Anybody familiar with old D-Link DWL900AP and configuration for Client mode?

There are multiple types of DWL900AP boxes. The one's without the + at the end have insipid radios and buggy firmware. The DWL-900AP+ comes in the rev A1, B1, E1, and probably some others. The A1 and B1 are ok, but the E1 and up are nice because they can be upgraded to

Be sure to thank D-Link marketing for their heroic efforts to minimize product differentiation and maximum customer confusion.

Well, I have a DWL-900AP+ rev B1 connected in client mode from the neighbors house to my BEFW11S4 at this very moment.

Firmware version? Update? As I vaguely recall (not sure), the original DWL-900AP (no plus) didn't work at all in the client or repeater modes.

This is for the DWL-900AP+ and does NOT apply to the DWL-900 (no plus).

Incidentally, I have about 4 or 5 point to point 22mbit/sec links that use DWL-900AP+ radios (mostly rev A1 and B1) and that have been up for years with few problems.

Wrong. Dlink uses the plus designates that the device uses the Texas Instrumint ACX-100 chipset. The plus has nothing to do with features present. Both the plus and non-plus versions do client and repeater mode, with the latest firmware.

Also, I screwed up. There is no Rev E1. It should be Rev C1. Sorry.

DWL-900AP non-plus:

The Dlink DWL-900AP is not able to be used as a repeater or adapter(Clint Mode). It can only be used as an access point, wired into your router to extend your wireless networks area of coverage. Unless their is a firmware upgrade allowing it to become a repeater that I am unaware of, then you are attempting to use it in the wrong manner.

I think I finally figured out how to reply to the posting thread. Sorry this was missent to Jeff Liebermans email instead of posting to the web site. Forgive me, I'm new to this....

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Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

Yes, it is a 900AP not a 900AP+.

If it's true that it doesn't work in client mode, that would explain some of the problems I am experiencing.

The firmware version is 1.4j3, which is the last firmware rev that D-link put out before they discontinued the product.

I was thinking that perhaps I had not configured something properly, and that is why I couldn't get it to work in client mode.

I also tried to use it in bridge mode (point to point). I had limited success there, but still had big problems with it. I read an article that basically states that bridge mode only works with single vendor solutions, as each vendor may do a proprietary implementation.

I had hoped to do other things with this piece of equipment. For the moment, I would be happy if I could just get it to function as a client, so I could use it to allow one of my computers to have internet access via my router. I can't seem to get even that far. One of the gentlemen who replied to my post, indicated that the firmware was buggy, and it may never work in client mode. If so, please let me know and I'll stop trying to pound the square peg into the round hole.

Thanks for what info you have already provided, and if you have any more info to offer (after reading the above), please post it. Thanks

GZ

Yes, I have a 900AP and it is not a plus model.

Since I last attempted to reply to the posting thread, I have tried something new. I tried using DHCP instead of static addresses. That didn't make any improvement for client mode, but I can now get the 900AP to function as a bridge. It allows me to connect my computer to the internet (which was my first goal). Not sure why client mode is still not working. Perhaps it will never work in client mode as suggested.

BTW, the firmware is 1.4j3 which was the latest rev from D-Link.

It shows the signal strength as 100% (mostly because it's close to the router, for testing purposes), but the link quality shows as 20-25% or so. Any ideas why?

GZ

I have a C2 and just upgraded to the latest firmware (v3.07b). How do you upgrade to "g"?

-- Jafo

I didn't know that there was a C2 revision.

The DWL-900AP+ will do 22Mbits/sec (ERP-PBCC modulation), which is part of the 802.11g specification as an alternative to OFDM. While not as fast as OFDM, it's quite reliable and offers about 10mbits/sec thruput. The original DWL-900AP and DWL-900AP+ always supported the

Version 3.06 and 3.07 firmware added WPA encryption. I should probably install it and get away from WEP128. No WPA for the non-plus version.

Oh well. I sold one of those about 3 years ago. The radio section was rather inspid. No range.

It's possible, as the client mode is sometimes a problem.

You might try turning off some of the wireles "enhancements". See:

Yep. That's the latest.

Yeah. That's what I saw thanks to the 4X mode and 22mbits/sec. Turn them off and it should improve the error rate. If it doesn't, it means that you're getting some interference. It's possible, but I doubt it at the range you're using. Look for the usual microwave ovens, cordless phones, TV "rabbits", and other sources of 2.4GHz crud.

It cant, that requires a new radio, not firmware. Firmware will make it able to access a G router.... But still at 11Mbs

Actually, there's a firmware version 3.10, which I installed on both my

Well, a quick look at the German web pile for Dlink finds version 3.07 as the latest for the DWL-900AP+. If you've installed the European firmware, you now have 13 instead of 11 channels. Running foreign firmware is not a good idea (or legal). The various power hacking web sites for the DWL-900AP+ often mention 3.10 but as there are apparently no accompanying release notes, there's no clue about its exact origin or what it adds or fixed. My guess(tm) is that's it's something that "leaked" out of a developers system in Germany.

More like disgusting. The above web site points to: ftp://ftp.dlink.de/dwl-products/dwl-900apPLUS/Treiber_Firmware/ as the source of 3.10 firmware. The directory shows 3.07 as the latest. The comments show that 3.10 appeared and then disappeared.

I read it, but missed the link. Thanks. Digging a bit on the Italian web site and going up a few directories, I find that: ftp://ftp.dlink.it/pub/Wireless%20AirPlus/DWL-900AP+/Firmware/ lists 3.07 as the latest firmware. I think the BX and CX directories containing 3.10 refer to experimental firmware versions.

The US version seems to be at 2.61: ftp://ftp.dlink.com/Wireless/DWL900AP+/Firmware/

The UK version seems to be at 3.07 ftp://ftp.dlink.co.uk/wireless/dwl-900ap+_rev_cx/

I'm not sure what's going on, but it seems that the US and EU versions of the firmware are radically different versions and that 3.10 seems to be an oddity. Glad it works for you, but I still won't recommend using firmware from another country and of unknown ancestry (even though I've done it a few times myself).