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General Category => Newbies => Topic started by: diego on December 12, 2013, 08:21:17 am

Title: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: diego on December 12, 2013, 08:21:17 am
Hi,
I was wondering if someone solved the issue related to the txpower modification for this adapter.
I tried all the methods but none of them worked with this card, it is stuck on 20 dbm. I managed to decrease it but it is still not possible to increse it (even changing the reg set to Bolivian).
The adapter works well with airodump and aireplay in Kali, the only problem is related to the tx power.

I found that Realtek released new drivers on 2013/10/29: http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=48&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=276&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false&Downloads=true#2762 (http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=48&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=276&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false&Downloads=true#2762) .
Do you think that would it be possible to make it work with these?

Thanks in advance.




Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: niceguy on December 12, 2013, 02:59:10 pm
..I dont have experience with rtl8188, but I have analyzed the official routines for rtl8187 and you cant increase tx power.. I would guess its the same for 8188.. as for window$, for 8187 exists the alfa tool which can change tx power, check if alfa released such tool also for 8188.. ;)
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: diego on December 13, 2013, 09:32:12 am
Thanks for the answer niceguy.
Could you link me the tool for Windows? Anyway it sounds strange that Win can and Linux can not.
Isn't it just matter of proper drivers?
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: misterx on December 15, 2013, 06:31:04 am
niceguy has been banned for (very) bad behavior. I'm not familiar with such tool but I guess you can download it on realtek's, website.

I'm not sure that specific adapter supports more than 20db. There aren't that many who can go higher (it's often advertised as higher but it's marketing stuff and they take the antenna into account most of the time). You might try to set the regulatory domain to BO and see if you can go higher. Make sure the TX power still respect the laws.

Looking at dmesg will definitely give you a lot of information about your adapter and tx power stuff for the different frequencies it supports.
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: diego on December 15, 2013, 10:17:04 am
Thank you misterx.
I have already tried to set the system to BO following these steps:
Code: [Select]
iw reg set BOand checking it:
Code: [Select]
root@kali:~# iw reg get
country BO:
(2402 - 2482 @ 40), (N/A, 30)
(5735 - 5835 @ 40), (N/A, 30)
The problem is that when i try to set the tx power (or the channel) different from the standard reg setting i got an error:
Code: [Select]
root@kali:~# iwconfig wlan0 txpower 21
Error for wireless request "Set Tx Power" (8B26) :
    SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.

root@kali:~# iwconfig wlan0 channel 12
Error for wireless request "Set Frequency" (8B04) :
    SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.

It is like the adapter doesn't accept the reg change.

In the following the outputs of several commands that may help you to understand:
Code: [Select]
root@kali:~# iwconfig wlan0
wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:off/any 
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.457 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
Code: [Select]
root@kali:~# dmesg
.
.
.
[   45.509154] usb 1-1: new high-speed USB device number 2 using ehci_hcd
[   45.750384] usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=817f
[   45.750388] usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[   45.750391] usb 1-1: Product: ALFA  AWUS036NHR
[   45.750393] usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
[   47.248722] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
[   47.421014] cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:
[   47.421017] cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
[   47.421019] cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   47.421020] cfg80211:   (2457000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   47.421021] cfg80211:   (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   47.421022] cfg80211:   (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   47.421023] cfg80211:   (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   47.624476] rtl8192cu: Chip version 0x10
[   51.346420] rtl8192cu: MAC address: 00:c0:ca:52:c5:b3
[   51.346424] rtl8192cu: Board Type 1
[   51.351968] rtlwifi: rx_max_size 15360, rx_urb_num 8, in_ep 1
[   51.352010] rtl8192cu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw.bin
[   51.353227] usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8192cu
[   51.432803] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'rtl_rc'
[   51.476054] rtlwifi: wireless switch is on
[   52.951495] rtl8192cu driver version=v4.0.2_9000.20130911
[   52.951497] build time: Dec 12 2013 08:35:07
[   52.951500] Error: Driver 'rtl8192cu' is already registered, aborting...
[   53.150758] rtl8192cu: MAC auto ON okay!
[   54.940023] rtl8192cu: Tx queue select: 0x05
[   58.564326] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
[   71.152294] VBoxGuest: VBoxGuestCommonGuestCapsAcquire: pSession(0xf3e9f610), OR(0x0), NOT(0xffffffff), flags(0x0)
[  234.838849] cfg80211: Calling CRDA for country: BO
[  234.844101] cfg80211: Regulatory domain changed to country: BO
[  234.844104] cfg80211:   (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
[  234.844106] cfg80211:   (2402000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 3000 mBm)
[  234.844107] cfg80211:   (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (N/A, 3000 mBm)
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: misterx on December 15, 2013, 09:32:16 pm
Based on the logs, I'd say the card doesn't support more than 20. If setting below that value doesn't work, either the driver hasn't implemented it or the firmware doesn't support it.
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: diego on December 16, 2013, 04:25:42 pm
Hi,
the adapter is sold as capable of use 2000mW, if I'm right the power in dbm should be 33!
I don't think Alfa Network Inc. sells fake products or just "smoke".

Indeed someone managed to increase the power installing compat driver (http://www.backtrack-linux.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45323&p=237384&viewfull=1#post237384) on BT5r3 but then injection and airodump didn't work properly.
I tried the same method (http://ttys1.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/fixing-regulatory-domain-crda-of-realtec-wireless-device-drivers/ ) on kali but it didn't work. That is why I believe it is only matter of drivers.
Thanks for the support, all suggestions are welcome.


Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: misterx on December 17, 2013, 02:13:32 am
What makes you say it is capable of 2W?
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: diego on December 23, 2013, 08:52:07 am
http://www.amazon.com/Alfa-AWUS036NHR-High-Gain-Wireless-N-Strongest/dp/B005ETA5K2

And...

Specifications:

Output Power:

802.11b 33dBm±2
802.11g 32dBm±2
802.11n (HT20) 32dBm±2
802.11n (HT40) 33dBm±2
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: air_true on December 25, 2013, 10:29:45 am
diego got a point
there must be a way to set tx power to 30db
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: diego on December 27, 2013, 10:59:20 am
diego got a point
there must be a way to set tx power to 30db
Yes, there must be! What a constructive discussion!  ;)
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: maio on January 28, 2014, 10:46:58 pm
Hi Diego ,

did that driver released from realtek work for you?

I'm facing a driver issue with a rtl8192cu chip, (wn822n -tp link )
because no official documentation for this chipset can be found ,

I found that realtek has released specific drivers for the chipset
(like what happened in your case..).

actually my wifi adapter works great (out-o-t-box) for normal use,
but when I try to get some ARP (simple wep tutorial) it doesn't get any....

______________
from your dmesg I can see you had installed the rtl8192cu driver
did you happen to try this chipset?


regards ,
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: fonzy35 on February 07, 2014, 08:25:35 am
Found this on the internet at kali or maybe somewhere else.
Do a file with permission for execution(file proprieties) and write that in it , if your wifi is wlan0 or change it to yours.
(it did work for me for a generic RTL8187(500mW) and RALINK 3070(450mW), but i didn't see much of a deference .

file name: txpwer 30dbm


#!/bin/bash

echo "hello, root!"
echo " taking down wlan0"
ifconfig wlan0 down
sleep 3

echo "setting Region to Bolivia"
iw reg set BO
sleep 3

echo "setting TxPower to 30"
iwconfig wlan0 txpower 30
sleep 2

echo "starting wlan0"
ifconfig wlan0 up
echo "pulling wlan0 interface up"
iwconfig
sleep 5

echo "good bye"






Here's the link http://www.blackmoreops.com/2013/10/27/how-to-increase-tx-power-signal-strength-of-wifi/
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: 1airxp1 on February 07, 2014, 10:10:00 am
is this forum supposed to give some help or just keep secrets?
it is very much possible to increase 8187 tx power in windows and linux, in linux it is possible even to increase the power till 8225 transceiver burns, rtl8225.c
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: misterx on February 12, 2014, 02:22:08 am
What is that supposed to mean 1airxp1? You'll have help if there is somebody who knows the answer AND if that person takes the time to answer
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: WilsonP on February 22, 2014, 05:03:21 am
is this forum supposed to give some help or just keep secrets?
it is very much possible to increase 8187 tx power in windows and linux, in linux it is possible even to increase the power till 8225 transceiver burns, rtl8225.c

lowly class noob... go suck you thumb and stop complaining without providing any help...
Title: Re: Alfa AWUS036NHR - RTL8188RU
Post by: rtl8187 on March 06, 2014, 08:09:11 am
I really want to thank 1airxp1 for finally disclosing the secret of rtl8187 high power!
All those outdated infos in wiki about highpower iwpriv, the fake useless bolivian settings, and so on are finally history!
You can push your rtl8187 to real high power, maybe even more than 30dbm, really safely!
Here how it happened for me, for curiosity I searched that "rtl8225.c", and I found out it is a module source code into drivers backports.
I have that old rtl8187 based card somewhere here, unused from very long time, so I decided to give it a try, I wont cry if I burn it.
The c code is not so complex if you have some programming skills.
I made few modifications, and taaadaaaa! Highpower directly from the module core! no hassles around!
I even raised the values over the defaults, and I got an RSSI increase of 6dbm to my router, just like that for free!
Thanks to that now I revived a great wifi card from the tomb! And I am using it now to write to you!
If you want to know how I did that, just ask, no problem!

p.s. dear 1airxp1, if you would so kindly decide one day to share with us some more of your secrets, that would be really great, thanks again