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Old 30-11-2013, 19:13   #1
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Bullet M2 HP and Picostation 2 WiFi network

Without going into all of the reasons I have decided it would have been best to have spent the extra $50 and buy my system from one of the folks who regularly build them, I am looking for any specific information I can get on setting up my Picostation to act as the Wifi router for our boat.

We have a Bullet M2 HP acting solidly to get our WiFi signal. I can connect the ethernet cable from it into my computer and am assigned an IP address and can choose a network and connect flawlessly. What I am having problems with is getting my Picostation setup to act as a LAN wifi router for the boat (or to act as a bridge, which is what Ubiquiti suggests).

I have years of experience setting up networks, and somehow I just can't get the settings right in the Picostation. I am sure I am missing something simple.

Anyone with this setup with specific settings, I would greatly appreciate your help.

And If you want to hear my rant on the days I wasted trying to save a few dollars buying all of the components and setting them up myself, I will happily deliver that in length once I get this darned thing set up so that everyone else on the boat can connect their frigging Ipads to the internet!

Thanks in advance!
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Old 01-12-2013, 04:11   #2
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Re: Bullet M2 HP and Picostation 2 WiFi network

I use a Linksys WRT-54GL v. a Picostation so I don't have the specifics.

Did you switch the Bullet from bridge to router mode and turn on DHCP? Does the Bullet work plugged directly into the Ethernet interface of your laptop? If that works you know the Picostation is the problem.

I haven't looked at the Picostation, but I'd start by making sure DHCP is turned off on the Picostation and that it is a bridge.
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Old 01-12-2013, 06:25   #3
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Re: Bullet M2 HP and Picostation 2 WiFi network

The AP/bridge mode is fairly basic and easy to setup. You have probably failed to disable the AirMax mode on the Ubiquiti Logo tab (1st tab).

I would recommend the following bridge setup

Wireless tab:
Wireless Mode = Access Point
SSID = "your choice"
Channel Width = 20Mhz
Output Power = 20 dbm or less
Wireless Security WPA2 (AES)

Network tab
Network Mode = Bridge
Configuration mode = Simple
Network Management Settings
Management IP Address = DHCP (download the Ubiquiti Discovery Tool for easy access to the Pico when necessary) or Static IP outside the DHCP range of the Bullet.

Make sure you have disabled the Airmax mode.
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Old 01-12-2013, 08:59   #4
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Re: Bullet M2 HP and Picostation 2 WiFi network

Bob-

Thanks! I did not realize that the option to disable Airmax mode did not appear until I had changed the wireless configuration settings.

That was what I had missed, and once I turned it off, it all works as it should.

To anyone else looking for a wifi system for your boat:

Since all of my crew can now connect their devices, I will take a moment to share my experience buying and setting up this system.

Being pretty experienced with IT, I thought I would set this up myself. All of the parts are pretty inexpensive if you look at each one individually.

I decided to go with the Titanium Bullet M2 HP with a Picostation M as the boats wifi router router. (I have installed dozens of Linksys routers and my experience with them is that they are simple to use, but will reliably start to have intermitent failures after a couple of years in an office environment. Where they can be replaced cheaply, that is not a big deal, but on a boat in the Caribbean I was afraid they would not last as long, and finding a replacement would be harder. For this reason, I chose the Picostation).

To be fair, my wife spent a day researching available systems before I started looking at this, and I took the information she gave me and spent another two full days on the internet deciding what I wanted. I bought the Picostation and the Bullet from a company in California, along with a couple of simple POE injectors. I bought the antenna from the manufacturer in Illinois. I bought the exterior Cat5 and coupler from someone in NJ. I bought 12v direct wire 5.5x2.1 male connectors from the manufacturer and bought extras for other boat projects.

At the end of three days, adding shipping to the prices I looked at initially, I had saved exactly fifty bucks (the fact that I bought the more expensive Titanium Bullet is backed out of my numbers to that I am comparing dollars to dollars). I "made" about $17 a day.

The company in California (Pasadena Networks, WLAN Parts) shipped the Ubiquiti peices, but forgot to send the POE injectors, and simply will not answer their phone or return calls, though they eventually sent an email that said they were sending ONE injector though I ordered two. I still don't have the POE injectors and am just using AC injectors until those show up, if they ever do.

Setup was relatively easy with my networking background, but would have been darned frustrating for someone who is used to just "using" the computer rather than really getting in there are understanding how it all works. Even with the experience I have, it took another 30 minutes to get the Bullet up and running, and I spent 5 hours on the Picostation until Bob showed me what I was missing.

In retrospect, I would order the Islandtime system. While it did not come with the Titanium model Bullet and their router was not my choice (I abhor licensing the number of users on hardware), the system would have arrived complete, from one person, and I would have had tech support if I had questions. Wifi for Boats was offering a system that included the router I wanted, but the Rocket M and MIMO antenna added cost I could not justify. (Wifi for Boats is currently not selling systems, seeming to have given up on Wifi and looking into cellular options.)

Conclusion: I learned a lot in the four days I spent on getting this ordered and then installed. I certainly am more familiar with they system than most people who just bought it all in one place. But there is no way that the trouble I went through was justified for $50. My advice, if you are looking for a wifi system like this, just call IslandTime and be done with it.
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Old 01-12-2013, 09:20   #5
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Re: Bullet M2 HP and Picostation 2 WiFi network

Quote:
Originally Posted by GravityCoaches View Post
Conclusion: I learned a lot in the four days I spent on getting this ordered and then installed. I certainly am more familiar with they system than most people who just bought it all in one place. But there is no way that the trouble I went through was justified for $50. My advice, if you are looking for a wifi system like this, just call IslandTime and be done with it.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am also in IT and electronics; last year I was the consultant on a project doing some long-range video links using PicoStations. It took me a day and a bit to get them configured and all set up; it's not that the configuration is unreasonably hard, but the devices are so flexible and configurable that there's alot to consider and adjust.

I've also helped set up 3 Bad Boy systems on boats now. Once they're physically installed, the initial configuration and checkout takes... 10 minutes.

Here is what the IslandTime and BadBoy systems provide:
- everything in one box
- devices have already been "flashed" (firmware programming) for the intended roles (wifi receiver, wifi access point)
- custom firmware and software that's optimised for the intended use, and simplify both the initial configuration and ongoing use.

For most people, I think the packaged 'cruiser' wifi solutions represent good value.
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Old 01-12-2013, 12:01   #6
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Re: Bullet M2 HP and Picostation 2 WiFi network

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Originally Posted by Lake-Effect View Post
; it's not that the configuration is unreasonably hard, but the devices are so flexible and configurable that there's alot to consider and adjust.
Well said.
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