Can I use my USB internet connected X5 as a WAP?

io333 · 05-13-05, 11:35 PM

Does anyone know if there is any software out there that can do this:

1. My X5 in the dock can see the net via the USB cable.

2. It has a WiFi card in it.

3. With the right software, I would to be able to broadcast that internet connection in the USB cable out through the WiFi card.

4. Does that software exist?

ikehiker · 05-14-05, 05:59 AM

No
.......

io333 · 05-14-05, 06:33 AM

Maybe that answer is a bit hasty? Maybe I don't even need software? I can get both my XPSP2 laptop and the X5 to see each other via AdHoc connection (both set to a 192.168.1.xxx address on the same channel), and the X5 still gets the net connection through USB. The USB/activesync net connection seems to be through 192.168.55.101). All I need to do is get that ".55" connection to be able to pass through to the ".1"

I tried setting the both the Axim WiFi card and the laptop to a .55 address, but that didn't help. I'm stuck with the main network being on a .1 address and can't change it. If I managed to get everything to a .1 address (including activesync) would that maybe work?

io333 · 05-14-05, 06:36 AM

More info: the gateway machine address is 192.168.1.1, and I was using a public DNS server address for DNS.

ikehiker · 05-14-05, 08:15 AM

If I understood your original post, you want to use the PPC as an Access Point (to tell the truth, the text in both posts was less clear than the title). If that is what you want, then the answer is still no. There is no server software to allow the PPC's wireless access to be provided to another device. In particular, the only way to 'see' the PPC from a PC is throuh ActiveSync and AS is a one-way service for sharing. The PPC can share the PC's connect, but not vise versa.

io333 · 05-14-05, 08:43 AM

What I want to do, is to be able to get an internet connection on my laptop via WiFi, using the Axim to broadcast that internet connection to my laptop.

The internet connection oozes into my axim from the USB cable, I just need to squirt it out again through the Axims CF wifi card.

Yes, I know I can just get any $20 AP and make it work that way, but this is more interesting.

io333 · 05-14-05, 08:47 AM

here is a diagram:

CableBox/Cat5--->GatewayPC/Cat5--->router/Cat5--->PC/USB--->X5/WiFi--->Laptop

The configuration of the actual network is actually a *lot* more complicated than that, but the above is sufficient to understand what I'm trying to do.

io333 · 05-14-05, 08:50 AM

Anyway, I understand what you are saying. If anyone else out there has noticed a hack piece of software to do this, please chime in.

io333 · 05-29-05, 01:51 PM

Oh well, I guess not. I wish I had time to write a little hack to do this myself, but I don't foresee having that kind of time for six or seven years. I'd have to learn PPC programming from scratch & I'm in a rather intensive degree program right now.

psionandy · 05-29-05, 01:52 PM

Your right... It's probably going to be easier to buy an access point

io333 · 05-29-05, 04:32 PM

Well I already bought an AP so that's not the point anymore. The point was really the coolness factor. A PPC can already be a phone, a laptop, etc., etc.... Why not an AP too?

05-29-05, 06:35 PM

HostAP maybe? The challenge there is JAVA!! eek!

io333 · 05-30-05, 10:54 AM

Oh, you mean this thing?

Quote:

Host AP is a Linux driver for wireless LAN cards based on Intersil's Prism2/2.5/3 chipset. The driver supports a so called Host AP mode, i.e., it takes care of IEEE 802.11 management functions in the host computer and acts as an access point. This does not require any special firmware for the wireless LAN card. In addition to this, it has support for normal station operations in BSS and possible also in IBSS. WPA and RSN (WPA2) is supported when used with accompanied tools, wpa_supplicant (WPA/RSN Supplicant) and hostapd (WPA/RSN Authenticator).

That's pretty interesting, especially considering that I have a Prism based card in my X5.

io333 · 05-30-05, 11:09 AM

And here is someone that did what I am trying to do with an XP laptop, using no software, and just changing the registry settings:

http://forums.netstumbler.com/showthread.php?t=5778

dlweston · 05-30-05, 08:49 PM

Yes, but there is a big difference between a laptop and Window Mobile and a PDA. At its heart, Windows XP running on the laptop in based on old Windows NT server code. At its heart, it was design to support multiple users. Windows Mobile was not. Microsoft has never seen Windows Mobile as anything excpet a single user platform. I am not saying it is not possible, but it would surprise me if it was.