New Pi, DLInk DWA-121 Wifi - Freezes USB

Well I was happy to see my RPi make its way over the pond thanks to the folks at RS.

I've successfully set it up headless, using Debian on a 16GB card with an expanded working partition (gparted works wonders). I'm using ssh and x11vnc to shell in and get a virtual display (though it's small, 656xsomething, I guess that's a framebuffer?) but I cannot figure out how to get Wifi going.

I picked up what was on offer at the local big box electronics store, a DLink Wireless N150 'Pico' USB adapter. Model number DWA-121.

Initially I tried it in the RPi's port, inserted both before and after bootup. If I put it in before bootup, the boot sequence would stop at

Code: Select all

cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain


If I put it in after bootup, lsusb wouldn't respond and the terminal froze if I tried calling it.

So, I followed the directions here http://elinux.org/RPi_Peripherals down to the fourth bullet point, substituting the firmware-ralink package the works for some D-Link adapters, but no go. Even with a powered 4-port USB hub I picked up - 'Belkin F5U404' - plugging it in makes lsusb nonresponsive. However the end of the dmesg log might contain some clues.

Any experienced users here know how to fix this? Or just want to recommend a working 'pico' sized Wifi dongle that's broadly available in North America, specifically Canada? Maybe I should take this one back? Thanks.

Code: Select all

usb 1-1.3: new high speed USB device number 4 using dwc_otg
usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=05e3, idProduct=0608
usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=1, SerialNumber=0
usb 1-1.3: Product: USB2.0 Hub
hub 1-1.3:1.0: USB hub found
hub 1-1.3:1.0: 4 ports detected
usb 1-1.3.4: new high speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
usb 1-1.3.4: New USB device found, idVendor=2001, idProduct=3308
usb 1-1.3.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 1-1.3.4: Product: 802.11n WLAN Adapter
usb 1-1.3.4: Manufacturer: Realtek
usb 1-1.3.4: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain


Incidentally, I did find some old drivers here but they wouldn't compile.

http://www.dlink.ca/products/default.aspx?pid=dwa-121

The readme in the tar file does seem to indicate this is based on the rtl8192CU chipset...

same problem here with a brand new Netgear N150

Code: Select all

Jun 26 23:17:21 raspberrypi kernel: usb 1-1.2: new high speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
Jun 26 23:17:21 raspberrypi kernel: usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0846, idProduct=9041
Jun 26 23:17:21 raspberrypi kernel: usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
Jun 26 23:17:21 raspberrypi kernel: usb 1-1.2: Product: 802.11n WLAN Adapter
Jun 26 23:17:21 raspberrypi kernel: usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: Realtek
Jun 26 23:17:21 raspberrypi kernel: usb 1-1.2: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
Jun 26 23:17:21 raspberrypi kernel: cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain

The issues being experienced in this thread are likely related, since the chipset involved is a near cousin to this one - the Realtek RTL8191SU vs the 8192.

Debian Squeeze: WiFi RealTek RTL8191SU: Problem Setting up Driver
www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... it=rtl8188

There's a fair bit about lsusb freezing up and some of the other symptoms in threads about the 8188CUS. Also a Realtek chip.

My Dlink is back at the store now. Ironically, two of the products people seem to be having confirmed success with are also Realtek. Now I like trolling through config files as much as the next guy but I think I'll let mailorder do the work and get one of the specific products alanb32 has written an installation script for. I want to get on to messing around with PyGame and the GPIO pins and only have to trail one wire around if possible.

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=7471

Is there any progress on this? I bought the N150 specifically because it was on the approved peripherals list, but I'm having these same issues. I really don't want to return it unless I absolutely have to.