88W8305 CF

[Wolfgang Kempin]

Hello everybody!

As Marek already pointed out there are a few PDAs out there with 
8305-based WiFi chipsets connected internally to one of the CF sockets.

I'm currently working on a Linux port for the Acer n50 series handhelds, 
which fall into this case, so I'm basically in the same situation as 
Marek. (Thanks for mentioning the n50 port!)

>> The only reason why the 8388 and 8385 should be the same driver is that the firmware API for the two is almost identical, just the bus type is different.

I definitely hope there are only minor differences between the 8388/8385 
and the 8305, because Marvell seems to be quite reluctant in providing 
open documentation for their hardware.

> Also see this:
> 8305 based CF card - manfid: 0x02db, 0x8103
> 8385 based CF card - manfid: 0x02df, 0x8103

And on the Acer n50 it's even

   8305 CF (Acer n50) - manfid: 0x02df, 0x8103,

i.e. the same ID as 8385-based CF cards. That doesn't necessarily mean 
they're equal, but it does suggest there might be some similarities.

Here's the output of dump_cis for completeness:
-------
dev_info
   NULL 0ns, 512b
attr_dev_info
   SRAM 450ns, 512b
vers_1 5.0, "SAMSUNG", "SWL2450 802.11b PC Card", "Version 1.1", ""
manfid 0x02df, 0x8103
funcid network_adapter
lan_technology wireless
lan_speed 1 mb/sec
lan_speed 2 mb/sec
lan_speed 5 mb/sec
lan_speed 11 mb/sec
lan_media 2.4_GHz
config base 0x0200 mask 0x0063 last_index 0x01
lan_connector Closed connector standard
config base 0x0200 mask 0x0063 last_index 0x01
cftable_entry 0x01 [default]
   Vcc Vmin 3V Vmax 3500mV Iavg 300mA Ipeak 300mA
   Idown 10mA
   io 0x0000-0x007f [lines=7] [8bit] [16bit]
   irq mask 0xffff [level] [pulse]
-------


For the time being this mail is just to let you know that there's 
someone out there who's interested in support for the 8305 ;)
I don't have time to actively participate in the development process 
right now because I first want to advance the Acer n50 Linux port, but 
I'll keep watching the mailing list and try the driver as soon as the CF 
card interface works (better).
Then we'll be able to tell for sure if we only need on driver for all 
these chipsets.


Thanks for your effort! Feel free to drop me a line when there's 
anything I can help you with.

Best regards,
Wolfgang Kempin