Wired MVP -> WGA54G wireless game adaptor

[Krugar]

Okay it took me a bit to sort this out, but wireless game adaptors even though they are eithernet -> wireless bridges do not on their own work with the MVP (at least not with an H1 version)

They will connect, and present you with a menu but cut out on video / live tv play back going to a "Contacting servers" screen.

The MVP will not recover from this and if you look on the back, it's turned off it's eithernet port, completely given up. You need to unplug the MVP to recover.

Basically the MVP expects to be on a hub or a switch. I don't know the networking behind this, but if it's not it kills its own connection.

The WGA54G will not work with a hub, but it uplinks brilliantly to a switch. For $30 you also get a good amount of buffering from store & forward from the wireless connection speed mismatches.

I went with a linksys 5 port switch, but any switch should do the job.

It only makes sense to go this route if you already have a game adaptor, otherwise you can get a bridge with a built in switch or mesh 2 wireless routers together.

Hope this prevents somebody else from loosing the hair & sleep I did on it.

Cheers!

[wtg]

I have lots of wireless gear from numerous manufacturers and have setup a lot more for other people, and I can say categorically the WGA54G is the biggest piece of crap I've had to deal with. Very unreliable connection and low range, and it just about turned me off to Linksys completely.

I've had good luck with Linksys gear in general (though their router firmware is missing a few key features that others like DLink and NetGear have provided for a long time) but having dealt with two different Linksys gaming adapters I'll never recommend them again.

[cginzel]

I like my WRT54G Linksys Router, but that is because I found all of the hacked firmware out there that adds features, specifically antenna signal strength boosting (http://www.hyperwrt.org/) But I have to agree with the wireless game adapter, I eventually had to punt on using it for my MediaMVP and connect it to my XBox!

Note: You can't use the hacked firmware on v4 and higher of the WRT54G because Linksys switched to using a non-opensource OS on the router, though there is some experimental firmware based on a stripped down Linux firmware that has been loaded to the newer hardware...

[cginzel]

yes I know.. but boosting the signal strength doesn't cost me a dime!

BTW... with the hacked firmware out there... you can turn a WRT54G into a wireless bridge!

[wtg]

I have the WRT54G and the WAP54G. Both have performed as advertised, but lack the features that I now consider a much: static DHCP and bridge mode. One can and I have run 3rd party firmware with success, Sveasoft's Alchemy on my WRT54G and hyperwrt (I think - might have been a different one) on the WAP54G to do bridging and both worked well, but to me it's irritating that these features haven't been added to the standard feature set.

I eventually went to an all wired network and all my wireless components are gathering dust. The wireless network worked ok but you can't beat wired. I'm using a basic dlink router that supports static dhcp, a netgear 1gb switch, a dlink printer server and a couple other 100Mb dlink switches. It's nice to have the firmware functionality I want right out of the box.

[jksmurf]

I like my WRT54G Linksys Router, but that is because I found all of the hacked firmware out there that adds features, specifically antenna signal strength boosting (http://www.hyperwrt.org/)

I'm with cginzel on this one. Sure they are "cheap" routers. But that's why they are cheap. :p. I have two WRT54GS (and had a WRT54G), all on HyperWRT Thibor 15c, with no problems, wireless bridge mode. I like the third party flexibility, the ability to assign static IP's and the boosting options. Sure some will say "should have worked out of the the box" but Linksys have a (reasonably successful it would seem) policy of producing other devices for that and they sell LOTS of these things, so they must be happy with it.

HyperWRT sticks with the Linksys Codebase as close as possible, so if
someone is reasonably au-fait with IP addresses and Bridge mode and what not, they should be able to install 3rd Part f/w OK, provided they follow the instructions. Linksys even stuck with (hackable) Linuxfor the WRT300N ...

I guess you don't have problems yet with that router. You might or not? You maybe lucky..

You know Tipstir, you might even be lucky with your Belkin's too...

k.

[jksmurf]

**fragmented packets loss*** R.I.P Belkin Wireless 54G Router .... Welcome back to Linksys Router World Oh Joy!

Gee, make up your mind boyo ... :-)

Those of you with the Linksys WRT54G goto this site: http://www.xramp.com/resources/cve/ and just type in WRT54G read up the problems with this router also...

Yeah, I typed in Belkin 54G for fun too ... It isn't lily-white either. I am no expert on these things, quite the opposite, but I'd hazard a guess it's no more, or less secure than a Linksys for normal everyday use by normal everyday router people. Following good practice of decently long passwords, firewalls and simple things like that has got to be better advice for 99% of folks than working out which router has more holes than another one, surely!

k.