Cheaper MT7612U Card

[cannonfodder728]

Looks like the TEROW ROW02CD is no longer available at Amazon. Wondering if anyone knows other USB Wifi cards with same chipset that cheaper than the Alpha cards?

[morrownr]

This is not a great time to be looking for some things. I've been watching various outlets have inventory problems for months and it seems to be really bad right now. I've heard Mediatek is having a hard time meeting demand. Have you tried to buy a Raspberry Pi lately?

Tell me what specs you are looking for and I try to let you know if I run across anything.

[amisix]

@cannonfodder728 I was looking for a Terow ROW02CD weeks back and also ran into the same problem. Think I found some on alibaba/aliexpress?

@morrownr pssst. 2GB version available: The Pi Hut. Haven't had time to install RaspiOS yet but will have time tomorrow, thanks for linking the guide.

[morrownr]

@amisix Thanks for the link to The Pi Hut. I'm thinking about going with a CM4 for my next Pi. That way I can get a CM4 with no wireless (I'm not a fan of Broadcom wireless) and I can get a carrier board that has the features i want, Stuff is expensive right now.

@cannonfodder728 Here is a link to the CF-WU782AC. That is about as close as I can find now as far as something similar to the TEROW adapter is concerned. Prices and availability should get better at some point.

https://www.walmart.com/search?query=CF-WU782AC

I don't have a 782AC but have positive reports from those that do. It is a multi-state adapter.

[amisix]

I'm thinking about going with a CM4 for my next Pi.

PCI-E for the win, sounds like a fun board. I did end up picking up one of those 2GB Pi from the Pi Hut, I couldn't pass on the opportunity given they're telling people there's very little stock until 2023 (and current prices reflect that, shrug). That frees the Pi 3 up for other things.

May I ask why you are not a fan of Broadcom (wireless) chipsets?

[morrownr]

May I ask why you are not a fan of Broadcom (wireless) chipsets?

Broadcom has historically been a poor supporter of Linux so I reciprocate by avoiding their products when it is practical.

[amisix]

Ah, sub-optimal, I see.

[morrownr]

@cannonfodder728

Still looking for a cheap 7612u based adapter?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081TTPC2X

That adapter is selling for $15 USD at Amazon US. All indications are that it is based on a mt7612u chipset. I have no idea about the quality. If you decide to buy one, we could certainly use a report.

Regards

[morrownr]

Ah, sub-optimal, I see.

Well, yes. We vote with our dollars, pesos, euros, etc. If we spend money on products produced by companies that are not doing a good job of supporting their products in a way we want. maybe it is time to rethink what we buy.

You won't see TP-Link and D-Link mentioned around here much. Their Linux support is really bad. What really annoys me about those 2 companies is that they use Linux in many of their products yet they fail to return the support. That is not cool. I encourage Linux users to watch out for things like this and keep it in mind when buying products.

Regards

[cannonfodder728]

Hey thanks for the link to the cheaper card. Looks like it's delivery window is too far out for me. Did anyone find one on Alibaba? I bought one off eBay that listed the chipset at mt7612u and it reports as the one below. I'm running into USB mode switch problems on Openwrt running on my rpi4.

https://github.com/openwrt/mt76/issues/393

On Fri, Jan 21, 2022, 12:57 PM Nick @.***> wrote:

Ah, sub-optimal, I see.

Well, yes. We vote with our dollars, pesos, euros, etc. If we spend money on products produced by companies that are not doing a good job of supporting their products in a way we want. maybe it is time to rethink what we buy.

You won't see TP-Link and D-Link mentioned around here much. Their Linux support is really bad. What really annoys me about those 2 companies is that they use Linux in many of their products yet they fail to return the support. That is not cool. I encourage Linux users to watch out for things like this and keep it in mind when buying products.

Regards

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/morrownr/7612u/issues/7#issuecomment-1018735865, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AFBOGEZ4LROBWZJHFFKLJ63UXGNA3ANCNFSM5MBXLV5Q . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: @.***>

[morrownr]

@cannonfodder728

I'd like to help but I need to know what direction you are going with this. Do you want to get the adapter you have going? If so, tell us exactly which adapter it is.

I run OpenWRT on my Zyxel wifi router. I also use a RasPi4B as a bridged wireless access point. I tried OpenWRT on the RasPi4B but my determination was that OpenWRT is not yet ready for prime time on the RasPi4B based on what I do.

Do you have another computer that runs Linux? If so, my recommendation is to first get the adapter going on this alternate Linux installation and take the time to be come very familiar with usbmodeswitch. I have an informational file about usbmodeswitch:

https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/How_to_Modeswitch.md

If it were me and I was going to try to get a multistate adapter going on OpenWRT, I would first disable the automatic execution of usbmodeswitch. There is a small section at the end of the above document that shows how to do this. I would then test to see which command is the right one to make the switch and I would set it to execute in Luci. If this does not make sense, ask questions.

Regards

[cannonfodder728]

I'm trying to do the same. Setup a couple bridges access points for whole house coverage.

The card I recently bought reports as below

1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=0e8d, idProduct=2870, bcdDevice= 0.01 [ 1.373093] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3 [ 1.373096] usb 1-1.3: Product: Љ [ 1.373098] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: Љ [ 1.373101] usb 1-1.3: SerialNumber: Љ [ 1.402720] usb-storage 1-1.3:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected

It's funny because I have one TEROW ROW02FD reports as idVendor=0e8d, idProduct=7612 and has been working fine on Openwrt running on a rpi4b. This vendor and product id seems to same as the more expensive Alfa card. Im actually running simultaneous dual band using the rpi4 using onboard wifi to support some legacy 2.4g devices.

Looks like the Alfa card is on sale for $35 at Newegg. I might just get a couple since looks like they are proven to work out of the box.

https://www.newegg.com/p/16R-00KD-00005

On Sat, Jan 29, 2022, 11:36 AM Nick @.***> wrote:

@cannonfodder728 https://github.com/cannonfodder728

I'd like to help but I need to know what direction you are going with this. Do you want to get the adapter you have going? If so, tell us exactly which adapter it is.

I run OpenWRT on my Zyxel wifi router. I also use a RasPi4B as a bridged wireless access point. I tried OpenWRT on the RasPi4B but my determination was that OpenWRT is not yet ready for prime time on the RasPi4B based on what I do.

Do you have another computer that runs Linux? If so, my recommendation is to first get the adapter going on this alternate Linux installation and take the time to be come very familiar with usbmodeswitch. I have an informational file about usbmodeswitch:

https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/How_to_Modeswitch.md

If it were me and I was going to try to get a multistate adapter going on OpenWRT, I would first disable the automatic execution of usbmodeswitch. There is a small section at the end of the above document that shows how to do this. I would then test to see which command is the right one to make the switch and I would set it to execute in Luci. If this does not make sense, ask questions.

Regards

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/morrownr/7612u/issues/7#issuecomment-1024943622, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AFBOGE2P6UWXU7GA2V4UNYDUYQJQ3ANCNFSM5MBXLV5Q . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: @.***>

[morrownr]

1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=0e8d, idProduct=2870, bcdDevice= 0.01

Run the following at the command line and tell me what happens:

$ sudo usb_modeswitch -K -W -v 0e8d -p 2870

If it switches modes and the wifi adapter is now available, we know what works. See:

https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/How_to_Modeswitch.md

You might also want to follow:

https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/issues/45

[Pedroassuncao]

hi @morrownr

i bought a debranded wireless adapter that uses this chipset mediatek MT7612U ( o copy of alfa AWUS036ACM) i just bought because of 5ghz support and the external antennas, i have a panda pau05 as well.

one thing that i notice between them is while in monitor mode, the only difference is the MT7612U, always have a power management ON. i tried use sudo iwconfig wlan1mon power off but is not permitted. i tried other commands but is always the same result.

some of you guys know how to achive that? or is not possible at all?

Thanks in advance

[morrownr]

always have a power management ON.

iwconfig is depreciated. I'm not sure I would trust what it says.

Are you seeing a problem?

[Pedroassuncao]

Hi @morrownr not a problem, but in monitor mode seems more slower during channel hoping to scan all wifi 2.4 and 5ghz channels.

I saw somewhere that this chip supports power management. if iwconfig is deprecated what is the alternative right now?

[morrownr]

@Pedroassuncao

if iwconfig is deprecated what is the alternative right now?

The supported utility is iw.

$ iw --help

in monitor mode seems more slower during channel hoping to scan all wifi 2.4 and 5ghz channels.

I'll try to make time to take a look in the next few days. What you could do is checkout my repo with help for monitor mode. It has a script that helps get you into monitor mode and it does it differently that others. What you are describing could be an interfering process. Most utilities, including the one in Aircrack-ng try to kill the interfering processes and that does not always work well because some of those apps are smart and they will restart. My script works by pausing the apps and it seems to be more effective:

https://github.com/morrownr/Monitor_Mode

Give it a try and let me know.

Nick

[Pedroassuncao]

@morrownr wow your script works, during channel hopping gets a little bit faster but is not the same as my panda pau05. i will boot from usb drive and test on bare metal. thanks for your script, i will read it to understand how setup tx power on this wireless adapter.

Appreciated your work and your time ;)

[morrownr]

@Pedroassuncao

wow your script works

Sure it does. I tried to document the source code with a lot of information so it should be educational. I'm sure a lot of enhancements can be made.

FYI: There is a lot of bad info out there about good adapters for monitor mode. My opinion of the best on you can buy right now is the Alfa ACHM. It has very long range. You can read about it in menu item 2 at the site Main Menu:

https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi

Also, Alfa should be coming out with a new high power adapter sometime in the first half of the year. It will be based on the mt7921au chipset and uses the in-kernel mt7921u driver. That chipset is tri-band.

Nick

[Pedroassuncao]

One thing that i notice between the cards that i have ( panda pau05 with internal antenna and this debranded alfa ACM copy) they have the same Tx-Power = 20 dBm seeing on iwconfig

I believe that internal antena just have some like 5 dbi and with external antena should have like 12 dbi. the only benefit of these is found a little more WiFi networks but the signal strength is not good enough to get/sniff packets.

i am still learning about dBi dBm and how i can reach good distances with this detachable external antennas but seems tthat I have to buy a yagi antenna or something like that to get noticeable improvements

Pedro

[morrownr]

Buenos dias Pedro,

You almost need to be an eletrical engineer to truly understand what dBM is telling you. My Alfa ACHM shows a txpower of 3 dBm yet it has the longest range of any modern dual band adapter that I am aware of and I have many adapters that have been tested against it. My suggestion, if people ask, it to disregard dBm and just test to see what kind of range you are getting.

I was asked by a user to do a range test a couple of years ago. I picked out a few adapters and did the test:

https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/home/Performance_Comparison.md

I also did a speed test recently but that is not important if do security analysis or pen testing:

https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/issues/139

The new mt7921au chipset really fast, it is tri-band and has a really good in-kernel driver already in the Linux kernel since kernel 5.19. The information that is available indicates that Alfa is planning to release a high power long range adapter with this chipset around mid-year. Reports from users indicated this chipset/driver do a really good job with monitor mode in all 3 bands.

FYI: recommend you start using iw instead of iwconfig as iwconfig is not longer maintained and iw has replaced it.

Nick