Has anyone really gotten the “ad-hoc” wireless link to JMRI to work?
I have a Raspberry Pi running to a LocoBuffer interfac via a USB to DB-9 adaptor. That was easy, secure, etc.
A friend asked me to look into an XP application of JMRI for him over a Netgear A6100 USB which does “ad-hoc” Internet connections to his Ethernet card.
Seems like all the ducks are in a row, but JMRI fails out when I start the WiThrottle Server.
Comments Please! Ron. 9/15/2018
Yes, I used the ad-hoc feature to demostrate WiThrottle at a club show a bunch of years ago. I think I actually used an application called Connectify to provide the wireless rather than the built in ad-hoc feature. I don;t recall any issues getting it to work, just fired it up, connected my iPhone to the network, opened the WiThrottle app, and was off running my loco.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks Randy, but the Connectify I downloaded says I have to be Windows 7 or greater to install it. So I'm back to circling my tail. I thought I knew a lot about networking, but I doubt all that I know, this should be an easy thing to create an "access point" within the PC, like I did in my Raspbery Pi. There my WiThrottle works just fine! At least for four users that is. I guess the "hobby PC" that's running JMRI 4.12 as a Decoder Pro maintenance device is just that, a hot-spot for his system, but not for JMRI's WiThrottle Server...? I guess lesson learned. I can't figure it out. Seems no one's interested in Raspberry Pi's but want to re-use old PCs for hobby use, I can't blame them. Thanks anyway! Ron
Hmm, you might be able to find an older Connectify. Or one of the several equivalent programs, there are some that claim XP through Win8.
If the Netgear software is also loaded - you may have to ditch that. I always had problems with those vendor supplied WiFi management applications, even for just simply connecting to an ordinary access point. Usually best to just let Windows manage the connections and remove that junk. All you need is the driver for the interface.
The laptop I used back then just had a built in wifi adapter, I think an Intel one. So no additional complication of the USB adapter to worry about.
For a portable solution I'd just as soon use a Pi, can run headless, far smaller than any decent laptop, and once you have it configured to boot up and start JMRI with WiThrottle server running, it's really just plug in the railroad interface, plug in the power supply, flip it on, and go. Bak box sort of thing. Takes more than just a casual dabbler to get it all configured, but once set up it should be a matter of simply turning it on when needed. Should have no issues using it as sort of an appliance solution for many years.
Randy, Well on the subject of Windows and WiThrottle, I have made some progress in that since I last wrote, I got a Windows 7 machine to run JMRI 4.14 with WiThrottle so my portable Raspberry Pi can stay home for ops sessions at my friends home. That made me wonder why my NetGear USB won't work on my WinXP JMRI 4.14 and it looks like NETSH (Network Shell) is not as powerful in WinXP as it is in Win7. Basically, if my WinXP (and older) machines could do WLAN, I'll bet it would work? I did find an older version of Connectify Lite and it basically made the "Wireless Network" I could do manually.... as an Ad-Hoc computer-to-computer connection. For whatever reason the WinXP (and older) PCs I have, just won't "start" the interface is beyond me? So, I pulled out my last good version of JMRI in my Windows 98 SE laptop and found WiThrottle was in 2.14 and they described the need for a ROUTER set up to "Port Forwarding" and all should be well, via an Ethernet connection? Old tech work in Win98, should work in WinXP and everyone in between (WinME & Windows 2000)? I'll let you know, because I ordered a $17.00 WiFi Router that claims "Port Forwarding" is done in the setup! Why? Because my RPi WiThrottle has since talked to my Digitrax Loco-Buffer-Q, an NCE System by a straight cable and even recently an EasyDCC System. She travels a lot now and like the Win7 site, I hope to convert the EasyDCC layout (another friend) to use this router for WiThrottle, so my RPi can stay home? Stay Tuned, I hope to crack this WiThrottle nut soon, to include Win98, WinME, Win2K and WinXP, by no default; using a cheap router? It was cheaper than my USB WiFi Interface!!! Ron
Why not just pick up a 10/100 wireless router? Used they go for as little as $10.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
The cheap router worked right out of the box as an Access Node on Win98 running JMRI 2.14’s WiThrottle, then I tried it on the Ethernet card pn my WinXP PC, all good, no special setup required. Lesson learned to run routers less than Win7. F.Y.I. Ron