Atheros wireless card channel conflict - unable to reset hardware

[Lyle Scott]

I just replaced my Dell E1505's Intel 3945ABG wireless card with an
Atheros AR5006EX card that I purchased from a person in Hong Kong and I
live in the USA. The card works great under Windows but when ath0 starts
up in FreeBSD, it gets the following errors which renders the card
useless until I restart and choose a particular channel specified with
ifconfig in /etc/rc.conf that is not channel 8 or 12. I have read
another post somewhat similar to mine, but I have not had any luck
resolving it.  Any help is very much appreciated. I am on FreeBSD
6.2 ... this is also with a Linksys WRT54GX2 V2 wireless G router.

/var/log/messages  (over and over again)
# Mar 16 23:41:02 laptop kernel: ath0: unable to reset hardware; hal
status 12
# Mar 16 23:41:12 laptop kernel: ath0: unable to reset hardware; hal
status 0

# dmesg
laptop kernel: ath0: <Atheros 5424> mem 0xefcf0000-0xefcfffff irq 16 at
device 0.0 on pci11
laptop kernel: ath0: Ethernet address: 00:11:f5:c2:2b:05
laptop kernel: ath0: mac 10.3 phy 6.1 radio 10.2

# ifconfig ath0 list channels
Channel   1 : 2412* Mhz 11g       Channel  16 : 5080  Mhz 11a          
Channel   2 : 2417* Mhz 11g       Channel  36 : 5180  Mhz 11a          
Channel   3 : 2422* Mhz 11g       Channel  40 : 5200  Mhz 11a          
Channel   4 : 2427* Mhz 11g       Channel  44 : 5220  Mhz 11a          
Channel   5 : 2432* Mhz 11g       Channel  48 : 5240  Mhz 11a          
Channel   6 : 2437* Mhz 11g       Channel  52 : 5260* Mhz 11a          
Channel   7 : 2442* Mhz 11g       Channel  56 : 5280* Mhz 11a          
Channel   8 : 2447* Mhz 11a 11g   Channel  60 : 5300* Mhz 11a          
Channel   9 : 2452* Mhz 11g       Channel  64 : 5320* Mhz 11a          
Channel  10 : 2457* Mhz 11g       Channel 135 : 4920  Mhz 11a          
Channel  11 : 2462* Mhz 11g       Channel 136 : 4940  Mhz 11a          
Channel  12 : 2467* Mhz 11a 11g   Channel 137 : 4960  Mhz 11a          
Channel  13 : 2472* Mhz 11g       Channel 138 : 4980  Mhz 11a          
Channel  14 : 2484* Mhz 11b          

# sysctl dev.ath.0
dev.ath.0.%desc: Atheros 5424
dev.ath.0.%driver: ath
dev.ath.0.%location: slot=0 function=0 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.RP01.PXS1
dev.ath.0.%pnpinfo: vendor=0x168c device=0x001c subvendor=0x10cf
subdevice=0x139c class=0x020000
dev.ath.0.%parent: pci11
dev.ath.0.smoothing_rate: 95
dev.ath.0.sample_rate: 10
dev.ath.0.countrycode: 0
dev.ath.0.regdomain: 247
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: 2700
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.rfsilent: 1
dev.ath.0.rfkill: 1
dev.ath.0.monpass: 24