WiFi – It’s the Krypton Factor

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MiracleMaud

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Guys, you have given me invaluable assistance in the past, and we had established an extremely satisfactory arrangement on our boat, using an Alfa WiFi adapter and the R36 router. It really is excellent. Or should I say was excellent? Because, I have managed to blow up the R36……. Oooops. How, you may ask? When converting from shore power, mains to 12v, via a 12v socket onboard, I selected the wrong adapter. There was a bang, and nasty smell and the R36 died.

I now have several weeks before I can realistically acquire another R36, and I’m looking at the kit I have available to me and wondered if I can cobble anything together.

When at the dockside, I can connect to the house, in the usual way, using either the laptops wifi card, or the Alfa adaptor, but that’s not too great for the iPads or phones, below decks. On the move, I would like to use the Alfa adapter to receive the connection, then share it with tablets, phones, etc., throughout the boat. I have tried the hosted network solution in windows 7, but can’t seem to get it to work, even when using Admin privileges. I do have a Linksys e1200 router, which we use to boost the signal from the house to boat, with it connected by Ethernet, in the house. My questions are:

• Can I use the e1200 to distribute the Alfa signal somehow, without the need to tether it to the remote wifi first? By that I mean, I obviously don’t want to be plugging our router into a hotspot in a bar – even if they allowed it! The e1200 does not have a usb port , or I would have just tried that already. From some of our favourite anchorages, neither laptops nor tablets can pick up a decent signal without the help of the Alfa adapter, so that really does have to be in play.
• Are there other ways, than the hosted network option I have had trouble with, of sharing the laptop (using the Alfa adaptor’s) connection, via safe software?
• Can I somehow untether the e1200 from its Ethernet connection with the local ISP router to boost the signal on board?
• Anything else I can try?

As you would expect HWMBO is less than chuffed to have lost the luxury the Alfa delivered, having got him converted from cynic to enthusiast.

Needless to say, the R36 will be replaced at the earliest opportunity.

I know you guys love a challenge.

Thanks in anticipation.
 
MiracleMaud said:
Guys, you have given me invaluable assistance in the past, and we had established an extremely satisfactory arrangement on our boat, using an Alfa WiFi adapter and the R36 router. It really is excellent. Or should I say was excellent? Because, I have managed to blow up the R36……. Oooops. How, you may ask? When converting from shore power, mains to 12v, via a 12v socket onboard, I selected the wrong adapter. There was a bang, and nasty smell and the R36 died.

I now have several weeks before I can realistically acquire another R36, and I’m looking at the kit I have available to me and wondered if I can cobble anything together.

When at the dockside, I can connect to the house, in the usual way, using either the laptops wifi card, or the Alfa adaptor, but that’s not too great for the iPads or phones, below decks. On the move, I would like to use the Alfa adapter to receive the connection, then share it with tablets, phones, etc., throughout the boat. I have tried the hosted network solution in windows 7, but can’t seem to get it to work, even when using Admin privileges. I do have a Linksys e1200 router, which we use to boost the signal from the house to boat, with it connected by Ethernet, in the house. My questions are:

• Can I use the e1200 to distribute the Alfa signal somehow, without the need to tether it to the remote wifi first? By that I mean, I obviously don’t want to be plugging our router into a hotspot in a bar – even if they allowed it! The e1200 does not have a usb port , or I would have just tried that already. From some of our favourite anchorages, neither laptops nor tablets can pick up a decent signal without the help of the Alfa adapter, so that really does have to be in play.
• Are there other ways, than the hosted network option I have had trouble with, of sharing the laptop (using the Alfa adaptor’s) connection, via safe software?
• Can I somehow untether the e1200 from its Ethernet connection with the local ISP router to boost the signal on board?
• Anything else I can try?

As you would expect HWMBO is less than chuffed to have lost the luxury the Alfa delivered, having got him converted from cynic to enthusiast.

Needless to say, the R36 will be replaced at the earliest opportunity.

I know you guys love a challenge.

Thanks in anticipation.
Click to expand...
Wow! A lady techie! Cool!! :encouragement:
 
Worth mentioning that the R36 will run off the boats 12V boat batteries. No need for adapters. Just permanently wire it in to a switched supply.
(It will also cope with the charging voltages.)

So if it is only the R36 mains adapter you have blown you may not need a new R36.
 
To be honest, when I searched the other day, I didn't get to that one.

We're down island at the moment, working off battery and connected to a bar, onshore, so I'll try it in earnest when back on our home dock and know the other infrastructure around me. The "new" instructions are much clearer though, and I can potentially see where I was going wrong before. I'll update this post when I get the chance - probably Tuesday or Wednesday.

If there are any other suggestions, anyone, please feel free to add them.

Thanks again.
 
Thanks Talulah. The R36 unit itself has that special, fried, burnt to a crips aroma, so its not the power supply.

I think we'll probably ship one from the States, rather than wait for a incoming UK friends, or my return home. Although we might incur some taxes that way, at least we'll have all our toys on the move. How expectant we become.........
 
Nigel,
I recall that in the past you always recommended the -H version of the Alfa adapters on the basis that most 'hotspots' were b or g and the -H version gave better performance with these.

You now seem to favor the -NH version? This makes sense to me since most often I want to connect to BT Wifi sites which by default are usually 'N'.

I appreciate that different firmware is needed in an R36 router depending on adapter model.

Any observations/comments??
 
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Vic - When I bought the kit, I bought the NH variant, and it's great. The firmware upgrade was a bit nervy because, as I understand it, if it goes wrong, the R36 becomes a brick. When I did the upgrade, I followed some online instructions to the letter, and still didn't get all the feedback messages (around rebooting) I was expecting, but it was successful.

As in understand it, most kit is backward compatible, so I would be interested to learn if you are experiencing issues using the hotspots you describe as being "N", or if you are trying to cover all bases. Here, and around these parts, I haven't found any wifi fast enough to cause discernible issues for "G" technology, but maybe I'm not trying hard enough!!
 
Just one quick question Nigel.

If the password to a given ssid is blank, would I leave a space in the code, or no space? Obviously,this is irrelevant with our own wifi, but on the move its often the case.
 
MiracleMaud said:
Just one quick question Nigel.

If the password to a given ssid is blank, would I leave a space in the code, or no space? Obviously,this is irrelevant with our own wifi, but on the move its often the case.
Click to expand...
I believe a blank password will mean no character (even a space has a hex code). Good luck.
 
MiracleMaud said:
The firmware upgrade was a bit nervy because, as I understand it, if it goes wrong, the R36 becomes a brick.
Click to expand...

Although updating the firmware doesn't scare me, I have in fact checked with Allendale (one of the 2 main UK Ebay suppliers of the R36) and the units they currently supply are pre-loaded with the -NH code. (You would have to reload the firmware if you wanted to use it with an -H).

(The R36 is available for a good bit less direct from China, but the price is at that awkward point where IF you get caught for duty/vat + RoyalMail fee it would end up costing considerably more :( ).

My understanding -and I may well be wrong - is that if BOTH ends of a link are able to function using 'N' this will give best performance ...... but if either end of the link can only work using 'G', then you would in fact be better off if BOTH were 'G'
 
KAL said:
I believe a blank password will mean no character (even a space has a hex code). Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks KAL.

So, when I suggested my last question was final, I hadn't fully thought it through........

If I want to enable sharing of more than one network, in preparation for travels and so on, can I di that in aavance, by duplicating the code? If I can, do I duplicate all of the code, or merely the line including the ssid and password information?

I know I would experiment with these things, but I'd rather not clog up my system with superfluous code, if I can avoid it.

Many thanks, as usual.
 
VicMallows said:
Nigel, I recall that in the past you always recommended the -H version of the Alfa adapters on the basis that most 'hotspots' were b or g and the -H version gave better performance with these.

You now seem to favor the -NH version?
Click to expand...

Nope, I've always suggested the -NH.

Just bought a new one to try:
Alfa AWUS036NHR - High-Gain 2000mw 802.11 B/G/N Wireless USB Network Adaptor: http://amzn.to/1E6CYbT
Plus a +9.5dBi Omni TurboTenna 2.4GHz WiFi antenna: http://amzn.to/1ki79DC

#alfawifi
 
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VicMallows said:
Although updating the firmware doesn't scare me, I have in fact checked with Allendale (one of the 2 main UK Ebay suppliers of the R36) and the units they currently supply are pre-loaded with the -NH code. (You would have to reload the firmware if you wanted to use it with an -H).

(The R36 is available for a good bit less direct from China, but the price is at that awkward point where IF you get caught for duty/vat + RoyalMail fee it would end up costing considerably more :( ).

My understanding -and I may well be wrong - is that if BOTH ends of a link are able to function using 'N' this will give best performance ...... but if either end of the link can only work using 'G', then you would in fact be better off if BOTH were 'G'
Click to expand...
Vic - where did you read about reloading firmware for an older antenna? My (potentially flawed, obviously!) logic tells me firmware would be backwards compatible. It doesn't make commercial sense for the firmware to be so model specific.

Edit: I've just found the relevant information on the excellent data-alliance site supporting your statement Vic, so thanks for the heads up.
 
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nigelmercier said:
Just bought a new one to try:
Alfa AWUS036NHR - High-Gain 2000mw 802.11 B/G/N Wireless USB Network Adaptor: http://amzn.to/1p4vpvG
Plus a +9.5dBi Omni TurboTenna 2.4GHz WiFi antenna: http://amzn.to/1ki79DC
Click to expand...

Initial testing at home is promising:
The AWUS036NHR will connect to a distant network that the AWUS036NH says is too weak.
The TurboTenna has about the same gain as the Alfa directional one, but being omnidirectional is more convenient if you are looking for a network to connect to. Overall length including the Alfa is about 50cm.

However, I hate the Broadcomm Wi-Fi Utility, so I installed by unzipping the file, plugging in the Alfa, browsing to the unzipped folder when asked for a driver.
 
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Interesting Nigel. Have you tried swapping the antenna on the NH to see if that makes a difference to it?

In the end, I ordered a new R36 from Amazon in the states, with it being shipped via Aeropost. It'll be an interesting experiment. The locals swear by it.(Aeropost, not Amazon or the R36. :))
 
nigelmercier said:
Nope, I've always suggested the -NH.

Just bought a new one to try:
Alfa AWUS036NHR - High-Gain 2000mw 802.11 B/G/N Wireless USB Network Adaptor: http://amzn.to/1p4vpvG
Plus a +9.5dBi Omni TurboTenna 2.4GHz WiFi antenna: http://amzn.to/1ki79DC

#alfawifi
Click to expand...

Doesn't the 2000mw downgrade itself on installation to 1000mw if you tell it you are in the UK? there was something in the instructions when I installed our Alfa 36H.

Currently using the Alfa with the directional antenna which does make a difference, oh and thanks to the Thistle Hotel on Pool Town Quay for the free wifi, so much quicker than the marina wifi.

Pete
 
I would alter mine, but I am mindful whilst it is working I should leave it alone, less I completely stuff it up.
 
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