Ick...

Post #387,839 by scoenye 3/22/14 11:38:36 PM Reply	Ick... I tend to use dedicated bridges because they act as clients as far as the AP is concerned; i.e. all you need is the SSID + password. The Buffalo is really an AP, not a dedicated bridge, and generally, you would want the "Client Bridge" mode. In a pinch, I did set up a 3 way bridge with a set of identical Cisco WAP200 APs. Those did need the MAC addresses of the peers. Each peers only needs the MACs of the APs it will be talking to, so the primary has the MACs of both secondaries, each secondary the MAC of the primary.
Post #387,850 by Another Scott 3/23/14 11:15:38 AM Reply	Thanks. Options? I thought I was being clever by looking for a general purpose box that explicitly did bridging. And I seemingly didn't have much trouble in the past. :-( (Though it's never been as simple as it should be.) It looks like many of the cheap bridges are just that. There's no WiFi repeating/extending function. E.g. this for $29 - http://www.amazon.co...MB/dp/B004FMI3DA/ Would you recommend something like that for the bridge function and a dedicated WiFi repeater to just amp-up the wireless overall? Maybe something like this for $100 - http://www.amazon.co...00/dp/B005UBNGY6/ I could run Ethernet from the incoming WAP to a central location and install that box there. Our WiFi is presently 802.11g and some of our latest Mac gizmos may be 802.11n. Growth into 802.11ac would be nice, but we also have Panasonic DECT 6.0 phones - I don't know if they would interfere with each other. Any additional pointers you (or anyone else) can offer would be appreciated. I'm sure I will be able to get the existing bits working eventually, but time is flying by and I'm not as young as I used to be. ;-) Buying new boxes isn't a problem, but I'd prefer not to spend $200 each if I don't have to. :-) Thanks. Cheers, Scott.
Post #387,863 by scoenye 3/24/14 12:32:35 AM Reply	Re: Thanks. Options? One other thing to contend with: some devices (like the WAP200) can not also provide client AP services when running in bridge mode. Not sure what that Buffalo unit can do in that respect. I've never used a repeater in practice but in a fixed location, it will probably be the easiest way out. (The bridges I have set up so far were in situations where mobility was needed for devices without wireless and a USB dongle was not possible.) A repeater would add an extra wireless hop and so introduces some extra latency. If running wire is an option, they that would be the most flexible way out. I.e. add regular APs with the desired radios in the satellite locations and give them all the same SSID.
Post #387,867 by Another Scott 3/24/14 6:29:38 AM Reply	You may be on to something... The cartoons that sometimes illustrate the various use scenarios don't show wireless connections at the secondary network. But surely the AP scenario is intended to work that way!?! I'll see what happens when I get a chance to flash the new firmware on the Buffalo box, and with the new gizmos. Maybe it's all user error, but if so I'd like to see someone do it with the instructions and software I have. (Yesterday I even tried the "wizard" interface again - still no go.) Thanks. Cheers, Scott.
Post #387,877 by scoenye 3/24/14 6:11:42 PM Reply	Set up guide Not sure how far you went looking, but this is a step-by-step guide on how to set up that particular model in bridge mode. http://2oahu.com/net...ng/dd-wrt-bridge/ One thing that stood out is that the wizard only applies if you use it as a router so in that respect, the "no go" is normal.
Post #387,878 by Another Scott 3/24/14 7:25:33 PM Reply	Thanks! I had done a little googling during my adventure, but hadn't found that. I figured it had to be possible to puzzle it out. I note that those instructions talk about putting the bridge on the same WiFi channel as the original. No channel selection is available here... :-( I'll fight with it more later, but may try the new boxes first. Thanks again. Cheers, Scott.
Post #387,912 by scoenye 3/25/14 6:21:43 PM Reply	On the channel selector http://www.dd-wrt.co...opic.php?p=536917 It appears that if you have set the SSID first, then DD-WRT will scan for the primary and match the channel automatically.
Post #387,915 by Another Scott 3/25/14 7:52:08 PM Reply	Thanks. Maybe it's supposed to work that way, but... At times I was getting "Unknown" for the channel number. It looks like, from the last screenshot I saved that it actually found Channel 11 at least once. Hmm... But it's not a hold-up now. :-) See my next reply. Thanks a bunch. Cheers, Scott.

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