Kernel 2.6.20 introduced a nice update for the ipw2200 driver. Previously the driver didn’t report power levels for wireless networks. This would show up when sniffing with Kismet, while viewing detailed info about a network. Using the signal levels it’s possible to home-in on the access point’s location. Sitting inside my house my connection with the home wap is about 44 decibels and the worst reading has been about 80 while sniffing distant networks. The signal reading also gives a clear indication whether it’s to worth it to attempt to connect.

Kernel config

CONFIG_IPW2200=m
CONFIG_IPW2200_MONITOR=y
CONFIG_IPW2200_RADIOTAP=y
CONFIG_IPW2200_PROMISCUOUS=y
# CONFIG_IPW2200_QOS is not set
# CONFIG_IPW2200_DEBUG is not set