I had success with a spare R52 in my sisters laptop. I replaced an intel card and now she has a usable signal everywhere in the house. I used the gigabyte GN-WI01HT driver.
and can you change countr settings ?
I did not check, but the utility is VERY clean and informational compared to windows and others. The signal is available in %, s/n and in the advanced button, actual signal and noise levels. It has a quick profile manager, I will check the country setting and post some screen shots if I get a chance.
No options to change country. I do not know where it was set either.
that is the problem - not to set ccontry - so we cant use frequencies allowed in austria in G an A band
the card uses USA channel settings
2412 to 2462 only - not higher can be used
and 5500 to 5700 also cannot be used…
Maybe you should try original Atheros driver
http://www.soft32.com/Download/Free/Atheros_AR5005G_Wireless_Network_Adapter/4-183600-4.html
http://www.netgate.com/info/miniPCI/Atheros/Drivers/
I’ve used CM9 in my laptop and I was able to select 802.11a
If you have to select country and need to use 5400-5700, try to select Russia. Regarding channels 12 and 13, it should be possible to select this with many European countries. Of course, it’s better not to select country, but Windows is not Mikrotik 
the problem is that there is no possibility to change the contry !
or at least not to find…
I said you should try another driver, genuine Atheros.