Connecting Humax to Router via wifi and wifi extender

[john vermeer]

I am trying to use a netgear universal wifi adaptor to connect my humax foxsat to the internet via my router. The wifi signal from my router goes to a netgear extender before it reaches the universal adaptor.

When I use my laptop with the above set up all is well with a very strong signal.

When I try the humax I have no success. I have been into DCHP configuration and selected 'apply' but all the settings remain at 0.0.0.0 I cannot 'see' the humax from the router.

I have returned the humax to factory settings to no effect. I once used home plugs and managed intermittent connections; but we have many wiring circuits in the house and I think these were a problem. Hence the wifi idea.

I have looked at other threads to try to resolve but none seem to fit this problem - at least not to me.

I do not know what to try next?

 

[prpr]

Set a static IP address, netmask, gateway and DNS addresses and see if you can ping your router.

 

[john vermeer]

Set a static IP address, netmask, gateway and DNS addresses and see if you can ping your router.

Excuse my ignorance. but how do I do that? I feel I can set the static info on the humax via the manual configuration menu. But what values should I set please?
Also, how do I ping the router from the humax.

thanks for your help.

 

[Black Hole]

Important point: I do not have a Foxsat, so I don't know how similar these aspects are to HDR-FOX.

You would only be able to ping from the Foxsat if you had custom firmware installed and accessed the Telnet command line, which implies the network connection is already working... I think prpr just have meant ping your Foxsat from your PC.

Reading your description, and not being familiar with the equipment you mention, I take it the final networking link to the Foxsat is Cat5?

I would prove the Foxsat networking by getting hold of a long Cat5 and connecting it straight to the router, in the first instance. However, to pursue prpr's suggestion, bring up a command window on your PC and type "ipconfig" - that will give you the networking parameters for the PC, and you can just copy them to the Foxsat (with a different number in the fourth field of the IP address).

 

[prpr]

Excuse my ignorance. but how do I do that?

I don't know as I don't have a Foxsat, but I assume it's similar to a T2 - wherever you selected DHCP, select Manual (or whatever) and fill in the numbers.

But what values should I set please?

Depends what network you are connecting to. You need to look at your router or something else connected to it to find out.
IP address is usually 192.168.xxx.yyy for some values of xxx and yyy
Netmask is usually 255.255.255.0
Gateway and DNS are usually the IP address of your router, which will usually be 192.168.xxx.zzz for some values of xxx and zzz.

Also, how do I ping the router from the humax.

Sorry, I assumed you were on customised firmware. You can't if you're not, but you can ping the Foxsat from somewhere else, once you've setup the networking.

 

[Black Hole]

Even with custom firmware, you wouldn't be able to if the network wasn't already working! There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza dear Liza...

 

[john vermeer]

I don't know as I don't have a Foxsat, but I assume it's similar to a T2 - wherever you selected DHCP, select Manual (or whatever) and fill in the numbers.

Depends what network you are connecting to. You need to look at your router or something else connected to it to find out.
IP address is usually 192.168.xxx.yyy for some values of xxx and yyy
Netmask is usually 255.255.255.0
Gateway and DNS are usually the IP address of your router, which will usually be 192.168.xxx.zzz for some values of xxx and zzz.

Sorry, I assumed you were on customised firmware. You can't if you're not, but you can ping the Foxsat from somewhere else, once you've setup the networking.

The link to my foxsat is cat5. My router is 30 metres from the fox sat so I cannot try a cable.

I have set the foxsat manually to 192.168.000.009 and ping from my pc. Response 'Ping request could not find host 192.168.000.009'

 

[Black Hole]

So temporarily move the Foxsat.

 

[prpr]

I have set the foxsat manually to 192.168.000.009 and ping from my pc. Response 'Ping request could not find host 192.168.000.009'

Can you confirm that your PC and router are 192.168.0.x addresses?

 

[john vermeer]

The link to my foxsat is cat5. My router is 30 metres from the fox sat so I cannot try a cable.

I have set the foxsat manually to 192.168.000.009 and ping from my pc. Response 'Ping request could not find host 192.168.000.009'

Can you confirm that your PC and router are 192.168.0.x addresses?

Yes. They both have this format of address.

Incidentally, BH said I should temporarily move my Humax. I don't understand. Where to? Currently the wifi adaptor is connected to humax via a cat5 cable and is indicating a strong wifi signal. (My laptop connects easily to the wifi adaptor either using wifi or, if I disconnect this , via a cat5 cable).

 

[Black Hole]

Near the router so you can debug it with a cable connection!

In any networking problem, always best to reduce the variables and get the basics working. When you can get a DHCP from the router (hopefully, by using a simple connection) you will at least have proved the Foxsat is capable of connecting to your home network, and you can build up from there. As far as I can tell you have not so far established that.

 

[john vermeer]

Near the router so you can debug it with a cable connection!

In any networking problem, always best to reduce the variables and get the basics working. When you can get a DHCP from the router (hopefully, by using a simple connection) you will at least have proved the Foxsat is capable of connecting to your home network, and you can build up from there. As far as I can tell you have not so far established that.

Well it has connected in the past via a homeplug but was was very flaky connection. (Hence the wifi idea)

Anyway, can I move the Humax without moving the TV as well? Will I be able to see what I am doing from my PC on the Humax. I guess you will want me to ping the static IP address I set up? If this works what then?

 

[Black Hole]

Surely you have some kind of HDMI or SCART display to monitor the Foxsat menus?

If you can get the Foxsat to accept a DHCP connection or a manual configuration, and ping it etc, with a wired connection, then you will know where the problem is. If you can't, then you need to investigate whether the Foxsat network port works at all.

 

[john vermeer]

Surely you have some kind of HDMI or SCART display to monitor the Foxsat menus?

If you can get the Foxsat to accept a DHCP connection or a manual configuration, and ping it etc, with a wired connection, then you will know where the problem is. If you can't, then you need to investigate whether the Foxsat network port works at all.

I can now ping the the foxsat with a wired connection. I can also read its mac address off a bit of software on my wife's ipad. Guess the problem is now out of your hands. Can you recommend a good 'network problem solving' forum?!

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Trev]

That's not very flattering is it? ;=)

 

[Black Hole]

The various WiFi range extenders and such like providing the previous link to the Foxsat sounds too complex to work out what's going wrong. The PC probably has a more intelligent protocol to be able to navigate them than the Foxsat does. Can you not find a way to link to the router using only one WiFi hop?

 

[john vermeer]

The various WiFi range extenders and such like providing the previous link to the Foxsat sounds too complex to work out what's going wrong. The PC probably has a more intelligent protocol to be able to navigate them than the Foxsat does. Can you not find a way to link to the router using only one WiFi hop?

Dear Trev and BH, I didn't intend to insult your network knowledge. I just thought you were trying to solve Humax issues and not the world's problems of networks as well!

I'll test the one wifi hop to see if that works just to more closely identify the linking problem. Unfortunately that only gets the humax into the dining room not into the lounge!

Cheers

 

[john vermeer]

The various WiFi range extenders and such like providing the previous link to the Foxsat sounds too complex to work out what's going wrong. The PC probably has a more intelligent protocol to be able to navigate them than the Foxsat does. Can you not find a way to link to the router using only one WiFi hop?

For info: I connected the humax to the wifi extender and it picked up the humax static ip address 192.168.0.9 and gave a description of humax. So I think it would work from that point. I used an ipad app to display that. Back in the lounge the ipad app identified the ip address but there was no humax description present.

I might try to link the humax from the wifi extender using home plugs. The dining room and lounge are on the same electric circuit. It may work. I'm off for a drink now.

 

[Trev]

Dear Trev....., I didn't intend to insult your network knowledge.

You didn't and obviously missed what was meant to be a winking smiley ;=). The damn site smileys don't work on my lappy for some reason.
Sounds like you are making some progress though.

 

[Pugwash]

I used my foxsat on a homeplug link last year and it was fine. I find wifi extenders a bit temperamental when used a repeaters as they need to work with the router. I set mine up as wired extenders instead.
If you do use a fixed IP address, you might want to add it as a reserved IP on the router so it doesn't get allocated to something else as well. This might not be a problem, depending n how many devices you have at home?