My card on FreeBSD-7:

ath_hal: 0.9.20.3 (AR5210, AR5211, AR5212, RF5111, RF5112, RF2413, RF5413)
ath0: <Atheros 5212> mem 0xdf710000-0xdf71ffff irq 18 at device 0.0 on cardbus0
ath0: [ITHREAD]
ath0: using obsoleted if_watchdog interface
ath0: Ethernet address: 00:03:2f:31:69:38
ath0: mac 7.9 phy 4.5 radio 5.6
ath0: link state changed to UP

dev.ath.0.%desc: Atheros 5212
dev.ath.0.%driver: ath
dev.ath.0.%location: slot=0 function=0
dev.ath.0.%pnpinfo: vendor=0x168c device=0x0013 subvendor=0x16ab subdevice=0x7103 class=0x020000
dev.ath.0.%parent: cardbus0
dev.ath.0.smoothing_rate: 95
dev.ath.0.sample_rate: 10
dev.ath.0.countrycode: 0
dev.ath.0.regdomain: 48
dev.ath.0.slottime: 9
dev.ath.0.acktimeout: 48
dev.ath.0.ctstimeout: 48
dev.ath.0.softled: 0
dev.ath.0.ledpin: 0
dev.ath.0.ledon: 0
dev.ath.0.ledidle: 270
dev.ath.0.txantenna: 0
dev.ath.0.rxantenna: 2
dev.ath.0.diversity: 1
dev.ath.0.txintrperiod: 5
dev.ath.0.diag: 0
dev.ath.0.tpscale: 0
dev.ath.0.tpc: 0
dev.ath.0.tpack: 63
dev.ath.0.tpcts: 63
dev.ath.0.monpass: 24

My PCMCIA-connected card is no-name. It has two LEDs to signalize what's 
going on. In normal mode with network conectivity, they blink together.

Old 7-CURRENT:

When no wireless router is around, and when I run:

	dhclient ath0

system simply waits on some kind of resource in the kernel. LEDs blink 
interchangibly. No scheduling happens, thus you can't type anything. Turning 
on router in that stage does't help. The only way to get around this problem 
is to pull the card out.

I wonder if such action shouldn't be somehow signalized, instead of waiting 
infinitely.

8-CURRENT:

The same hardware. My wireless router is turned on. I can query it with 
ping(1) from another host, just like I can get IP address from router's 
internal DHCP server.

After running:

	dhclient ath0

I get IP address and everything seems to be working fine. My LEDs blink 
together, as I can use wireless network connection.

In random period of time, my system simply hangs, as in case described 
above. (while in X11 environment, no mouse movement is possible, no 
keystrokes have their respective effect). After undetermined amount of time, 
everything gets back to the correct behaviour. System is working correctly.
LEDs blink as if there was everything working fine.

The same problem repeats later.

When I pull the card out in this "hang" stage, system recovers.