iRFR network setup

Yes you need to configure the router before adding it to the ETC network. I have an older netgear router that I used for my aRFR and I connected to the router using http://routerlogin.com, notice there is no www in that address. Have you tried resetting the router and then trying to access it? What port of the router are you plugging into to try and configure it? I believe I used a regular wired port, not the Wan/Lan port. There should be an option for setting a Static IP. For DNS on my router I believe I used 192.168.1.1 which I think was defalut, but I can't remember exactly. I'll try and check next time I'm at my venue. For security I used 64 bit WEP and had the router make a key from a passphrase. I don't believe it matters too much as you just want to have some security so that all the Joe Schmo's don't try and connect to the lighting network. I hope some of this info helps, good luck!

There is a really great guide on the wiki for setting up your wireless network. http://www.etcconnect.com/Support/Articles/iRFR-How-to-Setup-Your-Wireless-Network.aspx.

One problem they don't address is the ability to set a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 on a consumer router. Most consumer routers do not give this to you as an option. One solution if you have a small network is to check what the other ip's of devices are on the network and you could make the router ip something in the neighborhood of 10.101.100.102 or something like that. Otherwise go to DDWRT and find out if you can load this firmware on the router you have. With this firmware you are turning a $50 router into a $200 router. This will allow you to do the subnet mask like they have it. If you go to Newegg.com they have a bunch of routers that can use the DDWRT firmware.

To answer your questions from above... 1. set up according to the wiki. Disable DHCP on your router. It should already be enabled on your console (if its not, go into the shell and enable it). This will ensure you get the correct set of addresses from the console. 2. Internet IP address: leave all this blank. You shouldn't connect the console to the internet! 3. I would use WPA2 personal ASCII. This is more difficult to break. 4. WAN=Wide area network ie: internet leave that port alone. LAN=local area network = you can use this as a normal switch, plug one of these ports into the console, then take another of those ports into your lighting network if necessary. 

Onne more thing, I don't know if this matters or not, but I always go in and find the settings for "filter multicast." I disable this because ETC is using multicast to send to Sensor+ dimmers and I am not sure if this would interfere or not. 

Good luck!

EDIT: Beaten to the punch by Brian and BoSox.

Hi Patrick,

What model Netgear? When you are plugging it straight into your computer, which port are you using, the WAN (internet) port or one of the LAN ports? Make sure to use the LAN ports. If the routerloging.net doesn't work try 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.2.1 etc...

I see you have 3 Eos/Ion devices. Are they all networked, or is each its own console in its own theatre?

I skimmed the WIki really quick to see what they suggest. It all looks similar to my normal config, but my quick suggestions to you. Don't use the router as a router. It really just wants to be an access point. Meaning, do not use the internet port. Only the LAN ports.

Turn off DHCP. Turn off NAT. Turn off any firewall. (or maybe Netgears have a Setup wizard where you can just say "be an access point". I don't know. 

I'm not as familiar with Netgear as others, but there should be a "LAN IP" or something like that set for the device. Change that to the wiki suggested 10.101.124.101.

Subnet: 255.255.0.0

Router/ Gateway: Set it to the IP of your console. 

DNS is blank.

Note that when you disable DHCP, and change the LAN IP address, you will lose connectivity to your router and will have to manually give your computer an IP to get back in touch with it. I would suggest that you set your Wireless SSID name, passwords etc first, then change the LAN IP, then as the last step, turn off DHCP. When you change the LAN ip, after the router reboots, you will probably have to get your self back to the config page. The 192.168.x.1 address that you used before will now be the LAN IP (10.101.124.101) that you set. 

Also, since you mentioned that you bought multiple routers, I'm not sure if this is for one network, or multple networks, but if its one network, remember that each router needs it own IP. So the first would be 10.101.124.101, the second .102, the third .103 etc... If each is on its own network, then they can all be .101 so you can remember it easily.

I hope that all makes sense. This is basically how I set up my wireless. There are probably about 10 different ways that all end up with the same working network, so your milage may vary.

Good luck,

-ben 

I read your post one more time. If you cannot get into your router, reset it. Hit the reset button for 30 seconds, and while still holding the reset unplug for another 30 seconds, plug back in and continue to hold the reset button for another 30 seconds. Default ip should be 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 or 254 for the last number. Make you have "obtain an ip address automatically" enabled.

If you still have a problem, google your model number and the default ip should be online somewhere. If you cant connect, change your static ip to something in the same pool as the default ip: if the default should be 192.168.1.1 set the static ip on your computer to 192.168.1.2, then open a browser and type in the default ip 192.168.1.1.

Pat, a lot of folks have played with different settings on wireless routers and come up with various permutations that can work.  (as illustrated by the posts above).

If you want the simplest way to configure consumer wireless routers for iRFR and aRFR on a standalone ETC lighting network, try this.  It works with 99% of all routers I've encountered. (Yes, I just made that statistic up, but you get the idea!):

1. Ensure the primary console's IP address matches its default as specified in our wiki and its subnet mask is set to 255.255.0.0. If this setting is off, you will be prompted to reboot after applying the setting.  Accept the prompt and reboot the console.
2. In the settings interface on your consoles, make sure the Network Services Address Service is running on only the primary console on your lighting network.  If this service was disabled:
   1. Enable it
   2. Verify the settings match these defaults:
      • First Address: 10.101.50.101
      • Number of Addresses: 500
      • Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0
      • Enable Routed Network: unchecked
   3. Press the {Learn Network Devices} button
   4. Reboot the console when prompted
3. Connect the router's "Internet" or "WAN" port to the lighting network just as you would any backup console or gateway in the system.
   • On an Eos console, this could be plugging into the internal switch or as another line off a core lighting network switch in the building.
   • With non-Eos consoles in existing network systems, connect as another line off the central ethernet switch in the facility.
   • If you have no existing network and aren't using an Eos, connect the router to the console directly using a crossover ethernet cable.
   • Note: For easy setup, do not plug other wired lighting system devices into any of the downstream ports on the router.  Using those ports without properly aligning the network settings is one place where people often go astray in gaining connectivity to the lighting equipment.  If, on the other hand, you want to change your SSID and enable encryption after you have connected up and confirmed things work the first time, then you will probably want to connect a laptop to these ports to adjust the configuration.  The router manufacturer's documentation should explain access techniques and available options.
4. If you have reconfigured the router for any reason, use the manufacturer's proscribed reset mechanism to take it back to defaults.
5. Leave the remote wireless device at its default network settings so it will get an address from the wireless router and connect to the wireless router.  (Note: The IP address the remote device receives will probably not appear to be in the ETC Network.  That's the joy of routers, they route traffic from one network to another.)
6. If you have a problem getting things working at this point, power everything down and bring up the central switch first, then the console, then the router, and then connect the remote device again.

Ok I followed Tracy's instructions to the letter using an arfr . I get the connect button but when I push it I get the rfr keyboard for a second then an error message that says "Network Error. Disconnected from console". Any Ideas ???

Dano30 said:

Ok I followed Tracy's instructions to the letter using an arfr . I get the connect button but when I push it I get the rfr keyboard for a second then an error message that says "Network Error. Disconnected from console". Any Ideas ???

I'm having the same problem and didn't see an answer. Is there one?

In most cases, this indicates that the password for the console may be incorrect.  The password needs to match the console's name, which can be seen in either the About screen, or out in the shell (Exit -> Settings -> General).  The console's name can also be changed in the shell to something a bit easier to spell, especially if it is still at the factory-set OEM-... name.

If this doesn't work, it may be worth giving us a quick call and we can help walk through the settings and find the issue. 

Thanks. That was it. Simpleist things are always the hardest to solve.

Thanks. I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why It would not connect.  It turned out that my console name had no spaces and I had it with spaces.  Thank you sooooooooooooo much.

I'm having the same problem. I will try the recommendations listed in this thread. Two quick questions: Should the ipod touch work the same way as the ipad? I noticed that, after downloading it to my ipad, it also installed it on the ipod touch. I am using an Airport express router, should the ip, gateway, and router addresses all work the same as described in this thread?

Another fake link - I've flagged as spam but this one could trick people more than previous fake links.  So posting this warning comment as well.