On Monday 12 May 2008, Grant Edwards wrote: > > As modified by the firmware in the device. OK, it's not the > > driver per se, but it's certainly not the hardware either > > Sorry, I don't see how firmware can affect sensitivity. I've > been involved in writing firmware for RF data communications > stuff for a long time, and I've certainly never been able to > affect sensitivity.
Well, I don't write firmware for a living, but I do know electronics and I do know the stated reason for having these firmware blobs at all - to comply with legislation in the respective countries where the device is sold. The RF front end consists of amplifier and filter stages and possibly other stuff. The gain of the amplifier stages can easily be made adjustable under CPU control, so if a designer plans to do that, it would be trivial. Whether they currently actually DO that as opposed to it merely being easily possible is a question for someone else to answer. If that person is you and you know for a fact it is not done that way, then I shall stand corrected. -- Alan McKinnon alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com -- gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list
