You CAN open the WRT, take the board out of the plastics, flip it over and add a jumper that shorts Pins 4 and 5 and then over to the + on the barrel (DC IN) and pins 7 and 8 to the - (minus).

That way you dont need a splitter on the top end.

One positive side effect to this mod is that if you have another 12VDC device up top with the node, you can use a double-barrelled cable (male on both ends), and go from the DC IN on the node to the 12VDC in on another device, as the power comes up the CAT5 into the RJ45, leaving the barrel jack unused but now with 12VDC available.

Just watch your amps. I dont know the specs on the RJ45 connectors (both on the cable and in the node), but it can supply a small TWELVE VOLT webcam nicely (emphasis on 12V, as many IP cams are FIVE VDC! but you can use UBEC or other regulator off the barrel to feed such things).

At CPRMC hospital, we have 2 nodes up in the box, and we feed the second node exactly like this. We DID put in an adjustable PS in the attic, which we then adjusted for proper 12/13VDC out the top end with both nodes operating.

Happy Meshing!

Jim

K5KTF

K7NYS asked:
> Would you be willing to build a POE cable for me?

The cable itself would be any standard Cat5/Cat5e/Cat6 jumper of the length you need. 

The issue is the POE injector that puts the voltage on the cable and then how to get the voltage to the router.  Commercial POE injectors assume the device on the other end is capable of being powered by POE, I don't think the WRT54 is.  So you have to get the voltage off the cable and then get it into the router.  Take a look here: 

http://kj4ajp.mambm.com/POE.pdf

The most common jumper cable sold for data use is color-coded to the 568B scheme (the 568A scheme swaps orange and green pairs, and is used primarily for POTS telephone, rather than data, wiring).  It's fairly simple to put a wallplate with two jacks in a schedule 40 PVC electrical box (all available at home improvement stores) and then put power connections (+V connected to both blue wires, -V connected to both brown) on one jack and leave the blue and brown disconnected on the jack for the equipment to plug into.  The orange and green need to be connected to both jacks so the data gets through.  You would need to build two of these boxes for each router, one for the router's power supply to plug into and the other at the router.  You're basically using the (normally) unused blue and brown pairs in the cable as an extension cord.

You could simply cut the wire on the wall-wart and connect the wall wart itself to the ground-level POE box and then connect the coaxial plug to the top-of-the-tower router-side POE box, but K5KTF brings up the point of erratic operation with long jumper lengths.  If you're extending what used to be a 3' length of 24AWG power cord to 53', you have to remember that although you're using two 24AWG wires for both + and - on your jumper cable, you're going to get some voltage drop.  That's why the higher voltage wall-wart got K5KTF back to correct operation. 

I believe there are some scenarios where you can find the wireless interface doesn't work, but the wired interface does.  Having the CAT5 cable can allow you to avoid having to climb the tower, open the enclosure, etc.  Could be useful, even if you don't connect the other end of the cable to anything.

Folks,

If you have an interest in the IRC server that I recompiled for the WRT54G/GL/GS with our Broadband-Hamnet firmware then you should know that I have recently made a new release. The prominent features of this release are:

1. Upgrade of ngircd from version 18 to version 20.2. Not many changes, maybe a few bug fixes. For our needs it should work no different than before. I just thought I'd give y'all an updated version.
2. MUCH EASIER installation! The package is now in our repository so you can use the Administrative page to download the package provided your node has access to an internet gateway.
3. No need to use shell and 'vi' editor to add config tweaks to get running. Yes, you can still edit the config file if you like but it's not necessary to get the ngircd program running on your WRT54G!  As a matter of fact, installation of the ngircd package not only enables the service but starts it running as well! The only thing you need to do afterwards is punch a hole in the firewall and you KNOW that you can do that with our web interface!
4. New version of the installation instructions available on the Broadband-Hamnet website at:

    http://hsmm-mesh.org/applications-for-the-mesh/118-internet-relay-chat-irc.html

Enjoy!

-Rusty-

P.S.  If you have the "old" version already installed, please remove it before installing the new version, OK?

In User Documentation -> "Using Failsafe Mode to reset a forgotten password", AD5OO mentions not getting the procedure to work with a v2 router.  I'm happy to report it did with one of my v2s.

I use the same password for the six WRT54G/GL routers I have.  After initial configuration and setting up as a host for a Addonics NAS 4.0 adapter, one of the v2 routers worked fine.  Later, when attempting to log in, it wouldn't take the password.  I performed a 30-30-30 on it and it came back up as NOCALL-40-31-219, but would not take the default or previous user-defined password.  I followed the Failsafe mode instructions and setpasswd to the one I use. I was then able to set up the router as KJ4AJP-MESH6. 

Oddly, the 30-30-30 did not remove/reset the port forwarding values for the NAS, they remained and had to be deleted since I had moved the NAS to MESH1.

Another oddity is that the router is displayed on the Mesh Status pages of the other routers as KJ4AJP-MESH6/NOCALL-40-31-219.  This has been going on for a day, hopefully it's just "memory effect" and the /NOCALL portion will eventually go away.

Other than that (and the antenna port question) MESH6 is doing fine, it can access the NAS on MESH1 and I'm getting the internet service from MESH5.  Now I'm waiting on USPS to deliver two IP cameras and a USB webcam...

[KK6PE 2013-06-05- 10:46:34]: 

I would much rather see you use Cat5e if at all possible rather than using LMR400.

In actual practice yes, but this was only for a test. 

The LMR400 was used to get the antenna outside the building far enough away from the router so that the laptop measuring the signal with a WiFi utility wouldn't also be picking up signal from the other antenna port with the dummy load.  The issue is that I did not see any difference in signal strength when I set TX and RX to Left, and then set TX and RX to Right.  So the question remains, how does one perform a test to verify which port is Left and which is Right?

As for the Gateway advertisement  portion of my question , I found that is at the main page of the GUI listed as the "Default Gateway".  I was expecting to see it advertised as a service on the "Mesh Status" page, hence my confusion.

Just to let y'all know, I will be holding a Broadband-Hamnet™/HSMM-Mesh™ Workshop on Friday afternoon at HamCom.  The time will be 4-6pm in Fairview 1 & 2 according to the latest brochure.  Come when you can.  Laptops, routers, extension cords, and any mesh-related projects that you're working on will be welcome!

The idea here is we'll try to help you if you're having problems.  This will also be a good chance to show off your handiwork.   See you there!

     -Rusty-

In "How to use the web interface" under WAN settings it states:

When the Mesh Gateway is enabled, this node will advertise to the mesh that it has internet access and will act as a gateway and provide internet access to the rest of the mesh.

I've connected a cable between my ISP and the the WAN port on one of my nodes, ticked the checkbox, saved and rebooted and now have internet access on two others, plus with NTP access the date/time has updated.  However, when checking the Mesh Status, there is no indication of internet services listed for the node connected to the ISP.  Where would this be advertised?

I'd like to ask another question, already in "Problems and Answers" but no replies yet.  Under Setup -> Basic Setup -> WiFi -> Active Settings, when setting the TX and RX to the left or right antenna port, how does one test to determine the proper antenna has been selected? 

The Rx Antenna and Tx Antenna settings of Right and Left are from the point of view from the front of the router. This is valid for the WRT54GL, but it is not unreasonable to expect that they may be reversed for some other router models.

I have a WRT54G v2, and tests with a 12dB patch antenna on 41' of LMR400 connected to one antenna port of the router show the same signal levels in a Wifi utility on a laptop near that antenna, regardless of if I have selected TX and RX to go to either Left or Right. 

Thanks for any help...

I have been having issues with some of my equipment in the HMMWV, namely the mesh node, switch, DVR, etc.  THe radios are no problem, because they were designed for a mobile application, and their power supplies take that into account.

However, the WRT54G and other network electronics, although powered by 12v, are not expecting the voltage swings present in an automotive environment, ie. huge voltage drop during starting, and voltage peak up to 14v when driving, various other small drops during normal use.

After searching for a solution, and not wanting to spend $300 to filter my power, I found THIS.

It's a 12vdc voltage regulator that should fit the bill perfectly.  and only $65.  I will probably install it tomorrow, as it came this afternoon.   Hopefully it will fix my issues.

73

Lee

W5LMM