Discussion:
[rescue] OT wireless bridge
Peter Stokes
2018-01-28 23:45:13 UTC
Permalink
Hi All

I guess for a lot of you this may be old news, but if it helps someone, then
hopefully the rest will not shout at me too much.....

Background - I have just moved house to a much smaller house which has no
separate office building as I am cutting down work significantly. So space is
at a premium. My broadband connection is a standard BT Fibre wifi Hub which is
located in the small 3rd bedroom my wife uses as a work room. She has a laptop
and a photo/colour printer and there is no room for the b/w Dell laser we use
as the main workhorse for general work paperwork e.g. Delivery notes etc. I
have the attic which is nice work area, but no direct connection other than
wifi to the hub and the attic is where the Dell is living. The Dell is
hardwire only, i.e. No wifi, but is also the only printer which supports the
air print from the IPads. I also have been playing with a non wifi Raspberry
and wanted internet access from any Sun system I fire up.

So I needed a multiport hub connected to the BT wifi hub. After coming to
terms with the words I needed to search on, i.e. Wifi bridge and ignoring all
the links to wifi extenders etc, the most interesting links were to the DD-WRT
website https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index. Having read a bit, I went on the
hunt for a suitable cheap router to use with it. Ebay revealed any number of
BT, Virgin et al routers, none of which appear in the DD-WRT database, so I
approached it the other way and looked on the database for the most likely
type to hunt for. The Linksys range looked like a huge range to look for, so
back to Ebay and a B#15 ($20) WRT54G V5 was ordered and arrived promptly.

Updating the firmware was as per the instructions and after a couple of goes
at configuring it (again following detailed instructions) I had a working
bridge and air print etc is now available.

As I mentioned I hope this is of use to someone here.

Peter

Sent from my iPad
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
Lionel Peterson
2018-01-29 01:21:18 UTC
Permalink
I've had good luck with "wireless print servers" and consumer "wireless access
points" both of which typically include RJ45 jacks.

Lionel
Post by Peter Stokes
Hi All
I guess for a lot of you this may be old news, but if it helps someone, then
hopefully the rest will not shout at me too much.....
Background - I have just moved house to a much smaller house which has no
separate office building as I am cutting down work significantly. So space is
at a premium. My broadband connection is a standard BT Fibre wifi Hub which is
located in the small 3rd bedroom my wife uses as a work room. She has a laptop
and a photo/colour printer and there is no room for the b/w Dell laser we use
as the main workhorse for general work paperwork e.g. Delivery notes etc. I
have the attic which is nice work area, but no direct connection other than
wifi to the hub and the attic is where the Dell is living. The Dell is
hardwire only, i.e. No wifi, but is also the only printer which supports the
air print from the IPads. I also have been playing with a non wifi Raspberry
and wanted internet access from any Sun system I fire up.
So I needed a multiport hub connected to the BT wifi hub. After coming to
terms with the words I needed to search on, i.e. Wifi bridge and ignoring all
the links to wifi extenders etc, the most interesting links were to the DD-WRT
website https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index. Having read a bit, I went on the
hunt for a suitable cheap router to use with it. Ebay revealed any number of
BT, Virgin et al routers, none of which appear in the DD-WRT database, so I
approached it the other way and looked on the database for the most likely
type to hunt for. The Linksys range looked like a huge range to look for, so
back to Ebay and a B#15 ($20) WRT54G V5 was ordered and arrived promptly.
Updating the firmware was as per the instructions and after a couple of goes
at configuring it (again following detailed instructions) I had a working
bridge and air print etc is now available.
As I mentioned I hope this is of use to someone here.
Peter
Sent from my iPad
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
John Hudak
2018-01-29 01:52:11 UTC
Permalink
I've been using a number of WRT54G V2/V5 (or similar) wireless routers
exclusively with DD-WRT for many years- Both as replacement to my ISP
furnished router and as a AP. Excellent firmware - much better than any
companies product.
The Linksys WRT54's are very well supported with DD-WRT
Been through Dlink, Netgear, Linksys, and Asus 'stock' firmware - all
second or 3rd class compared to DD-WRT.
I currently have 2 WRT54G V2 (the ones that support the maximum RAM/ROM
possible) as hard wired range extenders to my verizon supplied accutec
router. Works flawlessly.
IIRC, Linksys didn't have QoS on their stock firmware for quite a
while..DD-WRT did, along with the capability to boost the RF signal by at
least 30%..I measured it with my field strength meter.
Been running it at 90% power for 3+ years and not one hickup.
I gave my son a WRT54G V2 for his use in his college apt to use with his
smart TV and his friends xbox. No problems over 2+ years of use.
FWIW, any router I get in the future will be based on it having a DD-WRT
upgrade. I've had enough bad experiences from 'real companies' products
(router lockups, drop outs, poor signal, badly behaved QoS, lousy BW) that
DD-WRT has solved very well. Understanding the versioning and flashing it
can be a bit tricky, but I've found the forums to be very helpful. Haven't
bricked the 5 routers I've upgraded.
As they say, YMMV, but I've been very happy with it.
J
Post by Peter Stokes
Hi All
I guess for a lot of you this may be old news, but if it helps someone, then
hopefully the rest will not shout at me too much.....
Background - I have just moved house to a much smaller house which has no
separate office building as I am cutting down work significantly. So space is
at a premium. My broadband connection is a standard BT Fibre wifi Hub which is
located in the small 3rd bedroom my wife uses as a work room. She has a laptop
and a photo/colour printer and there is no room for the b/w Dell laser we use
as the main workhorse for general work paperwork e.g. Delivery notes etc. I
have the attic which is nice work area, but no direct connection other than
wifi to the hub and the attic is where the Dell is living. The Dell is
hardwire only, i.e. No wifi, but is also the only printer which supports the
air print from the IPads. I also have been playing with a non wifi Raspberry
and wanted internet access from any Sun system I fire up.
So I needed a multiport hub connected to the BT wifi hub. After coming to
terms with the words I needed to search on, i.e. Wifi bridge and ignoring all
the links to wifi extenders etc, the most interesting links were to the DD-WRT
website https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index. Having read a bit, I went on the
hunt for a suitable cheap router to use with it. Ebay revealed any number of
BT, Virgin et al routers, none of which appear in the DD-WRT database, so I
approached it the other way and looked on the database for the most likely
type to hunt for. The Linksys range looked like a huge range to look for, so
back to Ebay and a B#15 ($20) WRT54G V5 was ordered and arrived promptly.
Updating the firmware was as per the instructions and after a couple of goes
at configuring it (again following detailed instructions) I had a working
bridge and air print etc is now available.
As I mentioned I hope this is of use to someone here.
Peter
Sent from my iPad
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
William Enestvedt
2018-01-29 03:03:46 UTC
Permalink
Have any of you used OpenWRT flashed onto a commodity router? Itbs overkill
for my limited skills and needs, but it may suit some of you well.

- Will
--
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
John Hudak
2018-01-29 03:38:05 UTC
Permalink
I looked at it about 4-5 years ago. They did not support nearly as many
routers as DD-WRT did at the time. From reading through the forums, They
only seem to have 'gotten it right' for a few routers, of which the linksys
was one of them. I didn't try it.
J
Have any of you used OpenWRT flashed onto a commodity router? Itb s
overkill
for my limited skills and needs, but it may suit some of you well.
- Will
--
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
Michael-John Turner
2018-01-29 11:17:48 UTC
Permalink
Post by William Enestvedt
Have any of you used OpenWRT flashed onto a commodity router? Itbs overkill
for my limited skills and needs, but it may suit some of you well.
Yep, I've been using it for years (it and LEDE, which was a fork, although
the two will be merging in the near future). I currently have a pair of
TP-Link Archer C5s (OpenWRT) and a Linksys WRT1900ACS (LEDE) in use.

I use OpenWRT/LEDE because those two projects use open source drivers - in
contrast, DD-WRT is happy to use vender-supplied binary blobs to drive
wireless chips.

FWIW, it's also possible to install FreeBSD on commodity routers/APs. See
[1] for more info and [2] for a list of supported hardware.

[1] https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-wifi-build/wiki
[2] https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-wifi-build/wiki/Supported-Boards

Cheers, MJ
--
Michael-John Turner * ***@mjturner.net * http://mjturner.net/
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
Mark Benson
2018-01-29 10:56:09 UTC
Permalink
I am not 100% sure if I follow your requirements exactly, but if your
upstairs attic area is on the same mains phase (and preferably but not
essential the same ring main), as the rest of your house, a powerline
bridge might be more reliable. I use them in my flat (not allowed to tear
up the floor to install Ethernet) and they are about 90% reliable
connection-wise. This would get all your network traffic downstairs if you
install one in the attic and one by your router. If you already have WiFi
downstairs that will get the Dell primer onto a WiFi network.
--
Mark
Post by Peter Stokes
Hi All
I guess for a lot of you this may be old news, but if it helps someone, then
hopefully the rest will not shout at me too much.....
Background - I have just moved house to a much smaller house which has no
separate office building as I am cutting down work significantly. So space is
at a premium. My broadband connection is a standard BT Fibre wifi Hub which is
located in the small 3rd bedroom my wife uses as a work room. She has a laptop
and a photo/colour printer and there is no room for the b/w Dell laser we use
as the main workhorse for general work paperwork e.g. Delivery notes etc. I
have the attic which is nice work area, but no direct connection other than
wifi to the hub and the attic is where the Dell is living. The Dell is
hardwire only, i.e. No wifi, but is also the only printer which supports the
air print from the IPads. I also have been playing with a non wifi Raspberry
and wanted internet access from any Sun system I fire up.
So I needed a multiport hub connected to the BT wifi hub. After coming to
terms with the words I needed to search on, i.e. Wifi bridge and ignoring all
the links to wifi extenders etc, the most interesting links were to the DD-WRT
website https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index. Having read a bit, I went on the
hunt for a suitable cheap router to use with it. Ebay revealed any number of
BT, Virgin et al routers, none of which appear in the DD-WRT database, so I
approached it the other way and looked on the database for the most likely
type to hunt for. The Linksys range looked like a huge range to look for, so
back to Ebay and a B#15 ($20) WRT54G V5 was ordered and arrived promptly.
Updating the firmware was as per the instructions and after a couple of goes
at configuring it (again following detailed instructions) I had a working
bridge and air print etc is now available.
As I mentioned I hope this is of use to someone here.
Peter
Sent from my iPad
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
Peter Stokes
2018-01-29 11:31:26 UTC
Permalink
Hi Mark

Yes, I did consider a power line solution and I already had one which I know
works, however the wifi solution was a better one for me as it did not involve
any extra cabling or units at the main router, I did not need a separate hub
to give me multi ports and I can use a single intelligent power switch to
power on the router and printer when it is not required which is most of the
time. I am playing with the Sonoff power switches and so far quite impressed
with them. This was on the back of replacing all the thermostats and boiler
controller with wifi compatible ones which has been a great success. I used
the Beok ones which are not expensive and work really well for me.

Peter

Sent from my iPad
Post by Mark Benson
I am not 100% sure if I follow your requirements exactly, but if your
upstairs attic area is on the same mains phase (and preferably but not
essential the same ring main), as the rest of your house, a powerline
bridge might be more reliable. I use them in my flat (not allowed to tear
up the floor to install Ethernet) and they are about 90% reliable
connection-wise. This would get all your network traffic downstairs if you
install one in the attic and one by your router. If you already have WiFi
downstairs that will get the Dell primer onto a WiFi network.
--
Mark
Post by Peter Stokes
Hi All
I guess for a lot of you this may be old news, but if it helps someone, then
hopefully the rest will not shout at me too much.....
Background - I have just moved house to a much smaller house which has no
separate office building as I am cutting down work significantly. So space is
at a premium. My broadband connection is a standard BT Fibre wifi Hub which is
located in the small 3rd bedroom my wife uses as a work room. She has a laptop
and a photo/colour printer and there is no room for the b/w Dell laser we use
as the main workhorse for general work paperwork e.g. Delivery notes etc. I
have the attic which is nice work area, but no direct connection other than
wifi to the hub and the attic is where the Dell is living. The Dell is
hardwire only, i.e. No wifi, but is also the only printer which supports the
air print from the IPads. I also have been playing with a non wifi Raspberry
and wanted internet access from any Sun system I fire up.
So I needed a multiport hub connected to the BT wifi hub. After coming to
terms with the words I needed to search on, i.e. Wifi bridge and ignoring all
the links to wifi extenders etc, the most interesting links were to the DD-WRT
website https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index. Having read a bit, I went on the
hunt for a suitable cheap router to use with it. Ebay revealed any number of
BT, Virgin et al routers, none of which appear in the DD-WRT database, so I
approached it the other way and looked on the database for the most likely
type to hunt for. The Linksys range looked like a huge range to look for, so
back to Ebay and a B#15 ($20) WRT54G V5 was ordered and arrived promptly.
Updating the firmware was as per the instructions and after a couple of goes
at configuring it (again following detailed instructions) I had a working
bridge and air print etc is now available.
As I mentioned I hope this is of use to someone here.
Peter
Sent from my iPad
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
_______________________________________________
rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue

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