RJ45 to wifi

[sgull]

Hi All

I purchased this device on ebay.

The model number is "VAP11G Bridge Cable Convert RJ45" (probably many alternatives available)

Cost around €15.00

Works a treat on unistream.

Plug in the ethernet and power via the USB port.

PLC can now be programmed with the panel door closed over wifi.

Should also work with Vision but you would need a power bank or 5v power supply.

[Pendalar]

We used one of these as well but found two issues :

a) It didn't seem to get anywhere near the range and ended up buying the next model up for better range and

b) To power it after initial setup in the PLC cabinet we tried to use a USB power brick which was very trial and error to get it to work.  Initially tried a 1A and then a 2.1A.  Neither worked although it should have been fine as long as it was 5-15v per the manual.  In the end, we settled on a 6V 0.5A (since 0.5A is what traditional USB supplies anyways) DC adapter - fired up fine.

Otherwise have been really happy with this solution.

[Ausman]

This is curious behaviour, isn't it?  I have had a few instances of cheap devices that don't have correctly configured power inputs, and the things won't power up properly.  In nearly all the cases, the simple addition of a 100v MKT capacitor of around 150nF, in parallel across the power line at the device's connection, has cured the issues.  It would seem that shortcuts are taken on building the pcbs....costs?  I have had devices not even power up on a perfectly matched voltage battery....as pure DC volts as you can get....yet the capacitor fixed this.  Sometimes electrical behaviour is very head scratching!

cheers, Aus

[kratmel]

I have a small FM radio with the ability to charge and work from USB power supply.
This is my favorite tester for USB chargers and power supplies.
The radio has an unpleasant noise when the power is low-quality and as practice shows, all devices that receive power from it also do not want to work properly.

It also makes a good indication whether the filter (capacitor) helps to improve the quality of the output power.

P.S. Thanks for idea - PLC can now be programmed with the panel door closed over wifi. 

 

[John_R]

I can see this working on a unistream device as it is a linux box, but has anyone gotten this to work with a vision device?

JohnR

[hotwires]

52 minutes ago, JohnR said:

I can see this working on a unistream device as it is a linux box, but has anyone gotten this to work with a vision device?

JohnR

As long as the wireless side of the bridge connects the ethernet side doesn’t know (or care) what it is connected to. In theory it should work with any ethernet enabled device using the standard TCP/IP protocol. I use Ubiquiti wireless networking devices for PtP and PtMP links. Almost all of their devices can be configured in bridge mode (WLAN:LAN). 

[Flex727]

1 hour ago, JohnR said:

I can see this working on a unistream device as it is a linux box, but has anyone gotten this to work with a vision device?

I have a pair of these and they work flawlessly with V570s. As hotwires says, connecting to ethernet doesn't require any kind of driver therefore it should work with any ethernet enabled device.

[John_R]

19 hours ago, Flex727 said:

I have a pair of these and they work flawlessly with V570s. As hotwires says, connecting to ethernet doesn't require any kind of driver therefore it should work with any ethernet enabled device.

hmmm, well I have tried to make a vision plc wireless a few times, tried several different wireless bridge/ap devices, but never was able to get a connection, if you got it working then I must be going about this all wrong. I'm certainly no IT whiz.

[Flex727]

Yes, I have the exact model shown in the photo in the OP and have successfully used them to connect (via MODBUS TCP) PLC-to-PLC and PLC-to-router/modem to the internet.

[John_R]

All I'm trying to do is make a couple portable machines wireless so I don't have have wired drops.

Of course, our IT guy has got our wired infrastructure divided into different subnets;
one subnet for workstations (XXX.XXX.70.XXX)
another subnet for printers (XXX.XXX.69.XXX)
my PLC network is on subnet (XXX.XXX.68.XXX)
the wireless infrastructure on another subnet (XXX.XXX.203.XXX)

And through some IT magic my workstation on .70 can talk to my PLC's on .68
and my laptop can connect via wireless from .203 to my PLC's on .68

but when I try to setup a bridge to connect a plc to .203, I can't get it to talk back the other direction (although the IT guy says it should all work).

[Flex727]

4 minutes ago, JohnR said:

All I'm trying to do is make a couple portable machines wireless so I don't have have wired drops.

That's the first time I've ever seen that statement made. Usually it's the other way around.

[John_R]

2 hours ago, Flex727 said:

That's the first time I've ever seen that statement made. Usually it's the other way around. 

Flex, I work in a meat processing facility, and every night the whole place gets pressure washed from ceiling to floor. Everything that shouldn't get wet does,  wired connections that should be disconnected before moving equipment usually get yanked out, or at least thoroughly soaked.  The wash crew is just a bunch of animals when it comes to moving stuff.

Anything I can do to make my stuff a bit more foolproof only benefits me.

So, can you share with me how you configure this devices to work with the vision PLC's, perhap's I'll see what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks, JohnR

[Flex727]

I purchased, set them up, and tested them a couple of years ago for a project that never came to fruition. I don't even remember how to get into the setup. If you can remind me of that, I'll try to get in and screenshot the setup page and post it.

[John_R]

14 minutes ago, Flex727 said:

I purchased, set them up, and tested them a couple of years ago for a project that never came to fruition. I don't even remember how to get into the setup. If you can remind me of that, I'll try to get in and screenshot the setup page and post it. 

Ahh, well I have not yet purchased this device, but thought if you remembered how it was setup I could apply the same thought process to the devices I already have....

 

 

[Flex727]

Okay, I looked it up on the internet and was able to get to the setup page. Here is a screen cap:

I don't recall having to do anything special - just place it in Bridge mode. I turned off all security to avoid that complication.

 

[Pendalar]

We have one a few of these and my only hurdle with it was power supply related.  The instructions imply you can run off USB to PC, USB to power brick, "DC2.0", etc and rated 5-15v, 500mA.  We tried all manners of common USB power bricks and it would flake out like crazy.  Eventually used a travel adapter to dial it it and now it works perfectly.  One would think it would pull in what it needs and be happy but, no, it was very picky to be stable.

Since then, we bought a few VAP11G-500 (higher range model) and it requires 5.5-15v, 3A... Now to find an appropriate  power supply so they too can be happy.

[Ausman]

3 hours ago, Pendalar said:

Now to find an appropriate  power supply

I would have thought that any of the myriad buck converters around would suit the job, running from the enclosure's main 24 supply.  I guess the hard part is finding a good quality one. 

Although not an ad for them, I try to use Mean Well all the time.  It is highly likely that something like the SD-15B-05 running at the top end of it's adjustment, or one of the species in the SD-25 range would suit, and is a known good quality unit.

cheers, Aus

[Joe Tauser]

4 hours ago, Pendalar said:

The instructions imply you can run off USB to PC, USB to power brick, "DC2.0", etc and rated 5-15v, 500mA.  We tried all manners of common USB power bricks and it would flake out like crazy.

We actually cut a thick (high-power) USB-A extender cable in half to give us a USB "socket" and then pigtail out the cable and connect the wires to a real DIN rail 5V power supply.

Joe T.