been trying to get b43 to work in master mode on my AP for a very long time. 2.6.28 is a definite improvement, as I can now get b43 into master mode as a working AP, but there are problems. For me, the AP disappears after a lot of time, after a lot of data is transfer, or after a very fast transfer. Others have reported these, and other, problems.

Openwrt seems to be one source of the b43 work, like what patches work, testing, and things like that. Search their forums for "b43" and you'll find a lot of threads. Here are some you may find interesting:

http://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=18086

http://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=17771

http://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=17762

And here are some patches you may want to try: https://dev.openwrt.org/ticket/4395

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## Audiossis

I'm sorry for my behavior. You're right, I WAS out of line.   :Embarassed: 

I know it's no excuse, but I have really been struggling with this issue for weeks. I've posted a number of threads both here and elsewhere, only thus far I've received little help. Out of all the forums I've posted to, web pages I've read, patches I've tried and kernel rebuilds, I've thus far had only one person who has actually tried to help and wanted to.

Thank you both for replying, I realize that you didn't need to, especially because I was rude.

I will say though that I have searched these forums. Several times in fact, and I've read quite a number of other threads on the issue at other forums. Some of them very recent. Including one where two parties (neither of whom started the thread) had an argument over which better constituted the worst hack, b43 (and it's variants) or ndiswrapper (I found myself agreeing with neither of them). I know I'm not the only one with this issue. I'm also aware that b43 variants used to work, and apparently work well in 2.4 series kernels, but I have yet to figure out why it keeps breaking in 2.6 series kernels.

I understand your view, Hu, but please understand mine. I believe in give and take. I'm not the sort of person to spend a great deal of time in help forums, unless I need help. Therefore, when I ask for help in a place I like this, I also try to give help. So I look though the most recent threads and if one is there that I think I can help with. I do.

My offerings may be meager, I'm not a programmer, and while I'm not what I would consider a Linux guru, I do have quite a bit of experience with many different distros.

So thats what I do, I offer my experience in that regard as opposed to my knowledge on the subject. It's my way of giving back. That's why you'll occasionally see my screen name in a forum, but never as anything more than a noob. 

I also get easily frustrated, when I ask a question similar to one that was very recently posted and answered reasonably quickly, but I wait days and in previous cases weeks, months or even (yes believe it or not, this actually happened) years before somebody takes the time to reply. Call it a personal failing.

BTW, you did have something constructive to add, as I hadn't considered checking bugzilla (stupidly), though I should have.

Anyway this is off topic now.

Thank you, candrews, for posting the links. I just joined the openwrt forums the other day and I am currently trawling for clues. I thought I might try their pre-built binary virtual machine version. But just for reference, I have had any replies from their forums either.

Again, my sincerest apologies for the way I spoke out.

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## candrews

The reason these broadcom cards worked in 2.4, and not in 2.6, is that 2.4 uses a proprietary kernel module (wl.o) released by Broadcom. The source for this module was never made available, so it simply will never work with 2.6. The community created it's own set of drivers (b43 and b43legacy) for 2.6 to support the wl.o cards. However, because Broadcom won't release specifications, or help in any way, the b43 effort is a very long and tedious one. The progress, however, is remarkable - it's already usable as a regular client with perfect stability, and we're getting very close to a stable access point. I wish Broadcom would cooperate... but without the specs, it's just trial and error.

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## Audiossis

Yes, it's a sad state of affairs when a manufacturer won't even support it's own products. I never realized that the 2.4 kernel b43 module was in fact proprietary.

I too, recognize the difficulty in reverse engineering a driver especially a pci driver. I while ago I reverse engineered an obscure USB driver for a CD storage system. That was difficult enough and was made even more so by my limited programming skills.

As an electronics technician I could offer some hardware methods of watching what is going on, but I don't no how useful that would be as we would be watching raw binary flow across the pci bus.

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## Hu

Forum etiquette on when and how frequently to bump a thread varies, but I generally do not see complaints about threads being bumped after a few days of inactivity, especially if no other threads address the topic.  I can also say that though some people find and respond to old posts, there are some people, myself among them, who only check the first few pages when looking for questions to answer.

If you go more than a few weeks without getting an answer, I would say that you asked in the wrong venue, either that the board is not frequented by people who can help you or that the question was categorized in such a way that those people do not notice it.  Your subject line and choice of subforum seem appropriate for this question.  The unfortunate reality is that some specialized topics have so few gurus that you will find seemingly appropriate forums where no one has the expertise to help you.

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## Audiossis

That's fine and admirable. But I think that 18 months after the topic was started is a little extreme don't you?

Not that that's what happened here, I refer to an incident I experienced only a month ago. I posted a question to Fedora forums in early 2007 and didn't get a reply until last month. Not only had Fedora released four new versions in that time but I had also switched to Gentoo, after again trying the latest versions of all the most popular 'nixs.

After that sort of time has passed it's probably pointless even bothering to answer. Especially in the case of a "versioned" OS like Fedora. I mean where does one draw the line and say "It's too old"?

However, I get the picture. I need to be more patient and more tolerant. It's not the first time I've been told that.......!  :Twisted Evil: 

If you're interested, I've been posting here as well with regard to the b43 module. https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-716359-highlight-.html

Once again, I'm sorry for the mis-understanding and I thank you for your suggestions.

I think we can close this topic now, don't you?    :Wink: 

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