WL1273 implementation (split from: wl1273 download firmware errorS)

David Meados

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: WL1271

Hi -

I'm working with a circuit board similar to the Freescale Sabrelite (and Boundary Devices Nitrogen6) with the addition of a LS Research TiWi-R5 module (w/ TI wl1273). The Linux code base I'm working from has drivers for the LS Research TiWi-R2 (TI wl1271) which seem to work fine with the Nitrogen6 board that has a TiWi-R2 (wl1271) module but only partially works with the TiWi-R5. The code bases being used on the two boards are different in that the Nitrogen 6 is running with a 4.0 kernel versions and root file system downloaded from the Boundary Devices website and the home grown board is using Linux kernel version 3.0.35-imx.

At this point I'm uncertain whether the issue I'm seeing is a hardware issue with our board, a kernel build/driver issue, a configuration issue, a calibration issue, etc.

What I'm seeing is that the code base for the Nitrogen6 board works with the wl1271 and mostly runs on our board (which is similar). The wl1271 driver appears to load, initialize, and the "wpa_supplicant" tools reports that it is able to down load firmware to the module. "ifconfig -a" reports the presence of "wlan0" and "ifconfig wlan0 up/down" seem to work. "wpa_cli scan" returns "OK", but "wpa_cli scan_res" does not return any Wifi networks (there's multiple ones available, and yes, an antenna is attached to the PCA).

Also, when I run the code base for our board (kernel 3.0.35, different board init file, otherwise very similar), "wlan0" never shows up after running "ifconfig -a" and the wpa_supplicant and client seem to fail because there's no "wlan0". does not appear. I've tried building a kernel with the wl12xx driver configured as both a built in and a loadable module with similar results (i.e., no wlan0). "modprobe" is able to load the wl12xx_sdio driver.

I'm relatively new to both Linux and Wifi development and have a number of questions. Any light you can shed would be greatly appreciated. The questions are:

1) Is the wl1273 code completely compatible with the wl1271? By completely I'm referring to Linux kernel drivers, firmware downloaded to the module by the driver, any NVS configuration settings, chip ID settings, etc.

2) If the wl1273 requires different drivers, firmware, NVS settings, etc, can you point me to a location to download them from? Do you know if they will build with kernel version 3.0.35?

3) What is the chip ID for the wl1273?

3) How is the association between the driver (i.e. wl12xx_sdio) and the device (i.e., wlan0) made? I must be missing something...

4) I've seen references to a need to calibrate the wl12xx module. However, when I download and attempt to build the calibration tools against the 4.0 kernel (libnl 3.0) the build fails. When I try to build it against the 3.0.35 kernel (libnl 2.0) I can build it, but since wlan0 never shows up as a device I'm uncertain how to run the calibration on my target board. Or whether the build I have supports the wl1273 for that matter...

5) I noticed that the antenna is located very close to the wl1271 module on the Nitrogen6 board. Our board was designed for two different types of antennas and the trace in/out of the wl1273 module "Y's" out to the two antennas. The trace stubs are about 1/2 of an inch long and may NOT have been sized to control the impedance closely. I'm wondering if this may be related to the issue given how high frequency the WIFI signals are. Any insights?

Again, I'm pretty new to the Linux world. Any help is appreciated even it it's on the fairly rudimentary level...:)...

Best regards,

David

over 12 years ago

0 Victor_Lin over 12 years ago

TI__Genius 12935 points

Hi David,

Sorry for late reply. I got your email, and here's the reply for it:

My understanding is that WL1273 will require some configuration changes including:
1. Different clock selection (26 instead of 38).
2. Different firmware.
3. Different INI file settings.
4. Module specific calibration to generate the correct NVS settings.
Is this correct?
[Victor L.] This is correct, with the only exception that the firmware used is the same. Please refer to the wiki page for a complete instruction: http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/OMAP_Wireless_Connectivity_A_band_support
Where can I get the appropriate firmware for the WL1273?
[Victor L.] https://github.com/TI-ECS/ti-utils/tree/master/hw/firmware
I’ve tried downloading and building the “calibrator” so I can run it on the system and create NVS settings appropriate for the module we have, but I cannot build the calibrator tool. The issue seems to be with the libnl version 2.0 library and the linux 3.0.35_4.0.0 kernel version. Is there an updated calibrator SDK compatible with this kernel version? If so, where can I get it?
[Victor L.] What building error did you see? Have you tried using our build instruction wiki page? The build script inside pretty much takes care of lots of things for you already. http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/WL12xx_NLCP_Build_Instructions
Various sources including the TI forum make reference to an “INI” file and that it’s important to have the correct one for each board and module combination, but I haven’t been successful locating a reference INI file for the WL1273 and the Nitrogen6 board. Where can I find the appropriate INI file?
[Victor L.] Again, using the build instruction link above should've taken care of a lot things, including downloading necessary files. If you prefer, here's a direct link to ini files: https://github.com/TI-ECS/ti-utils/tree/master/hw/ini_files/127x

0 b.r over 12 years ago in reply to Victor_Lin

Intellectual 410 points

Victor_Lin said:

Hi David,

Sorry for late reply. I got your email, and here's the reply for it:

My understanding is that WL1273 will require some configuration changes including:

Different clock selection (26 instead of 38).

Different firmware.

Different INI file settings.

Module specific calibration to generate the correct NVS settings.

Is this correct?
[Victor L.] This is correct, with the only exception that the firmware used is the same. Please refer to the wiki page for a complete instruction: http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/OMAP_Wireless_Connectivity_A_band_support

Where can I get the appropriate firmware for the WL1273?
[Victor L.] https://github.com/TI-ECS/ti-utils/tree/master/hw/firmware

I’ve tried downloading and building the “calibrator” so I can run it on the system and create NVS settings appropriate for the module we have, but I cannot build the calibrator tool. The issue seems to be with the libnl version 2.0 library and the linux 3.0.35_4.0.0 kernel version. Is there an updated calibrator SDK compatible with this kernel version? If so, where can I get it?
[Victor L.] What building error did you see? Have you tried using our build instruction wiki page? The build script inside pretty much takes care of lots of things for you already. http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/WL12xx_NLCP_Build_Instructions

Various sources including the TI forum make reference to an “INI” file and that it’s important to have the correct one for each board and module combination, but I haven’t been successful locating a reference INI file for the WL1273 and the Nitrogen6 board. Where can I find the appropriate INI file?
[Victor L.] Again, using the build instruction link above should've taken care of a lot things, including downloading necessary files. If you prefer, here's a direct link to ini files: https://github.com/TI-ECS/ti-utils/tree/master/hw/ini_files/127x

Thanks Victor, everything in one place.

Wi-Fi

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WL1273 implementation (split from: wl1273 download firmware errorS)