I will be adding post's here as the days and weeks go on and I get to test and write about the different brands.
Linksys by Cisco WET610N
This Wireless-N Gaming and Video adapter caught my attention. I have been running this one for a week and it works extremely well. I like the fact that it resolves its own issues with my wireless router it does not just stay disconnected.
Setup was the easiest of any I have worked with so far simply install the disc in your pc and follow a few instructions. The wireless range seems to be typical with other Linksys products which I do find to be better than other brands. This unit works with all wireless routers or access points that support Wireless-G,B,A or N. It will run on 2.4Ghz or 5ghz and does allow security and encryption.
While a little pricey ($93 at Walmart) I have to give it a good rank do to the ease of setup. Here is a link to the product http://www.linksysbycisco.com/UK/en/products/WET610N (http://www.linksysbycisco.com/UK/en/products/WET610N)
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TRENDnet TEW-654TR Wireless N travel router kit
The Wireless N travel router kit by Trendnet worked but it would on occasion loose communications with my wireless router for whatever reason and would be unable to resolve this without being power cycled. I did run this model for about a week and had to cycle the power 2 times to get it to communicate again. To be fair I only tested one so maybe it is the particular part not a flaw?
Setup was a bit of work as this unit is designed to be a bridge or router etc and you needed to set a switch on the unit than program it. I would say it had the typical range you would expect from any similar wireless device. This unit works with all routers and wireless access points and is compatible with Wireless-N,G and B. It runs on 2.4ghz and does allow security and encryption.
This unit runs around $49 at different retailers. I have to rank this unit fairly low for this task do to the need to reset it manually. Here is a link to the product http://www.trendnet.com/products/proddetail.asp?prod=175_TEW-654TR&cat=41 (http://www.trendnet.com/products/proddetail.asp?prod=175_TEW-654TR&cat=41)
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D-LINK DWL-G730AP Wireless pocket router / AP
The Wireless pocket router/AP made by D-Link was identical to the previous model by TRENDnet except for one difference. The instructions with the D-Link where not as good and using them I was unable to get the D-Link to work. I did however get it to run using the TRENDnet instructions ??? This unit did loose communications once but I did not run it very long do to the problematic setup routine.
This unit runs around $47 dollars at different retailers. I have to rank this unit neer the bottom of my list do to the poor instructions. Here is a link to the product http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=346 (http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=346)
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Quote from: Halfcrazy on March 04, 2011, 10:26:15 AM
TRENDnet TEW-654TR Wireless N travel router kit
The Wireless N travel router kit by Trendnet worked but it would on occasion loose communications with my wireless router for whatever reason and would be unable to resolve this without being power cycled. I did run this model for about a week and had to cycle the power 2 times to get it to communicate again. To be fair I only tested one so maybe it is the particular part not a flaw?
It's not a flaw. I'll leave it at that ;)
Quote from: tallgirl on March 14, 2011, 07:05:08 AM
It's not a flaw. I'll leave it at that ;)
Maybe they talk about this feature in the manual ?
boB
I'm using the EDIMAX EW-7228APn Wireless Range Extender / Access Point with 5 Port Switch which I got at Newegg.com (link below). It works with our Classic 150 but was very difficult to get up and running. Their manual is not great but if you are patient and very familiar with computer networking you should be alright.
Once up and running it ran flawlessly for about two weeks then lost connection and had to be power cycled to re-establish connection.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315097 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315097)
Quote from: Drew on December 06, 2011, 11:29:48 AM
I'm using the EDIMAX EW-7228APn Wireless Range Extender / Access Point with 5 Port Switch which I got at Newegg.com (link below). It works with our Classic 150 but was very difficult to get up and running. Their manual is not great but if you are patient and very familiar with computer networking you should be alright.
Once up and running it ran flawlessly for about two weeks then lost connection and had to be power cycled to re-establish connection.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315097 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315097)
Drew, thanks for that link !!
So, this wireless bridge is about $10 cheaper than what we are using here at MidNite which are D-Links I think.
What were the issues that made it difficult to set up ?? If you can give some hints, it might make life easier for
some wanting to use that bridge.
Thanks !
boB
The Ubiquiti stuff works great. I have personally used the Picostation and AirGridM series.
Years of working with and supporting Wireless Access Points (WAPs) has indeed proved that the firmware version is critical to successful repeat connections. When listing the models, please also include the firmware version.
For those of you having issues with WAPs intermittent connectivity... may I suggest a firmware upgrade that can be found on the manufacturers website. Other settings may also be creating a timeout condition, causing a disconnect.
Out of curiosity what type of wireless module (A, B, G, N) and what type of encryption options has been built into the Classic?
Cisco Linksys WET54G and Level OneWAP-0003 bridges both work good with Classic. Both have 5v power. Now been wondering if that client type USB connector on Classic has power connections like normal host type USB socket. Anyone tried powering a bridge from this or one of those telco sockets the mngp plugs into?
I'm looking for a router to connect between three classics and an Outback hub with two VFX3524's and OB's programming box. So far, Linksys EA2700 looks like a candidate. Has anyone tried this unit?
Quote from: philb on November 11, 2012, 10:32:22 PM
I'm looking for a router to connect between three classics and an Outback hub with two VFX3524's and OB's programming box. So far, Linksys EA2700 looks like a candidate. Has anyone tried this unit?
The ea2700 according to cisco is a smart wifi router. If your classics and OB bits are all in the same location then do you just not need to use an ethernet hub to link them together in the same network?
A router only becomes necessary to connect separate networks eg internet connection. But maybe thats what you want to do :)
dgd
Quote from: dgd on July 19, 2012, 01:23:12 PM
Cisco Linksys WET54G and Level OneWAP-0003 bridges both work good with Classic. Both have 5v power. Now been wondering if that client type USB connector on Classic has power connections like normal host type USB socket. Anyone tried powering a bridge from this or one of those telco sockets the mngp plugs into?
The Classics USB is non powered. You can turn Aux 1 to manual on and get around 12vdc at 200ma max
Ryan
Quote from: Halfcrazy on November 13, 2012, 07:32:55 PM
Quote from: dgd on July 19, 2012, 01:23:12 PM
Cisco Linksys WET54G and Level OneWAP-0003 bridges both work good with Classic. Both have 5v power. Now been wondering if that client type USB connector on Classic has power connections like normal host type USB socket. Anyone tried powering a bridge from this or one of those telco sockets the mngp plugs into?
The Classics USB is non powered. You can turn Aux 1 to manual on and get around 12vdc at 200ma max
Ryan
Yes, I discovered that a while ago :) boB pointed me to the 9v at one of those 3 telco connectors. However since then I have used a DC to DC convertor to get 5V for the WET, a 5 port ethernet hub, a raspberry pi that extracts logging info from my two 150s, and my home made logic board that detects over voltage, dead 150, wastenot from150 and wakens the crydom 3phase relay ... sorry for ranting on, I was on a roll 8)
I keep looking for the updated modbus spec/list, are you the person for that? .. thanks
dgd
boB or Andrew will have to do the Modbus register map I am Modbus illiterate. ::)
Ryan
Quote from: dgd on November 13, 2012, 07:59:06 PM
I keep looking for the updated modbus spec/list, are you the person for that? .. thanks
dgd
As soon as I quit changing the darn modbus map ! Real soon I hope !
boB
Does the number of wireless clients on one WAP affect reliability? All we have in our home is a WAP - nothing was wired with ethernet. We have three computers and one wireless printer. I tried two different wireless units (DLink and Linksys) in client mode to connect our Classics to the WAP and it was too slow. If my wife sent something to the printer the Local App would drop the connection with the Classics altogether.
I finally ran an ethernet cable from one of the WAP's ports to a 4 port DLink network switch that I bought for only $19 bucks and that works fine and never loses the connection.
It seems to me that if you get too many radios talking at once that things probably get jammed up.
--
Chris
I recently had to upgrade my WIFI router so I went on Feebay and bought a Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT installed on it for $25 delivered.
I took my identical WRT54GL with the original Linksys software on it and put DD-WRT on it. After seeing this thread I wanted to test something so I set it to be a wireless bridge, plugged in a couple items including the Classic. It works treat. It simply bridges the wired devices over the radio link to the rest of the network.
So a Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT on it works for this.
Its not plug n play but it does the trick with a minimum of hassle.
The Feebay item is here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290811253970 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/290811253970)
Just FYI.
Tom
That's what I wanted to do. I got both the wireless routers at OfficeMax and both connected OK. But it just seemed that if we had a lot network traffic things slowed down and the wireless tended to drop out.
We recently upped our system to 48 volts and I had an electrician come to re-do some of the house wiring. Our wireless router was in the basement (get good signal all over the house from down there) and I had four 60 foot long ethernet cables running from the Classics to the wireless router's ports on the back. That worked fine. But when Sparky pulled all that stuff out he never ran a conduit for all the ethernet cables. So that's why I tried the wireless thing.
Part of the problem could be that I could only get about a half-strength signal from the utility room to the WAP. In the end I just strung one ethernet cable thru the floor joists from the utility room to the WAP and put that DLink network switch in the utility room to plug all the Classics into. That works great - not a single problem.
--
Chris
Quote from: ChrisOlson on November 18, 2012, 05:10:55 PM
Does the number of wireless clients on one WAP affect reliability? All we have in our home is a WAP - nothing was wired with ethernet. We have three computers and one wireless printer. I tried two different wireless units (DLink and Linksys) in client mode to connect our Classics to the WAP and it was too slow. If my wife sent something to the printer the Local App would drop the connection with the Classics altogether.
I finally ran an ethernet cable from one of the WAP's ports to a 4 port DLink network switch that I bought for only $19 bucks and that works fine and never loses the connection.
It seems to me that if you get too many radios talking at once that things probably get jammed up.
--
Chris
Unless there is a local device that is consuming near all the bandwidth ( eg file downloading or uploading to web) then it's unlikely. Even if the printer has a decent buffer size the wifi bandwidth should hardly be impacted. The 150s, at least the ones I have, have Ethernet interface problems, they work but a line analyser shows lots of spikes noise and the packet repeat count/dropouts are the worst I have seen. I suppose I should not be too surprised by this considering the power switching that the classic does. The solution for me was to make the Ethernet cables from the classics short and connect to a hub/switch that was powered. This damps the noise and makes the connection more reliable - but not perfect. The 150s have difficuly keeping Ethernet connections and local app drops out every night..
Dgd
Quote from: dgd on November 18, 2012, 08:35:40 PM
The solution for me was to make the Ethernet cables from the classics short and connect to a hub/switch that was powered.
Yes, that's what I put in. It's a DLink 4 port - not sure of the model. But it is a switch not a hub. I guess switches are supposed to stop network collisions. I had a hub and tried that and it would not work. The collision light came on on it, and the Local App could not connect. I have four Classic 150's hooked up to this switch, all with static IP's, and running on TCP ports 502, 503, 504 and 505 with not a single problem with dropout.
--
Chris
Quote from: ChrisOlson on November 18, 2012, 09:00:09 PM
Quote from: dgd on November 18, 2012, 08:35:40 PM
The solution for me was to make the Ethernet cables from the classics short and connect to a hub/switch that was powered.
Yes, that's what I put in. It's a DLink 4 port - not sure of the model. But it is a switch not a hub. I guess switches are supposed to stop network collisions. I had a hub and tried that and it would not work. The collision light came on on it, and the Local App could not connect. I have four Classic 150's hooked up to this switch, all with static IP's, and running on TCP ports 502, 503, 504 and 505 with not a single problem with dropout.
--
Chris
Chris;
That supports my theory that the Classic "Communication issues" may be network hardware specific or firmware on routers. My issues truly seem to have gone away with my upgrade.
No wonder its so hard for them to find the reason for it.
I upgraded 2 items. Router hardware with a different firmware on the same hardware model / brand. And I removed an aged switch I had suspicions about for awhile. That seemed to end my issues communicating with the Classic for about a week now of solid connectivity. My ethernet cable is fairly long like 10 or 12 feet and I didn't change it.
Sorry for the diversion from the topic of wireless bridges but it seems related. 8)
Just from here.
Tom
Tom, that's an interesting theory. The hub that I tried worked fine with a regular laptop plugged into it. But with even just one single Classic plugged into it the collision light would come on and the Local App couldn't connect. It was a powered hub too. The "expert" at OfficeMax told me I need a switch instead of a hub. The switch works but maybe there's other reasons for it.
--
Chris
Quote from: dgd on November 18, 2012, 08:35:40 PM
The 150s, at least the ones I have, have Ethernet interface problems, they work but a line analyser shows lots of spikes noise and the packet repeat count/dropouts are the worst I have seen. I suppose I should not be too surprised by this considering the power switching that the classic does. The solution for me was to make the Ethernet cables from the classics short and connect to a hub/switch that was powered. This damps the noise and makes the connection more reliable - but not perfect. The 150s have difficuly keeping Ethernet connections and local app drops out every night..
Dgd
Dgd, I will look into packet problems and data loss this week.
In your testing, what are you using as an analyzer ?? Is it software or hardware ?
Also, I don't suppose your Ethernet cable has a shield and that shield is connected to the ground of the Classics' Ethernet jack ??
If it was, then that could be most of the problem since that jack is connected to battery and PV minus.
The Classics' Ethernet jack is magnetically isolated... Very early units did have a non-isolated jack though which, if you have,
could possibly cause this behavior. If yours is one of those, the serial number would be somewhere earlier than a few hundred
in number and there will be a small hole in the back side of the Ethernet RJ45 jack.
boB
Quote from: boB on November 19, 2012, 12:19:36 AM
In your testing, what are you using as an analyzer ?? Is it software or hardware ?
Also, I don't suppose your Ethernet cable has a shield and that shield is connected to the ground of the Classics' Ethernet jack ??
If it was, then that could be most of the problem since that jack is connected to battery and PV minus.
The Classics' Ethernet jack is magnetically isolated... Very early units did have a non-isolated jack though which, if you have,
could possibly cause this behavior. If yours is one of those, the serial number would be somewhere earlier than a few hundred
in number and there will be a small hole in the back side of the Ethernet RJ45 jack.
When I first had problems keeping the classic Ethernet interface up I used tcpdump to capture tcp traffic for analysis. The bsd unix host was connected to the 150 via a Cisco router. The Cisco eventually started showing packet loss on the port connecting the 150 via an 8 metre cable. It seemed a case of bottle necking at the 150. Perhaps tcp stack management issues in the 150 firmware?
I then borrowed an hp logic analyser to look at the signal levels. Signals were all there but the other stuff spikes and crud were too prominent, the signal levels were degraded at the Cisco port.
When the classic was working and mppt'ing the situation deteriorated until the Ethernet port shut down.
Difficult to know if its hardware or software issue as the only reset mechanism is a power off and on.
Cleaning up the signal levels by placing a non passive Ethernet device such as a powered switch or hub close connected to the 150 has fixed the problem for me.
So it appears to be a hardware interface issue at the 150 rather than a firmware problem.
Interesting about the enet socket on the classic, should the shielding not be connected to the chassis earth rather than -ve. ?
Serial is 879 so not early classic
Dgd
Dgd... No, not early enough Classic for non-isolated Ethernet jack so that should be OK.
So, are you using grounded shield at the Classic end ? Or not ?? If so, I would definitely
disconnect that ground/shield at that end of the cable.
Otherwise, you might want to try running the Ethernet cable through a ferrite toroid
right next to the Classic and see if that reduces the noise.
If the Classic end of the cable is not grounded, I don't see how the noise gets in there
because the jack is isolated but I would guess the noise is most likely common-mode type.
I believe that a ferrite will help that noise. Another thing that might help would be to isolate
the ground of the switch or whatever the Ethernet cable is connected to.... But that may not
or might not want to be done.
We will probably be changing that jack from V- to chassis gnd some time but it probably
should not be used either way.
I will have to think about this one a bit.
Thanks !
boB
boB
I took all my Ethernet to 150s apart and started again.
Two 150s each on 15 metre cable to Cisco Linksys wrt54g. Both work on adjacent static ip numbers. After 3 hours one goes busy then about 2 hours later goes away, no ip number found, not found on network. Local app now just finds one 150, about 6 hours alter it goes busy too and stays that way.
Both 150 rest while I sleep and next morning both seen by local app. At midday one goes busy and dies the other stays up another 5 hours then busy.
Cables are cat 5e. Change one cable for cat 7 type which has earth screen tags at each end, connect one to chassis earth in. 150
That's 150 stays up 2 days before busy, other dies as usual.
Now put powered hub on end of 12 metre cat5e with. 1 metre cat5e to 150, it never dies stays up for many days while other 150 goes busy/dies each day.
Move second 150 to hub and it stays alive.
Placing ferrite rings on long cat5e makes no difference, still get busy/ dead 150
Replace 15 metre cable to hub with 2 metre cat5e to Linksys wet54g bridge, still works
If there is a noise or other interference problem it doesn't matter anymore as the hub/switch seems to fix it.
What about those other classic users that had the BUSY issues, has its gone away with software upgrades etc.. Or still there?
Dgd
Quote from: dgd on November 21, 2012, 09:15:52 PM
boB
I took all my Ethernet to 150s apart and started again.
Two 150s each on 15 metre cable to Cisco Linksys wrt54g. Both work on adjacent static ip numbers. After 3 hours one goes busy then about 2 hours later goes away, no ip number found, not found on network. Local app now just finds one 150, about 6 hours alter it goes busy too and stays that way.
Both 150 rest while I sleep and next morning both seen by local app. At midday one goes busy and dies the other stays up another 5 hours then busy.
Cables are cat 5e. Change one cable for cat 7 type which has earth screen tags at each end, connect one to chassis earth in. 150
That's 150 stays up 2 days before busy, other dies as usual.
Now put powered hub on end of 12 metre cat5e with. 1 metre cat5e to 150, it never dies stays up for many days while other 150 goes busy/dies each day.
Move second 150 to hub and it stays alive.
Placing ferrite rings on long cat5e makes no difference, still get busy/ dead 150
Replace 15 metre cable to hub with 2 metre cat5e to Linksys wet54g bridge, still works
If there is a noise or other interference problem it doesn't matter anymore as the hub/switch seems to fix it.
What about those other classic users that had the BUSY issues, has its gone away with software upgrades etc.. Or still there?
Dgd
This is very interesting !
So, are all CAT 7 cables shielded like that ? What was the powered hub you had ?
I am trying to understand how you had it earth grounded. Was that at one end only ? I think you were trying
to say it was only grounded at the Classic end ? What was the shield doing at the powered hub end ? Was the
shield left floating at the powered hub end ?
As for software update, yes, we will have one posted very shortly that we will definitely want you to try with the old cat 5e cable
where it would normally go busy or stop working.
As for your unit coming back up the next morning, do you have A-RST enabled in tweaks ? That will reset
the Classic (and its network software) every night at midnight if ON.
boB
Hi folks, I'm new here, and really enjoying the forum. I thought I'd mention an oddball little wireless bridge that I found... My main goal was minimum power consumption, but I also wanted to avoid adding another wall wart if possible, so I looked for something that could run from the Classic's 12V AUX1 port.
What I found was the "Vonets VAR11N":
http://www.vonets.com/ProductViews.asp?D_ID=15 (http://www.vonets.com/ProductViews.asp?D_ID=15)
(http://www.vonets.com/UploadFile/PicTure/2012122616424920822.jpg)
Pros:
- Cheap (under 20 bucks )
- Tiny
- Uses less than 1.5 Watts
- Runs on 5-15V (designed to piggyback on the power adapter for another device such as a security camera)
Cons:
- Cheap (can't vouch for its reliability)
- Range isn't spectacular
- Configuration is quirky and has limited options
I measured its current draw as about 100 mA at 12V. It peaked at about 140 mA while transferring 5 mbit/sec. This is far more traffic than the Classic produces, so it should stay well within the AUX1 port's 200 mA limit.
(Note that there are similar models which run on 5V only. Be sure to get the one with the DC barrel jack on the device if you want 12V compatibility. There is also a VAP11N that looks suitable, but the cables are hard-wired into it.)
I set AUX1 to "Day Light" mode, so the bridge is powered off while there is no incoming PV power. The downside is that I can't use the local app after dark, but this hasn't been a problem for me so far, and I enjoy the feeling that I am being as power-miserly as possible. In the winter, every Watt-hour counts.
I don't think I'd recommend this little box to everyone, but if you're handy with configuring routers and want the lowest possible power consumption, it might be worth a look.
One of the available serial ports in the Classic has +9v and 0V on two of its pins.
See the Classic online manual and details are in one of the Appendicies.
You could use this to power the bridge 24/7, there is same current capability as the AUX port.
dgd
Quote from: dgd on December 22, 2014, 12:00:00 AM
One of the available serial ports in the Classic has +9v and 0V on two of its pins.
See the Classic online manual and details are in one of the Appendicies.
You could use this to power the bridge 24/7, there is same current capability as the AUX port.
dgd
Two years later...
In this case, I *wanted* it to shut off at night. No sense keeping it running to report zero power.
As it turns out, the Vonets bridge wasn't so great. The connection was intermittent, and when I changed to a new router, it didn't work at all.