Engenius 200mW long range Wi-Fi equipment

Hi, Jeff,

I have two of your 2611CB3 Deluxe which are giving me fits. Obviously I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know what it is. Recommendations here (this forum) seem only to add more gear, when these two, by themselves, when connected, are in fibrillation.

I'd love to go offline with you on this, but for a quickie summary, see "cutting the wire on a sailboat" for a review of my challenges.

What would you suggest? Looking at your 3054 manual suggests it's virtually alike except only 100mw, and nothing in the literature I see shows how to use it as a repeater.

I think what I need is a repeater, but thus far, I'm clueless, it seems.

Thanks.

L8R

Skip

you do not need a repeater that would not work.

yes you can use one cb3

the bridge and connect to another cb3 in access point mode via a crossover cable. They must be on non over lapping channels (1,6 or 11) so if the boat bridge is connected to a channel 1 access point your boat access point should be on channel 11.

You will have to set your boat access point and bridge to different ip address of course use 10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2 most default access point will be in the 192.168 range you can also add a secondary ip address like 10.0.0.100 on your computers ethernet card for management of the cb3's click advanced on tcp/ip and add it there. Set normal ip address to dhcp so it picks up from the land based access point.

This all requires basic tcp/ip networking skills might be worth your wile to pick up the crab book

so you can understand what you are trying to do

-- borderline spammy message snipped --

I junked one of these last year. Lousy XP drivers hosed the WiFi "stack" on what had been a perfectly working Dell laptop.

Care to make a donation (with receipt for taxes) to a non profit?

back channel me via brother_rabbit @ hotmail.com and I'll send you the url on the group and what they are about.

An aside we'll take anything working or not if there is a chance we can get it working or steal parts to make another something work. If nothing else we'll use it to teach someone how to solder and assemble electronics PCBs.

BR

as the bridge and connect to another cb3 in access point mode via a

Thank you, Jeff, for an informed opinion. I'm not at the same site as the equipment (it's in the storage building where the other stuff going to the boat is at the moment). So, particularly since this week is chock-a-block with medical stuff related to my ability to leave, it will have to wait until next week. However...

I'll try setting one of the units to CH1, the other to 11, both of them on the 10 set net, and adding another custom net of the 10 class to my DHCP enabled wifi internal.

Of course, I'd far rather make what I have, having already spent the bux toget them, work, so this is encouraging. In particular, with two 200mw units, one for each end's activity, it surely seems that I'll have great coverage. However, I'm curious as to why a repeater wouldn't work - or, were you referring to *adding* a repeater to what I have as not working?

Finally, as originally configured, these were two modules (no cases, but the breadboard allowing the PCMCIA card to operate outside the computer), separated by standoffs, in the same weatherproof housing, with the 20" stick out the top on a lightning arrestor/protector and the duck out the bottom, both powered by house (12V DC, nominal) power. Do you see any problems with this arrangement?

I'll report back when I've attempted your setup.

Thanks again.

L8R

Skip

Leaving the original for clarity after a long while, below, I come back with some basic difficulties:

"jeff keenan" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Multiple re-readings of the instructions suggest that an AP can be a repeater. The only way I saw was that individual clients (laptops, e.g.) could talk to each other, using the AP as the repeater - not necessarily that individual laptops could talk to a router, using the AP as repeater. However, they seem to indicate that connection via cat5 to a computer is necessary for that to happen, which defeats my purpose - and in any case, since I want to talk to shore points (which would be a wireless router), doesn't seem to accomplish my purpose. How is it that Ham radio folks can effortlessly connect to a repeater - that is, the unmanned antenna on a hilltop takes their signal, amplifies it and sends it on its way - and we in the wifi world, can't?? That's exactly what I want to do - take my signal, amplify it, and send it on its way. In turn, I want to hear/see the other signal, picked up and sent my way. Not being argumentative - just supremely frustrated at total failure to get anything at all in this venture to work - at all. On to your suggestions:

as the bridge and connect to another cb3 in access point mode via a

I'm not sure what you mean by "boat access point" channel 11. The only access point I'll have will be one of the 2611s. I can set the access point and bridge (the two 2611s, one each as bridge and AP) to use 1 and 11, but it seems to make no difference, in the end (see below). If those two items, used on my boat, are what you mean, I'm still stuck.

Meanwhile, when I'm able to interrogate the bridge (or change it to the AP mode), the first couple of times I did that, it showed that it was using channel 12, supposedly not available in the US. What's that about? The next time, it showed it was using channel 5, despite my having set it to channel 1. Reconnecting repeatedly gave 12, 12, 7, 6, and others. When I was able to make it act as a bridge (still single unit - not trying to put them together), while it didn't succeed in actually obtaining an address, it showed as bouncing around between 1 and 6 while trying. Same question...

I'm unable to make the 10 set work at all. I initially set my NIC (just to try to set up one of them, let alone have them interact) to 192etc, rebooted the 2611, and got into the admin pages. I then entered 10...100 in the advanced TCP/IP settings on the NIC, and went back into the 2611, resetting it to 10...1.

At that point, after the required reboot, it became invisible. I went back into the NIC and set it for dhcp, at which point (of course) all of the other settings disappeared. Still no contact with the 2611.

Resetting the NIC to 10...100, subnet 255.0.0.0 also didn't let me in. Giving up and rebooting the 2611 manually, and resetting the NIC to

192.168.1.100 didn't let me in, either. Manually rebooting the 2611 yet again did the trick on 192,etc.- but I'm still not up on 10,etc. That is, the unit sees nothing - or at least, doesn't display them in the associations, let alone the comms icons in the system tray - despite my success in connection with my internal laptop antenna. When I interrogate the bridge using the 192etc. and "advanced" 10etc. it shows association/bridging with both 192 and 10 sets, even though, of course, they're the same NIC mac. However, no external connection shows.

Giving up and going to the 192etc. static configuration lets it load - but while it shows connected to my local router, it doesn't connect to the internet. My settings are (because dhcp won't let me see the page) static, point-multipoint mode, no SSID. While the instructions sets refer to using dhcp, I can't imagine how it would work, as it's invisible, apparently, in that mode.

I'm beginning to think this just won't work in the application I'm trying to accomplish. I want to put this - the bridge, and another - configured as an AP, in a NEMA box, on top of the mast. I want them connected to each other, with a crossover pigtail, and powered directly. The AP I'd have a rubber duck to see me, on or below decks, and - I'd hope - lots of other boats in the anchorage, or me in the dinghy gone to shore, even. However, the requirement of a static address seems to rule that out? The bridge I'd have using an 8.5dBi stick looking for shoreside points, passing them through the AP to me, below, and from which I'd choose, just as I now do in my built-in or externally USB connected antenna. However, what I read in the instructions suggests that it will only connect to the strongest signal, not let me select, as my current antenna does (?).

I've even considered giving up and running a crossover from the nav to the

2611 configured as bridge, mast-top - but as yet, I can't even get it to see anything alone, via my crossover to the NIC in the computer, certainly not together (AP and Bridge pair mast-top, with no data line to the bottom). While I'm able to see the local router, with better quality items (strength and quality) numbers than with my "standard" antenna, it won't communicate with it - that is, data won't flow. Attempting to browse immediately attempts to open a dialer, attempts to open NNTP news gives "server could not be found" and attempts to pull email give error messages. If I can't make them respond in a wired mode, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to do it wirelessly, especially together. Setting the NIC to dhcp makes it fall apart completely - which would mean, of course, that nobody else in the anchorage could see it, either (a side objective for me), never mind that it doesn't work for me, even wired up as a single-item, bridge, solution...

Ideally, in the event of a problem, I want to be able to address them from below, rather than having to climb the mast and uninstall them, bringing them below for direct connection. So far I'm not able to see either bridge or access point with my internal wireless antenna, let alone communicate with it, or control it. The only way I've been able to interrogate the card has been via XO cat5 from my NIC. And, despite it seeing my router, that's as far as I get with it - I can interrogate it, and see what it's "seeing" - but not pass data. Just to be sure that it wasn't a router issue, I reconnected my antenna and surfed and mailed successfully - including this note - but when I disconnected it, rechecked the bridge, and saw the router in strong connection, there was no surfing or mailing. Given that I'd always been certain that a wired-up 2611 bridge would work, this is terribly, mortifyingly (after 8 months just trying to make the two interact without complaint), disappointing. Obviously I'm doing something very basically wrong - but 8 months of beating on it, and wearing out the manual, hasn't gotten me very far. While I (may have - I've not bothered to put the two together, having not succeeded in even sucking down a signal yet, with a wire!) solved the ipconflicts with the channel separations, I'm no further toward my objective. At some later point when I've regained my sanity, I'll set up the AP with .2 (the bridge is .1), and channel 11 (the bridge is channel 1) and put the two together with the crossover, power them up, and see if the system complains about IP conflicts...

It still smells like I need a repeater - something which amplifies both my and the shoreside point data so each can see it better than with the native gear. Or *something* other than this setup with which I've not had any other than frustration for more than 8 months.

At the risk of trying your patience, do you have any (further) suggestions as to how to resolve this impasse?

Thanks.

L8R

Skip, defeated.