Home› AMX User Forum› AMXForums Archive Threads› AMX Hardware

Early MVP?s vs. New MVP?s ? Wireless Issues

MRoedMRoed Posts: 9
in AMX Hardware
Has anyone else noticed that the wireless range of the MVP?s has been extended tremendously? The early MVP?s required an access point in practically every room we had an MVP. Some of our projects that have the early MVP?s still suffer from wireless issues. Momentarily they will drop the connection and buffer all of the button presses, then once reconnected they send out all of these commands at once.

Wireless site surveys show only one neighboring wireless network. I have tried both AMX and Linksys access points. I now have an access point in every room we have an MVP, but we still have problems. They are all setup on non-overlapping channels. At this point I think the only answer is to install new 802_11g cards and remove all but one access point. Is anyone else dealing with early MVP issues like this?

With the new panels, I can put a single access point in the basement and two floors up I still have connectivity. I have been told that the new panels will be shipping with the new 802_11g cards, but I am pretty sure that the panels I am using right now, with good results, do not have the 802_11g card.

Thanks,
Mark

Comments

  • Marc ScheibeinMarc Scheibein Posts: 882
    There was a change of the Wifi card used in the MVPs. I don't know the date or serial number range from where the newer cards we used, but AMX knows. If the panel is open you cann differ the newer cards (2 LEDs) from the older ones (1 LED).

    Don't know if these newer 802.11B cards are still available (NXA-WC80211B/CF).
  • yuriyuri Posts: 861
    the new cards that also have the EAP-PEAP / EAP-TLS support have a better range. They are supported in the new mvp8400i panels :)
    I don't know about new cards in other versions of the MVPs
  • Spire_JeffSpire_Jeff Posts: 1,917
    There is an option to upgrade the wireless card in at least some of the older MVP-8400 units. I know this because I did it one one job. It did help improve the connection and response of the touchpanel. The process took maybe 15 minutes and was very straight forward.

    Jeff
  • DarksideDarkside Posts: 345
    An easy way to check if you have the really old NIC is to go to protected setup, wireless settings, and check the data rate.

    If the data rate does not have 4 decimal places, it is one of the first NICs and qualifies for replacement - or at least they did in Australia...

    The difference between the cards was quite significant.

    Also, there have been several f/w releases that improve connectivity.

    We are just about to upgrade a system to the 54g card - not for the speed, but connectivity.

    ...it's been a long time coming!
  • NMarkRobertsNMarkRoberts Posts: 455
    MRoed wrote:
    Momentarily they will drop the connection and buffer all of the button presses, then once reconnected they send out all of these commands at once.

    Yes yes YES! That's what happened! Argh argh ARGH! Thank you, I thought I was going mad or it was all the fault of my code.
  • viningvining Posts: 4,368
    Stephen Bolton wrote:
    If the data rate does not have 4 decimal places, it is one of the first NICs and qualifies for replacement - or at least they did in Australia...

    Does anyone know if that applies in the US as well?
  • REBUILD_EVENTREBUILD_EVENT Posts: 127
    do the most recent mvp wireless cards support WPA encryption? we're not feeling very well with WEP...
  • viningvining Posts: 4,368
    It appears the MVP 8400 is still shipping with the 802.11b card which only supports WEP but the newer MVP 8400i ships w/ the 802.11g card which does support WPA. You can also order the replacement card which is 802.11g and supports WPA.

    In residential applications I personally feel WEP is an adequate level of protection from normal free access to the wireless network by curious neigbors. In corporate applications where you have to deal with corporate spies or in institutional applications where you have to deal with mischievous techno geek students who will hack anything they can WPA is the better choice.

    Supposedly with the use of freeware available on the Net there are programs that can crack the WEP 128 bit encryption in just over a million sniffed packets, or a few minutes of heavey network traffic which is a little scarry but in everyday use in residential applications when protection from roaming neighbors is all that's needed I still use WEP because it's easier and I feel is adequate protection.

    Almost all my customers are residential so that's the way my thinking is geared if I was doing corporate or institutional I would most likely almost always use WPA.
  • MRoedMRoed Posts: 9
    Marc Scheibein wrote:
    There was a change of the Wifi card used in the MVPs. I don't know the date or serial number range from where the newer cards we used, but AMX knows. If the panel is open you cann differ the newer cards (2 LEDs) from the older ones (1 LED).

    Don't know if these newer 802.11B cards are still available (NXA-WC80211B/CF).

    Does anyone know the approx. date they started shipping the newer version 802.11b cards in the Modero Viewpoints?

    Thanks
  • DarksideDarkside Posts: 345
    The really early revs did not have stickers on the NICs
Sign In or Register to comment.