theWhiteNoise.net - Web Log

Now, all of the following is strictly hypothetical.  I would never create something like this because it’s technically against the law to intercept a wireless signal or join a wireless network if you don’t own it (yes, even if it’s unencrypted)…

Hypothetically, if someone needed to connect to a wireless access point hundreds of feet away (which they didn’t have the privilege/access to modify settings on) and didn’t feel like buying a wireless card with an antenna jack for their laptop, much less carry a directional antenna around with them, they might consider a rig such as this:

I introduce the good old 54G line of routers…the ones I talk about below happen to be made by Buffalo(WHR-G54S), but Linksys also makes a version (WRT-54G).  The cool thing about these routers is their firmware is flashable with 3rd party firmware which enables a whole host of features not normally available with the default firmware.  For this project a hypothetical person would need to purchase 2.  Good thing there are sweet mail-in rebate deals!  By the way, these are awesome routers not just for a project like this, but for general use.  I use the Linksys model as my main router at home.

Anyway, both routers need to be flashed with DD-WRT firmware (www.dd-wrt.com).  The flashing process varies by which model of router you have, but there is a wiki for most of the popular models on the DD-WRT website.  From now on, I will refer to the 2 routers as Router A and Router B. 

Router A: needs to be set up with a router IP of something other than the default 192.168.1.1 (192.168.2.1 is a good choice).  It also needs to be set in DHCP mode so it hands out IP’s to any clients attached to it.  Now comes the cool part, with the modified firmware, there is an option under the Wireless section to have the router function in “Client Mode.”  This esentially allows the router to act as a wireless client to an access point (the access point to connect to is set under the Admin section).  When it is connected as a client, it’s wireless capabilities cannot be used as an access point for other clients (this is where the second router comes in later).  However, the hard-wired LAN ports do work as you would expect from a router – any client hard-wired to the router is served internet access via the wireless connection via “Client Mode” signal from the remote access point.  To improve wireless signal reception with the remote access point, Router A should be fitted with a directional antenna.  I suggest this guide for constructing one:  Cantenna How-To.  You will need a N-type Male to RP-SMA Female pigtail (can be found on E-bay) to connect the antenna to the router.

Router B: I bet you can guess what we’re going to do with this guy.  This router should be set up much like any home-use router.  The main point of this router is to serve as a local wireless access point to clients in close proximity.  The router IP should be set to something other than 192.168.1.1 or the IP of Router A (192.168.3.1 is a good choice).  It also needs to be set up in DHCP mode.  The wireless settings should be set up to your liking, providing a SSID, channel #, encryption scheme, etc.  Just make sure you don’t set it to “Client Mode” as you did with Router A.  Once everything is set up, use a short CAT-5 cable to connect the WAN port of Router B to any LAN port of Router A. 

What will happen:  Router A will connect to the remote access point as a client.  Router A will give Router B an IP address via DHCP.  Router B will broadcast an SSID so any local wireless clients can connect to it.  Once they do, Router B will give the client an IP address via DHCP.  All traffic will route from the wireless client (ie. a laptop) wirelessly to Router B which will pass the traffic along to Router A via CAT-5 cable, Router A then passes the traffic on wirelessly to the remote access point. (Obviously, the reverse happens for return traffic).

The result:  You can use a laptop without an antenna to connect to an access point hundreds of feet away.

A while back my older surround sound subwoofer (which is now part of my bedroom system) started making a crackling noise during hard bass hits.  I finally got around to taking the sub cabinet apart to investigate.

Here’s what I found…..a capacitor that popped its top in the amp circuit:

Actually, 2 capacitors went up.  I think when the larger one (10uF) blew, it totally destroyed the smaller cap!  It was so crispified (yes, that’s a word), that it just disintegrated.  I don’t even know what the original cap value was, so I’m gonna have to make an educated guess.  They both run in parallel to the speaker pos/neg leads, so I’m guessing that they are used as a saftey passive crossover (low pass filter).  From what I can tell from some webpages on the subject, the crossover frequency is probably around 1800 Hz (with just the 10uF cap).  The first cap gets the crossover frequency in the right general range.  It can then be adjusted down using a second cap (something < 3uF is what I think I’ll use).  I guess we’ll see if my assumptions are correct.  I’ll post my results after I take a stab at fixing it.

I have this saying that I seem to use very frequently:  “Nothing’s ever easy.”  It seems like no matter how much I plan, things never quite work out the way I want.  I think I’m just cursed with bad luck.  The only good thing about it is I end up learning more than most people about a project because I always run into some problem that I have to research and/or fix.

This time, I admit, the problem was kinda self-inflicted.  I was very careful in measuring exactly where I wanted the TV mounted on the wall viewing wise.  The only problem is, I didn’t take into consideration how tall my new dresser is.  I didn’t think it’d really be an issue.  WRONG!  When I mounted the LCD to the wall where I THOUGHT I wanted it, it just looked too close to the dresser and actually limited the dresser top’s usable space.  

The solution?  Easy – just move it up the wall a foot.  This normally wouldn’t be a big deal, but I had already drilled a 3 inch hole in the wall to feed wires into the make-shift A/V room.  This hole would become completely visible by moving the TV up 12 inches.  I had no choice though, so I moved the TV…Oh wait, did I mention this thing weighs like 115 lbs and is awkward as hell to lift - especially by yourself!  I about died putting it up the second time…

Here’s what it first looked like:

After the move, I had to patch up & repaint all of the holes left by the first mounting attempt and drill another 3” hole in the wall (hidden this time):

Annnnnd finally, the end result after much spackling & painting.  I’m pretty happy with it:

The final position leaves room for the surround sound receiver, center, left, and right channel speakers to sit atop the dresser. 

I just installed a Turtle Beach 5.1 Dolby Digital Live surround sound card with optical out into the HTPC that will hook up to the receiver.  Also recently added: a HDTV Wonder High Def OTA TV tuner card for PVR functionality.  I’m still messing with it – I’ll post progress later. 

Here’s the new LCD TV I just ordered for my bedroom.  It will be hanging over my dresser, so I can watch it from my bed (obviously).  I need to paint the wall it’ll be hanging on, plus run the appropriate cables for both the TV & the home theater computer that will be the primary video source.

A few pictures of it in action.  These are a little blurry since it’s hard to hold the digital camera still enough for the shutter speed it needs during no-flash dark shots:

Now playing: Linkin Park - Papercut (Live In Texas)

I swapped out my old California Profile 400 watt amp (about 250 watt RMS bridged) for this Rockford Fosgate Punch “900 watt” amp (about 375 watt RMS bridged) in my Mustang today.  I decided to put a sub in the SUV, so it gave me the perfect opprotunity to upgrade the Mustang’s system, since it gets used the most.  The old amp has a loose connection and would cut out on rare occassions.  If I mount it differently in the SUV I think it will work fine.  If not, I’ll hunt down the loose connection & fix it.  I’ll post pictures of that later.

While I was in there, I cleaned up & hid the excess wire.  It looks much cleaner now.

Here’s what it looks like lit up in the dark.  Black & red – it matches the car!