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Wireless Serial Connection ???'s
TurnipTruck
Posts: 1,485
Greetings,
I am trying to establish a reliable wireless serial connection from my laptop to various serial devices.
I have had some mixed results by using a product called "SerialLan" from Datahunter Inc. By running my laptop's 802.11 card and the SerialLan in Ad-Hoc mode, I am able to establish a direct wireless connection with no WAP needed.
The most notable problem is that the laptop seems to lock onto the channel of the SerialLAN for a short time, then decide to start scanning again. I have found no options for my wireless card to prevent it from scanning. Does anyone know if there is a specific reason that wireless cards scan, or any specific reason that they stay locked onto a channel? Reception is not the issue. I have tried various distances between the devices to no effect, signal integrity always reads excellent. Furthermore, it seems necessary to remove the wireless card from the loptop and re-insert it to establish communications.
I have been able to make the connection stay locked, although I really don't know why.
Today I tried to make the setup work for a digital audio processor that uses serial communication for its configuration, the RCF DX-810. The DX-810 configuration ap only uses COM ports for communications, no TCP/IP available. So I found a program called TCP-COM that creates a virtual serial port that I can redirect to the IP address of the SerialLAN connected to the DX-810.
I have gotten it working and was able to control the DX-810 several times, but getting it all to work is iffy at best. It seems to hinge on the laptop card staying locked onto the SerialLAN. Once it all connects and the DX-810 ap starts communication with the DX-810 the setup keeps works reliably, it's just getting to that point that is very frustrating.
Does anyone have any ideas of how to improve this? Or any better way to control serial devices wirelessly?
Thanks!
I am trying to establish a reliable wireless serial connection from my laptop to various serial devices.
I have had some mixed results by using a product called "SerialLan" from Datahunter Inc. By running my laptop's 802.11 card and the SerialLan in Ad-Hoc mode, I am able to establish a direct wireless connection with no WAP needed.
The most notable problem is that the laptop seems to lock onto the channel of the SerialLAN for a short time, then decide to start scanning again. I have found no options for my wireless card to prevent it from scanning. Does anyone know if there is a specific reason that wireless cards scan, or any specific reason that they stay locked onto a channel? Reception is not the issue. I have tried various distances between the devices to no effect, signal integrity always reads excellent. Furthermore, it seems necessary to remove the wireless card from the loptop and re-insert it to establish communications.
I have been able to make the connection stay locked, although I really don't know why.
Today I tried to make the setup work for a digital audio processor that uses serial communication for its configuration, the RCF DX-810. The DX-810 configuration ap only uses COM ports for communications, no TCP/IP available. So I found a program called TCP-COM that creates a virtual serial port that I can redirect to the IP address of the SerialLAN connected to the DX-810.
I have gotten it working and was able to control the DX-810 several times, but getting it all to work is iffy at best. It seems to hinge on the laptop card staying locked onto the SerialLAN. Once it all connects and the DX-810 ap starts communication with the DX-810 the setup keeps works reliably, it's just getting to that point that is very frustrating.
Does anyone have any ideas of how to improve this? Or any better way to control serial devices wirelessly?
Thanks!
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Comments
Have you looked at products from these two companies:
www.digi.com
www.lantronix.com
Both offer hardwired and wireless serial to Ethernet connectivity products each with their own Comm Port redirector software. The redirector allows your software to open what appears a standard COM port but it in fact is redirected to the appropriate drivers to communicate with the wired or wireless Ethernet device. I used Lantronix for a while with mixed results but I believe the culprit in my environment was a less than robust serial device. I have not used the DigiOne wireless product but I have used their wired DigiOne SP products in commercial and residential environments with Lutron lighting panels and have been very impressed with their reliability. I expect that their wireless product line is equal to the wired product in terms of quality and reliability.
Hope the information is useful,
Reese
Jeff
I tried using the Lantronix Redirector software and could not establish a connection. It may have been my config, but the next piece of software I tried worked right away. As far as the wireless goes, I work on a lot of sound system in nightclubs and performance venues. Many of the DSPs only have serial connections to their PC applications. I am trying to get the wireless going so that I can wirelessly roam onto the dancefloors and stages to tweak the sound systems from where they are actually heard.
My problem seems to be that my wireless card (TrendNet) seems to start scanning channels for no appearant reason. If I could get the card to stay locked on the channel set on my wireless-to-IP device, the setup would be reliable enogh for practical use.
If anyone know a way to lock a card onto a particular channel or knows of a card that definitely has on option to be locked and also has an Ad-Hoc mode, please suggest.
Thanks.
Are you using Windows XP on your PC? There is an advanced setting on most (not all) wireless cards that allow you to force a card to a specific signal channel. On my Windows PC system, I have an Orinoco wireless card. If I bring up Network Connection Properties for the card, select Configure for the adapter, and then examine the properties under the Advanced tab, I have an option to configure the card for a specific channel or to select default in which case it will scan or choose the channel for me. I have used this tab to lock the card onto a specific channel. Try looking at the card properties to see if your card supports it and if not, you might try a different card.