Remote connection and Receive audio issues - HELP!!

[W6SA]

I have tried a couple of things to enable my remote Control to connect from a hotel or Starbucks.  So far I have only been able to try accessing from Starbucks.

I first tried a Dlink pocket router connected to the Remote Control unit in client mode.  This worked fine at home but I could not connect at Starbucks.  I figured it was probably because you have to accept the Starbucks agreement before you gain actual Internet use.

I then tried Bridging to the NIC in my laptop which was operating in wireless mode.  This also worked fine at home.  I set everything to DHCP and had no problem pulling an IP for the Control Unit. 

Tried again at Starbucks this morning.  Everything seemed OK.  Pulled an Ip for the Remote with no problem.  I agreed to their terms from my laptop connection thinking this would fall through to the Bridge connection.  I was able to browse the unit through the Setup screen with no problem but could not get a connection through the Internet.  I showed an IP and all the other settings required by their system. 

I believe I did see a message at one point that the HTTP Port could not be accessed, while jumping between screens. 

I'm thinking this is because I could not agree to their terms through the Control unit or else they are using a different port for HTTP. 

I think it is the agreement that is causing the problem.   I bought the system just so I could connect to my home station on the rare occasions that I am away from home.  I believe that I will run into this issue anywhere I go which makes the system useless to me.

One other bit of information...

I use Writelog for logging and operating RTTY and CW at the home station.  I do have HRD set up in addition as it allows for better tuning capability.

I am using LogMeIn for connectivity to my home desktop which already allows me to run RTTY successfully, just by running the software at home over the Internet.  You don't need sound for RTTY.  I wanted to have sound and audio so I could use SSB & CW which is why I purchased the system. 

I cannot use my tighter filters with AFSK so I prefer not to run with HRD on my laptop, therefore I have not tried the serial connectivty provided. 

Mike has told me that he operates from hotels but I cannot figure out how he is able to do so.

Has anyone a solution to this problem?   Have you operated from a hotspot successfully?  How do you manage to get a useable connection to the Internet for the Control unit?  I would assume that I would have the same issue from a wired connection if it is an issue with agreeing to their terms. 

All suggestions will be gratefully considered.

Thanks and 73,

Walt, W6SA
 

[k3dx]

I feel your pain, Walt!  May I suggest that you check the post by Bob for ideas? His post is entitled "TS-2000 remote connection question" posted on: 2010-05-29, 21:18:45. He explored a cloned MAC address, with some success.

When you say that bridging to your Laptop NIC worked at home, are you referring to the bridge capability built-in to Windows? I've had a post, not far below yours, with that question, and I've had no replies. I guess this is not a very network-savvy group. I know I'm not!

I recently tried the WinXP network BRIDGE feature, and it proceeded to disable my Laptop's wireless card. After some searching on the MicroSoft support site, it would appear that I have to force my Intel wireless card into PROMISCUOUS MODE. Who woulda thought?

When we try to access the internet through a router/firewall that is beyond our control, there may be other issues. I had hoped to demonstrate this hardware at my next radio club meeting, but the site's firewall limits internet activity to just a handful of ports. And watch out for internet phone port 5060!

I'm beginining to think that this hardware solution is best suited for those who own a second home, and not for much else  :-(

73, Dave - K3DX

[W6SA]

Thanks for the reply Dave.

Yes, the Windows Bridge works for me, but only in the shack.  I am using Windows 7 (64 bit version) on my laptop. 

Seems to me Mike once told me ICS would work and then later told me not to use it.  I could not get it working, in any event.  However, I will be trying that as an option once again.

Been doing a lot of reading today, here at work.  Great to have a job where you can surf all day.  If only those darn customers would quit calling me with THEIR problems I could get a lot more accomplished. 

It appears that with a bridge the Hotspot supplies my IP which apparently then wants me to accept their terms before I can actually connect to the Internet. 

With ICS your NIC acts as a Router and DHCP server with an IP of 192.168.0.1 and then the remote would be assigned an IP in that subnet.  That should give it access through the laptop to the Internet. The laptop should serve as a gateway.  However, that remains to be seen as it didn't work for me in the past. 

I may have to change my home subnet as I am currently using that range.  It should not be an issue at a hotspot unless they were using that IP for their router.

Hopefully Mike will offer his thoughts.  Didn't want to bother him with another email and this way others might learn something too.

I have the darndest time logging in to my account for some reason.  After several tries I close IE and start from scratch and it usually works.  Had to fight with it before I could reply to you.

73,

Walt, W6SA

[W6SA]

I just read Bob's post.  That may be the solution.  I had initially tried something similar but without cloning the MAC address.  Naturally it doesn't work everywhere.

I had my Pocket Router connected to the WAN port of a Linksys Wireless Router with 4 LAN ports on it.  I turned off the wireless feature on it and connected the RJ45 on the laptop and from the Remote Control unit to it but never hit on a workable configuration.

This calls for more experimentation.  I sent a copy of his post home for reference. 

I do not use Port 5060.  I changed it to 5070.  I have VoIP phone service through Vonage and figured there might be a conflict.

XYL is having major surgery on Tuesday so don't know when I will get a chance to experiment.  Have to spend quality time with her for a few days.

73,

Walt, W6SA

[k3dx]

Best of luck to your XYL, Walt.

I also have trouble logging in to this forum at times. In fact, I never received the activation email, after requesting one mutiple times. Comcast may have the mail server on its blacklist. They do that, for no apparent reason that I can see, sometimes. Anyway, someone took pity on me and activated my account here.

Thanks for the feedback regarding the Windows network bridge, and the autosensing feature of the control box. I guess I missed that in the documentation. You know what they say, RTFM!

Just for "fun" I've been exploring the option of using a hardware wireless bridge. I suspect that this is a poor choice, because, with wireless outside our home, we have to select the appropiate wireless network, don't we? I'm not smart enough to figure out how to do this without the laptop in the system.

From what I have read elsewhere, it may make sense to set the RRC boxes to port numbers below ~1000. Fewer ports reduces the load on the host (ie, hotel) router, so some may do this. Or maybe this is only an issue with consumer-class routers. I'm out of my league here.

I'm going to give the WinXP network bridge another try. Wish me luck!

Dave - K3DX

[W6SA]

Here's the setup which I am testing at home.

I have a Netgear wireless router connected to my Cable Modem.  I am using WEP for my network and still have to test my results without any Securtiy password and then try it at Starbucks.

I first turned off the Wireless NIC in the laptop and relied on the RJ45 connection.

I have a Dlink Pocket Router connected in Client mode to the WAN connection on a Linksys wireless router with the Wireless turned off on the Linksys.  I am only interested in the RJ45 ports it supplies.

I have cloned my Laptop MAC to the Router as Bob did.  I set the Dlink Pocket Router and the Linksys router to DHCP.

After alternately unplugging power to the Dlink and the Linksys I was finally able to get the Linksys to pull an IP from the Netgear router.  I checked Status and saw it reporting alternately an IP of 0.0.0.0 or 127.0 0 0 or 1. I don't recall for sure, but it is the loopback address you get if you ping localhost.

Once I had an IP I was able to connect the laptop to the Linksys router and access the Internet.  I then connected the Remote Control unit to the Linksys.  It then pulled an IP in the range the Linksys had been set for as did the laptop.

There was then no problem connecting to the rig using the Browse function in the Setup Screen. 

If you disturb any of the connections you then have to sync everything from scratch as you lose IP connectivity.

Second time around it was easier to get everything up and running. 

Next is a trip to Starbucks to see if I can connect to their Hotspot.  That probably won't happen before next weekend as the XYL has major surgery on Tuesday and I will be chief cook and bottle washer along with nurse duties

I will post once I know the outcome.  I am trying not to become too optimistic as I have had so many failures getting this running.

73,

Walt, W6SA

[W6SA]

Well, I finally got time to take a trip to Starbucks to try out my setup using a router as described in my prior post.

I was sitting out in the parking lot and it was 108 degrees F outside.  Equipment was strewn all across the front seats.  Sun was glaring onto the laptop screen and the mouse decided it was a good time not to work.  Needless to say things went downhill from there. 

There is a lot of syncing of IPs required between the various equipment.  It got to be too much of a problem and I came home to recheck my setup.

I had to disable WEP on my router to be able to connect to the system.  Worked fine at home. Then I had to fight with the network to get everything working on WEP again.

I decided to try ICS once more time and the Ethernet NIC got an IP with no problem.  I could not get the RemoteRig Control to pick up properly through DHCP.  I had to assign it an IP in the new IP range of the Ethernet NIC.  Then it refused to connect until I set the DNS to that which the Wireless NIC was using rather than using the Ethernet NIC IP as I would expect it to do.

I tried the RJ45 cable supplied with the system and tried with a crossover cable but could not get any audio through from the rig.  I can key the PTT and transmit OK. 

Anyone have a solution to this issue?

73,
 
Walt,  W6SA

[W6SA]

Mike did not have ideas as to what could be causing my issue. 

Further musing about the issue...

I am using a laptop running Windows 7 (64 bit version), by the way.
 
The problem I experience at Starbucks has to do with synchronizing all the
various pieces of equipment and I have yet to be able to do that as it has been
too hot and running the Air Conditioning in my Prius causes the main batteries
to drop to a very low level which then causes the A/C to cut out on me.  At 108
degrees F that gets uncomfortable rather quickly.
 
I returned home after my last try and confirmed that I could sync everything and
get proper operation from the system, including receiver audio.  I had to turn off WEP on my router to connect.  The XYL always decides that is a good time to check her email or surf the Internet which will no longer work at that point.
 
I then proceeded to try the ICS route.  I can get the unit to accept a DHCP
assigned address from the Ethernet NIC but I have not been able to get the NIC
to show a Gateway connection or DNS.  I have to enter that in manually and using
192.168.137.1 which is the IP assigned to the NIC as a Gateway and DNS address
does not allow the Control Unit to connect to the network.  I have also tried
the IP of my Router which is 192.168.0.2 with mixed results.  The only way I
have been able to get the Control unit to connect is using the DNS address for
my ISP which is 68.105.28.13.
 
I am then able to get the unit to connect to the Radio unit and I can key the
mike and transmit OK.  I just cannot seem to get any audio out of the speaker
attached to the Control unit.  I checked to make sure there was no sudden
problem with the speaker and it works fine connected directly to the jack where
I inject the receive audio into the Radio unit.
 
This is driving me crazy.  Tonight I will go back to my bridge connection which
has worked in the past, at home, although it would not allow me to connect at
Starbucks.  If that works OK then I have no idea what to try next.  VERY
FRUSTRATING!   I hate turning off my WEP on the router at home and exposing my
network but may have to try that setup again to make sure it is not a sudden
failure in the Control unit for some reason.
 
I would suspect a loose jumper wire internally if it had not been working after
I brought it home from my field test.  May have to check that out in any event. 
All indications are that I should be receiving audio to my speaker.  Perhaps I
have a possible cause of my problem after all?  I wonder where I stored the
extra jumper wires.

73,

Walt,  W6SA

[W6SA]

I have confirmed that there is no problem with the Control unit or jumpering.  Before opening up the unit I decided to try bridging the Wirelss to the Ethernet NIC again and I started receiving audio.

In the ICS setup I am getting SIP connection as the Yellow light is on steady.  I just don't get any audio.  The only way I am able to get the SIP connections seems to be by assigning IP, Mask, Gateway, and DNS info manually rather than using DHCP.  DHCP wants to use the 192.168.137.1 address of the NIC card, (which is assigned by Windows 7), for DNS and it will not work that way for whatever reason.

I have already discovered that the bridge connection is not going to work, at least at Starbucks as I have no way to accept their agreement with the Control unit.  ICS seems like the way to go as I believe accepting the agreement on the laptop should be sufficient as the Control unit will be running on an Ethernet NIC rather than a wireless connection.

On the other hand if it is treating the bridge as a wireless connection then why would it not also treat an ICS connection in the same manner.  Possibly because the ICS connection is on a different subnet?  It's been a very long time since I was that involved with computers to that extent and I have forgotten a lot.

I still can't figure out what is blocking the received audio from the speaker connected to the Control unit when in ICS configuration.  The audio appears to be there but I can't hear it.
 
Any ideas???  Anyone???  HELP!!!

73,

Walt, W6SA