Question?
Can I monitor my classic by just plugging it into my laptop with an Ethernet cable or do I need to go thru a router and use Wi-Fi?
Well, yes, but....
Probably should get a cheap ethernet hub. Preferably NOT an ethernet switch. Otherwise set up can be a bit daunting to those without network experience with a direct cable between the 2.
Tom
If your laptop does auto negotiate yes, otherwise with a cross over cable. If you dont know what either of these is then get use a switch, or spare port in your router.
Long term, you want to be able to run the classics into your home network, either for my midnite (relys on internet connection), or local app (doesnt need one).
Quote from: Bigboomer on August 09, 2014, 06:22:19 PM
Question?
Can I monitor my classic by just plugging it into my laptop with an Ethernet cable or do I need to go thru a router and use Wi-Fi?
The easiest way to get the LA to work is connecting your Classic to a wireless router and then you can access it wirelessly with your laptop.
For Network instructions see this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjdTl2KfvQY
Ok....so here where I am at, I looked at a wireless wi-fi router but here is the problem. Since we live full time in an RV we do not have hardwired internet. We rely on the campgrounds wi-fi or we use our Verizon Mi-Fi. The routers I have looked at must get a plugged in Internet using ethernet cable. I did see that you can buy a plug in wi-fi hub/ card but that is USB. RS sells a ethernet to USB connector but I did not see a USB to ethernet connector. If I could find that I am figuring I could then plug the wi-fi card into the router and give it Internet life.
Does this sound plausible or is there another way the that it can be done?
Doing some further research today I see that there are WDS and DD-WRT supported routers like the Buffalo AC1750 dual band dd-wrt. Will these provide me the ability to access a wi-fi signal?
On a RV your options are more complicated, because you have to juggle multiple networks. Theres no easy way around that.
Either:
1. buy a 10 dollar 5 port ethernet switch. Plug the classic into it, plug your laptop into it, plug any other devices you have into it. Bobs yer uncle. If you like cords...
2. if you dont have ANY other devices, you can plug the laptop into the classic via an ethernet cord. To use 1. or 2., requires static IP addressing on the ethernet ports. You can still use dhcp on your wifi for the campground and the two networks co exist.
3. if you want to use wifi to access the classic, then a wifi "access point" /router works [A]. Most brands make a wifi router with no DSL, just an ethernet WAN port. You just basically ignore the WAN port. What youre after in this case is the LAN port for teh classic, the wifi for your laptops, and the DHCP engine. The device has 1-8 ethernet LAN ports. Handle as for 1. Except you may use DHCP on the laptops becasue the router issues addresses. Except youll have two wifi connections, one for the camp ground, one for the RV network. Not so convenient, but solving that gets complicated.
4. There are advanced setups, where you can connect a USB 3G cell service to the usb port on the router. You could also connect a second wireless bridge via the WAN port to talk to campground wifi networks, and then have a complete integrated on board netwrok system. Among other things choosing and selecting public wifi access points is not going to be as simple as clicking the tray in your laptop. And the power needs of all the gear are starting to add up. I dunno maybe someone has solved this?
[A] These are good: http://www.dx.com/p/tp-link-tl-wr703n-mini-3g-2-4ghz-802-11b-g-n-150mbps-wireless-router-blue-158552#.U_EJNfvPIdB (1 ethernet, 1 wifi access point, 1 usb port). The upside to this particular product is that it has the lowest power consumption of any router ive come across. The down side is that the admin GUI is in chinese. But you can figure it out, and/or flash an open source GUI onto it.
Thanks Zoneblue for the info. In doing some further searchs I found tow other wireless routers that look like the will accept Wi-Fi signals with out any plug ins via WAN. They are Cradlepoint MBR95 and Pepwave Surf SOHO. they seem reasonably priced!
Quote from: Bigboomer on August 16, 2014, 03:06:02 PM
Ok....so here where I am at, I looked at a wireless wi-fi router but here is the problem. Since we live full time in an RV we do not have hardwired internet. We rely on the campgrounds wi-fi or we use our Verizon Mi-Fi. The routers I have looked at must get a plugged in Internet using ethernet cable. I did see that you can buy a plug in wi-fi hub/ card but that is USB. RS sells a ethernet to USB connector but I did not see a USB to ethernet connector. If I could find that I am figuring I could then plug the wi-fi card into the router and give it Internet life.
Does this sound plausible or is there another way the that it can be done?
The Wireless functions on most routers do not need an internet connections. You just leave the Wan port open and plug the Classic into one of the other ports. You can then access the Classic from a wireless laptop using the Midnite Local App. I used a Linksys WRT54G for this and I am sure any of there wireless router will work.
Quote from: Resthome on August 19, 2014, 03:55:40 PM
The Wireless functions on most routers do not need an internet connections. You just leave the Wan port open and plug the Classic into one of the other ports. You can then access the Classic from a wireless laptop using the Midnite Local App. I used a Linksys WRT54G for this and I am sure any of there wireless router will work.
yes, that setup works well with many wireless routers.
I have used similar setups at remote locations. Now I'm trying to get a cellphone with hotspot on a timer system that will allow internet access to a pair of Classics at specific times each day.
dgd
You probably can use a wireless router in Bridge Mode to connect to the WiFi at your RV park and local devices just plug in to the ports on the router.
A step further would be you add another wireless router as an access point in your RV. This would just plug in like any other ethernet device so you could use your laptop or other wireless devices.
Many ways to defur this feline. None of it "hard" but requires attention to details and some unusual configuration.
Tom
Well folks here is where I am at....
I have installed the Cradlepoint MBR95 and it is working good. I have it configured as Wi-Fi as WAN and it is grabbing the campgrounds Wi-Fi....I am actually using my laptop thru it to transmit this....Now I went to the Youtube instructions where Ryan was using a router and I did everything he noted. I set my Classic to the DHCP and then plugged it into the router.
Nothing happened. The router did not change the IP address as he noted it would do and I do not see it on the routers dashboard within the network. The Local App does not see it as well.
I am perplexed to say the least.....I was hoping this would have really just connected and hooked up....
Any suggestions?
Boomer;
I don't know that particular device. You may need to enable DHCP server in the router's configuration. It may not be enabled by default. Consult your documentation.
Tom
Tom,
I checked and the dhcp is enabled. Still not sure why the router does not see the Classic.
Quote from: Bigboomer on August 23, 2014, 04:44:59 PM
Tom,
I checked and the dhcp is enabled. Still not sure why the router does not see the Classic.
You have a Classic 150 not a Classic lite?
Make sure it is plugged into the right port on the router?
Maybe try swapping which port the laptop is on with the Classic?
Most have LAN and WAN ports. Local stuff should be plugged into a LAN port.
"NEW" does NOT mean "works", either.
Other than that I am just guessing.
Tom
Quote from: Bigboomer on August 23, 2014, 03:24:07 PM
Well folks here is where I am at....
I have installed the Cradlepoint MBR95 and it is working good. I have it configured as Wi-Fi as WAN and it is grabbing the campgrounds Wi-Fi....I am actually using my laptop thru it to transmit this....Now I went to the Youtube instructions where Ryan was using a router and I did everything he noted. I set my Classic to the DHCP and then plugged it into the router.
Nothing happened. The router did not change the IP address as he noted it would do and I do not see it on the routers dashboard within the network. The Local App does not see it as well.
I am perplexed to say the least.....I was hoping this would have really just connected and hooked up....
Any suggestions?
I assume you have the Classic 150 with the MNGP and not a Classic Lite. Also assume you have the Classic network tab set to DHCP. What IP is the Classic showing? Try cycling the power on the Classic. If this all fails then you need to go into the router LOCAL AREA NETWORK configuration and make sure the LAN is set to DHCP (this is different from the WAN). Also verify that the IP set up for the LAN is different that what you see on the WAN. You will have to connect you computer to the LAN. You can try an Ethernet cable between your computer and the router LAN port (yellow ports) and turn off your computer WiFi while trying to see if you can see the Classic with the Local App. You may have to set the LA to Auto Dect (Click on the Application Button then Configuration) for the Classic.
BTW this only applies to the Local App program and not MyMidnite, just for clarification.
John,
I have checked and everything is set up with DHCP. I tried turning off the Wi-Fi on the laptop and plugging it into the router while the Classic 150 is plugged in the router as well and nothing happened. The IP currently showing on the Classic is 192.168.0.2. Subnet is set at 255.255.255.0.
I have tried plugging the Classic in all four of the ports, no luck. When I did the original start-up on the router I had to plug the computer into it and it assigned the IP which is shown in the DHCP server settings.
Not sure what next to do....I would not think this would be this hard.
Quote from: Bigboomer on August 23, 2014, 07:18:33 PM
John,
I have checked and everything is set up with DHCP. I tried turning off the Wi-Fi on the laptop and plugging it into the router while the Classic 150 is plugged in the router as well and nothing happened. The IP currently showing on the Classic is 192.168.0.2. Subnet is set at 255.255.255.0.
I have tried plugging the Classic in all four of the ports, no luck. When I did the original start-up on the router I had to plug the computer into it and it assigned the IP which is shown in the DHCP server settings.
Not sure what next to do....I would not think this would be this hard.
What IP addresses are set for the Local Area Network (LAN) DHCP on the router. That 192.168.0.2 on the Classic is a typical LAN address so I would think it got that address from the router. Does the router LAN DHCP table show the Classic as a client?
Also when you plug the computer into the router and turned the WIFI off on the computer what IP was the computer set to. If you are using Win 7 you can do a run CMD command to get a DOS window and then do a IPCONFIG command to get the computer IP.
The router does not show up in the client listing. The laptop does when it is using the wi-fi from the router. The laptops IP address was showing as 192.168.0.153.
Tried plugging and unplugging, turned classic off and on....tried going to static and changing IP address manually and tried going back to DHCP. When the classic is plugged into the router the port it is plugged into blinks.
Quote from: Bigboomer on August 23, 2014, 08:39:13 PM
The router does not show up in the client listing. The laptop does when it is using the wi-fi from the router. The laptops IP address was showing as 192.168.0.153.
Tried plugging and unplugging, turned classic off and on....tried going to static and changing IP address manually and tried going back to DHCP. When the classic is plugged into the router the port it is plugged into blinks.
Yeah i was looking for the 192.168.0.1 or what ever the Classic is set to now to show up in the client list. You need to check the IP of the laptop when it is connect to an ethernet port. The fact that the port the Classic is plugged into is blink means it is communicating with the router. I think your issue is the computer needs to be on the same LAN as the Classic 192.168.0.X. If you do change from DHCP to Static or back you I have been told you need to power the Classic off and on.
Stick to trying with the both Classic and the Computer plugged into the router and then try to use the LA and if required set the LA configuration to the IP address that shows up on the Classic and see what you get.
Is that 192.168.0.153 when the WiFi is on when you are connected to the campground WiFi? If it is then that is a problem. The WAN and LAN need to be on different networks. Like 192.168.1.X rather than both being on 192.168.1.x
Sorry if my explanations are not clear. It kind of hard troubleshooting networks with out seeing the router
Well, well, well....The simplest of things....bad Ethernet cable...I had an extra cable so I gave it a whirl and low and behold the Classic LA came alive.... 8)
Checked the end of the original cable and it was buggered up so I am figuring not all the contacts were connecting.
So the router works like a charm and found the Classic and now I can monitor from my easy chair. ;D
Thanks again to everyone who chimed in with their theories!
Les
Good to here. Wee always like happy endings.
Mine has just happened again, same time 2 days straight.