RT3572 is EOL - RT5572 is MediaTek suggested replacement
We just learned that RT3572 - the only recommended/supported 2.4GHz/5GHz dual band USB based chipset - is officially EOL , i.e. end of life as it stated by MediaTek. NOTE: MediaTek is the company that acquired Ralink in 2011. On a surface chip looks exactly the same, but oddly enough, all internet references to device driver lead to non-existent pages on MediaTek web site. On the other hand, the following link - https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Rt2800usb - states that RT5572 is supported by rt2800usb module driver which in turn supports monitor and injection functionality.
Did anybody ever tried this particular chipset or any dongle with this chip in monitor/injection mode? Since RT3572 is very much dead and vendors do have only left-over inventory, community needs decent replacement for USB based 5GHz dongle/chipset.
Any ideas/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Alex
EXTRA INFO:
Just received this from major RT3572/RT5572 dongles vendor (toplink-tech.com):
THEM: "Sorry to say that the chipset RT5372 already stop production and here suggest RT5572 instead of RT5372. Pls check the spec and feel free to contact us with any doubt"
ME: "A reason why we were looking at RT3572 was chip’s ability for monitor and injection modes which is critical for Kali Linux users. There is absolutely no information regarding this functionality support for RT5572. More than that, all links to device driver sources that we found on internet lead to no-existent pages at Mediatek web site. Any information that you can provide will be very helpful in order to make a decision. RT5572 is unknown to Kali Linux community. Can you contact MediaTek support and ask them directly?"
THEM: "Both the functions about the RT3572 & RT5572 chipset are the same,we can supply the drivers on the Linux and Windows"
Here is their module description:
The GWF-4M02 is a WLAN module supporting IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n standards with 7-pin or 4-pin connector
supporting USB2.0 interface. This is a small form factor and low cost compact WLAN module designed for
the wireless connectivity. This module operates in 2.4GHz and 5GHz dual band frequency , it applies a
highly integrated MAC/BBP and RF/PA/LNA single chip RT5572 with 300Mbps PHY rate supporting. It fully
complies with IEEE802.11n draft 3.0 and IEEE802.11a/b/g feature.
20MHz/40MHz bandwidth, support 2T2R mode in 2.4GHz and 5GHz .
802.11a: 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, 54Mbps; 802.11b: 1, 2, 5.5, 11Mbps; 802.11g: 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48,
54Mbps ; 802.11n: Support PHY rate up to 300Mbps.
Support Soft-AP; QoS-WMM, WMM-PS; WiFi Direct;
WPS pin, LED indicates WiFi link & activity;
Multiple BSSID support; Power management.
Specification (Typical Value):
Main Chipset Ralink RT5572N
Operation Frequency 2412~2483.5MHz,4.915~5.825GHz (Different country adopts different frequency)
Protocols 802.11b: CCK, QPSK, BPSK, 802.11a/g/n: OFDM
Antennas Two outputs to two dual band external antennas
Security WEP 64/128, WPA/WPA2/WAPI, TKIP/AES; WPS/WPS2:PIN,PBC
Typical Transmit
Power
(Antenna feed point)
802.11b (CCK) 11Mbps: 17+/-1dBm
802.11g (OFDM) 54Mbps: 15+/-1dBm
802.11a (OFDM) 54Mbps: 11+/-1.5dBm
802.11n (HT20@MCS7), 13+/-1dBm; (HT40@MCS7),12+/-1dBm
Receive Sensitivity
(Antenna feed point)
802.11b: -88+/-1dBm; 802.11g: -73+/-1dBm
802.11n (HT20), -71+/-1dBm; 802.11n (HT40), -68+/-1dBm
802.11a: -70+/-1dBm
Operating
Voltage/current
5.0VDC ± 5% ; <350mA @802.11n,HT40 ;
5.0VDC ± 5% ; <450mA @802.11a,HT40 ;
Host interface USB 2.0
Interface 7-pin or 4-pin, 2.0mm , or 4-pin 2.54 mm pitch pin header
Dimensions/Weight 48x18mm / 3.6g
