Network Expert help needed

04-09-03, 01:25 PM

I have a major frustrastion going in trying to go wireless on home network:
Heres the set up.
Have a 5 PC home network running via phonline. All PC's use WINXP Pro. Cable modem with all PC's able to surf the net. Using MS XP firewall. All PC's have full network functionality.
I have a D-link DWL-120 access point connected to the main PC that is serving as my server. I established a Wireless network. I have the Ambicom wireless card in my Axim. Card appears to function. I can Ping the wireless network and from the Main computer I can Ping the Ambicom card. Light on Ambicom card blinks. Lights on the D-link show steady. D-link access point controling software shows an excellent connection.
I cannot get to the network from the Axim. I have tried static IP address and have the setting on the AMBICOM to WORK group, Work group, Work.
Name of wireless network is Workgroup. Name of wired network is also Workgroup.
I have exhausted the MS XP tutorial, Ambicoms FAG are almost all the same thing. I feel that its got to be a permissions issue but for all my tweeking I cannot seem to get it to work. Any pertinent suggestions or advise will be welcome.

Thanks for any and all help.

wahern · 04-09-03, 01:30 PM

Just a thought here, try setting the ssid on your ax wireless card to ANY and see if that helps. I had this kind of trouble this helped get me on the net and able to surf the web. I read this somewhere in one of the forums here.:)

JakeRich · 04-09-03, 02:20 PM

My experience was exactly the opposite. I had to put the SSID of the access point in the software to connect. With ANY, it was actually NONE. ;)

Try both. See if either helps.

TSB8C · 04-09-03, 02:52 PM

I have a similar setup. I have some of my PC's connected via a HPNA (telephone wire) network. I am using a Netgear access point and Netgear WiFi card in the Axim. The only difference is that I did not connect the access point to one of the PC's. I connected the access point to the network itself via a bridge. Since the access point only has an RJ45 ethernet connection and a USB connection, (no phoneline) I used the USB connection to connect the access point to one PC for purposes of configuration. Once configured, I then connected the access point to an ethernet-to-HPNA bridge. This bridge serves a similar purpose as an ethernet hub.

If you try to connect the access point directly to one PC on the network, then that PC must now serve as a proxy to get to the rest of the network. In other words, you now have one PC with two network adapters in it - one phoneline adapter on the lan and the wireless access point as the other. That PC would have to be running some sort of proxy application that would pass network traffic between the two network segments (wireless and phoneline).

By connecting the access point directly to the lan itself, your Axim would have access to the other lan connected PC's and the cable modem without having to pass through one of the PC's on the lan.

04-09-03, 03:09 PM

TSB8C

I follow you up to the point of connecting to the LAN via the bridge. How is that done? I tried to use XP network bridging to get access to the network but that did not work. So right now my Access point is hooked to the main PC via a hub. maybe I am dense but I have trouble seeing how to hook direct to the LAN. It does sound like yoru set up is what I need.
Please bear with this old man. I just got back form the Doctor and my rear is still sore.
:love:

04-10-03, 11:08 PM

I give up. I am completly clueless as to what do next. I have configured and reconfigured and guess I am not meant to be a wireless user

JakeRich · 04-11-03, 09:28 AM

Download vxUtil. Run it with the Ambicom installed to see what the IP number you are using is.

Compare that to what your network uses. You didn't mention how you are assigning IP numbers, but the DWL120 is not a router, so it is not serving as the DHCP server. The Ambicom is not getting an IP number so it is probably defaulting to a 169.x.x.x number. You have a couple of choices: set up DHCP somewhere in the network, or assign a fixed IP number to the Axim in the LAN.

A much cleaner alternative is to get a Wireless Router. These routers have a DHCP server in them and the Ambicom will get an IP number automatically from that server when it connects. The router will connect directly to your network. I put my router just after my cable modem, so the cable company sees just one device. The network then shares the connection with the pc's in my home network (5 of them). All my PCs get IPs from the router, including wireless and wired. Send me a private message with your email address and I'll send you a diagram of what I did.

04-21-03, 11:28 PM

Well guys I broke down and bought a wireless router. COMPUSA had a INternet coupon for an in store purchase of one of the COMPUSA brand of wireless routers and after discounts it came to $53 with tax's. I brought it home and played with it for about an hour and have it up and running. I did spend several anxious minutes when I completely lost my Internet connection. However rebooting the cable modem set everthing aright.
Contrary to some others posted settings mine turned out to work with these:
Work Settings
Work Settings
Work
Mode : Infrastructure
Link Rate Fully Auto
Power management to on
Use server assigned IP address
Signal strengths are excellent. I have not yet accessed my network but will work on that later in the week.
I can cruise the internet from anywhere in my house and I think that is cool. Speed is excellent.

So my cheep setup fell flat but I figure that I have about $150 tied up in the system.
Don't tell my wife....well at least give me a head start if you do.