Registered: Dec 2001
Location:
Posts: 4

Xircom SpringPort Wireless module nuisance

Hey all,
Does anyone here have a Xircom SpringPort Wireless module? I just got one (after waiting 2.5 months from PalmGear.com) and I find it annoying that I have to try to connect to my network about 7 or 8 times before it actually "takes hold" which takes about 15 minutes since I have to wait until Blazer 2.0 times-out to tell me my network is too far away. Technically, my Visor shows it "Connects," but I can't get out to anywhere with Blazer 2.0. My LinkSys BEFW11S4 Wireless AP Cable/DSL Router is about 20 feet away from me, so you can see why I'm not happy at all with this product. Here are my settings:

* Module
Card Info: Xircom
Product: SpringPort Wireless
SW Ver: 1.13
FW Ver: 3.82

* Visor Prism
Palm OS: 3.5.2H1.1
Net Lib: 3.2.0.d000

* Settings
Client Name: Visor Prism
Profile: 1
Network ID: HomeWireless
Encryption: Enable

* Advanced Settings
IP Address: Dynamic, Long
Network ID: HomeWireless
Network Type: Infrastructure
Power Mgmt: Enable, Disable
Encryption: 128Bit

Can anyone tell me why I can never just "connect" on the first try, or if there is a better product out there?

Thanks in advance,
BoulderDash

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 22

I'm in the Same Boat

Sorry that i'm not able to help with your delimma, just thought i'd write and say your not alone.
I am able to make a connection to my Linksys BEFW11S4 with my Springport Wireless Ethernet, but when using Blazer 2.0 I can't get a web page to display. It doesn't matter how close or far i am from my WAP, i always get the same thing. (I can't check my email either, or use Yahoo Messenger.)
I gotta tell ya, this is frustrating as heck. To have so much technology at your fingertips and not be able to do anything with it. Damn

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: NY, NY
Posts: 4

Encryption?

Sounds like the blazer is having trouble. Have you tried any other TCP/IP application from your palm? This would make sure that the connection is OK and that the problem is with the Blazer s/w.

If there is a comm. problem, maybe try turning WAP encryption off.

Sorry this is all I can provide. I have a wireless lan and a palm, but no Xircom, so I am not an 'expert' on your issue. Good luck.

Registered: Oct 2001
Location:
Posts: 17

I have a Xircom but I do not have an access point yet =)
You may want to try PalmVNC. You can get it from Palmgear for free. I use it with my Prism and VP to log into my home computer and it works great. I want to get a WAP so I can try my Xircom but just haven't done it yet.

Cheers.

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Merrick, NY
Posts: 34

Have you checked This thread?

BTW, I still can't get mine to work. It makes a GREAT paperweight, though

;-)

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

I have this module and a Linksys access point and they work perfectly together. Make sure you have power management off, encryption off, and if it doesn't work when you try to connect with a dynamic ip address try assigning one to the visor yourself.

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Dec 2001
Location:
Posts: 4

Well well,
Here is the bottom line on how I got the Xircom SpringPort Wireless Ethernet Module and any wireless application (of which I use Blazer 2.0 95% of the time) to work without error each and every time:

a) "Encryption" must be DISABLE (which is really a shame since it's unsafe, and at times not up for discussion depending on where you work or live)

b) "Power Management" must be DISABLE, DISABLE (the latest Xircom Firmware release has two settings within "Pwr Mgmt")

c) "IP Address" must be STATIC, LONG (with IP, DNS, and Subnet set - might be tricky for novices since they are in different places to set)

If any of the above settings are not as listed, any wireless application has a problem with "Net Lib" not being opened (unsure what that means, but it's what comes up). Hope this helps, and am looking forward to a Firmware release that may address these issues .

Any other success stories?
BoulderDash

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

Actually I've got mine working with 128bit encryption, power management disabled and an IP that's configured by my DHCP server. Before getting my wireless ethernet springboard I read a bunch of the threads about it and I used settings similar to yours and slowly worked up to what I have now and everything works like a charm. Don't even notice a slowdown with the 128bit encryption.

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Merrick, NY
Posts: 34

boulderdash, what access point do you have? Is it a Linksys WAP11?

Registered: Dec 2001
Location:
Posts: 4

Jlanka,
I have a LinkSys BEFW11S4 Wireless AP Cable/DSL Router.

Ashmed, what are you using as an access point?

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Merrick, NY
Posts: 34

Yup. I thought so. Haven't seen anyone have much success with the WAP11 yet. Oh well.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

I'm using the WAP11 and have had success regardless of the firmware I have put on it.

I'll post my settings in a few minutes.

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

WAP11: This is using 1.4g5 firmware on the WAP

Advanced Tab:
Fragmentation Threshhold: 2346
RTS Threshold: 2346
Authentication type: Both
Preamble Type: Long Preamble
Rates(Mbps): All Checked
Auto Rate Fall Back: Checked

IP Setting Tab:
IP Address: 192.168.2.189
IP Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.2.1 (Router IP)
DHCP Enable: Checked
DHCP Primary Port: Ethernet
IP Filtering: Not Checked

Security Tab: (it has worked regardless of whether or not I had encryption on or off)
WEP: 128-bit WEP
Key1: not going to tell ya
key2: not going to tell ya
Key3: not going to tell ya
key4: not going to tell ya
Default Key: 1
I also setup the authorized MAC Control but that has not changed me being able to connect.

AP Mode Tab:
Access Point chosen



Xircom springboard settings to follow

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

Part Deux

Xircom Settings

Client Settings:
Client Name: Ashmed
Network ID: not going to tell ya sorry
Encryption Enabled

Advanced:
Ip Address:
Dynamic Chosen
Establishment Period: Normal
Network Type: Infrastructure

Power management:
Enabled
Connect at Power Up: Disable

Encryption:
128it chosen
I had problems connecting if I entered more than just Key 1. It seems it doesn't do a very good job of storing more than one key. When i tried putting in 1 and 2 it had problems connecting until I deleted both keys and just entered the first at which time it worked perfectly.

Network Settings:
Details:
Connection Type: PPP
Query DNS: checked
Ip Address: Automatic

Any other settings you need feel free to ask. Besides passwords and encryption keys of course

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 2

Springport worked (Now don't)

I had my springport working great with win 98 and wingate. I had a small home network (2 computers) networked with d-link brand cards and a crossover cable, I saw the wireless springport for sale for $100.00(new) so I bought one. I bought a d-link DI-713P wireless router (whatever) for my access, Side note, Qwest who I have DSL svs with said I could NEVER internet share with and internal modem (tried to sell me the $200.00 one) so I have a internal DSL modem, the router has DHCP and once I conneted I had zero prob (once I got a little exp with networks) I had wingate as my proxy and I could logon to the internet, check e-mail, and desktop remote controll.
Now, I upgraded to XP and it will NOT work anymore. I can hotsync via wireless around 75% of the time zero internet access, and to make it worse qwest went to msn and I can't figure out how to get wingate working in xp because it has its own internet shareing setup????? and I have to have DHCP off on the di-713p, now I'm lost into what to do.
I can internet share with the 2 computers and XP (xp made that really easy) but what to do with a router with WAN setup but I have an internal DSL modem, I set up the proxy (xp says 198.168.0.1, port 80) but I can't tell if the requests are even going to the xp server from the router/wireless hub, On the 2nd computer it has nothing about proxys etc. it just connects (tried to copy the setup for my prizm).
So what am I trying to say??? The only way I could get it to work before is with a proxy server running (wingate) once you have that it should work great, and wait with xp :>

sorry if this is hard to read, I kind of ramble on

ML

Registered: Jan 2002
Location: Victoria BC
Posts: 1

Xircom, lots of work but seems to go!

Today I got my Xircom Wireless module in the mail. Very nice design I must say. Very nice finish and a solid feel. After that, the luster of wonder wore off real quick. I am into networking in a big way but this is my first trip into 802.11b and the whole wireless thing. I purchased a Cisco 350 PCMCIA card to sync my Visor Prism with my computer via wireless (peer-peer). I had hoped to surf the web and check my mail as well. In the end, I got it working but it took a guy a fair bit of work to get it running correctly. Nice when it does work though.

My basic setup as of today was to get the Xircom unit and plug it into my Handspring. Then I have a Cisco 352 PCMCIA card plugged into my laptop and out of my base station of my laptop is a 3Com 10/100 nic. As a software conduit I am using Winroute ver.4.

Winroute is a software NAT and has a great firewall (wonderful for reporting TCP/UDP activity). The reporting is bar-none for a cheap cost. They have a 30 day trial so I am using it until I get my wireless access point in a day or two (Cisco Aironet 350AP).

In the end, I did get the whole setup to work.. WEP Encryption off though. I will check that out tomorrow.

I will start with the fact that there is little to NO real support for this product so your best bet is this type of AWSOME forum system! Thanks VisorCentral, you rock!

I found several problems and had almost given up when suddenly, my wireless hotsync worked! I have to say, even getting that going rocked!!! I had to laugh as the boys in the office watched as I was hotsync�ing from the other side of the office. The range I have in an office with lots of steel and structure is about 60 to 150 feet (I will perform more accurate range numbers later). Lets just say that when I do a USB hotsync it takes around 4 mintues 16 seconds. With the wireless I tested it and it was 5 minutes and 12 secodns. Not really a fair test though. I had to sit is my seat for the USB test and I was walking around with my Prism in my hand while locking up the office during the wireless test. Still, very nice for just a laptop card and the Xircom Springport 802.11b unit.

Thank god for the Winroute firewall. The card seemed to connect fine to the cisco card and link but then I could not surf or do much else. I am still not sure but the connection seems disjointed. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I now have down to a fine science and if I can�t connect, I just disconnect and reconnect and that seems to work. There seems to be some �hang� issue on DNS searches but sometimes it works. Now I just have to find browser software that supports JAVA and I can do my online banking and stock trading.

At this point I think I will wait for my wireless access point and then post a FAQ on my Xircom experiences. If the group does not want this, please say so and I won�t bother. I can see how many people would have a world of problems getting this thing working though (VERY EXPENSIVE UNIT TO PLAY WITH AND NOT HAVE WORK).

The manual SUXs and really, puts you on the path but does nothing to complete the task. Even for an experienced network guy (less the wireless stuff) it is like stumbling in the dark. I do have the latest software update on the Xircom from the Intel site and I have upgraded my Prism stuff as far as the OS will go. I am going to go through every option and try it all out. See what works and doesn�t and I am going to do some statistical tests on the system. The connection is �slower� than the USB but way better than I hand thought. It was not as bad as expected after reading peoples reports.

AvantGo, seemed to be the best surfing software but really, net surfing software on palm systems have a LONG WAY TO GO! (That is a whole different topic though). Typical surf problems and lack of support issues, bla, bla, bla.

I found the best email program so far for connection was Eudora. I tried several others and sometimes they work, sometimes they hang. Eudora just trundled along.

One thing that I found strange, I crashed my Visor (screen seemd to go dead and would kind of work) last week and had to pull the plug on the battery. I had a problem and did the stupid thing and phoned tech support at Handspring. In the end, it was a simple fix. Put the Visor in the powered cradle and press in the reset button on the back. The Visor came back to life and it cost me 20 bucks USD for that undocumented little trick. I have had my Visor for 4 months. I am sure it was in a forum here or some where on the net but when my Visor went dead, I panicked as I need it right then and phoned handspring! STUPID ME!

I never did set the clock to the current date. Today I had everything going but the Blazer software. Then it came up with some strange message about the wrong date. I CHANGE THE DATE AND IT WORKED! Go FIGURE! It seemed to be hit and miss all day though. It took all day but it seemed by the end, everything worked one app at a time.

My Final thoughts of this Xircom post. The Xircom 802.11b Springport is super easy to install, but a ***** to get going once its in the slot. Once working, sitting on the can will never be the same. Forget the book, I got my Visor!

I know this feel good story might not help but who knows.

Last edited by zing on 01-17-2002 at 07:25 AM

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

New WAP11 Firmware 1/15/02

http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp?fwid=11

:-D

haven't tested it out yet

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Merrick, NY
Posts: 34

IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS!
IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS!
IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS!
IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! IT WORKS!

HALLELUJAH!

The firmware upgrade mentioned above fixed the problem!

No more $150.00 paperweight!

Thanks for the link. I owe ya one!

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

Good to hear!

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Jan 2003
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Posts: 19

Need serious help...

Hi All,

Need help on getting this to work. At my wits end.

Details as follows:
-----------------------

Handspring Visor Deluxe (8 MB)
Palm OS is 3.1H3
Batteries are FULLY CHARGED.

Springport Wireless Ethernet
S/W ver
F/W ver

D-Link (DI-614+) Wireless Router is configured as an AP switch (I have a wired router already), and the wired router is connected to the cable modem. The Wireless ROuter is connected to the wired router via a crossover cable. The setup works fine with a laptop equipped with a wireless PCMCIA card (DWL-650+).


I have the following config setup:
=======================

Wired Router (DHCP mode):

IP Address: 192.168.0.1 (default)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

-----------------

DLINK-614+ Wireless Router (DHCP disabled):

Firmware Version: 2.10 , Fri, 22 Nov 2002

IP address: 192.168.0.250
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

SSID broadcast is ENABLED. (Someone had mentioned that disabling this would not work with the SWE).

No Encryption used for now.

SSID name: TestWireless

---------------------

Springport Wireless Ethernet:

SSID name: TestWireless

Chose static IP option.
IP Address: 192.168.0.251
DNS1: 24.123.123.123 (example)
DNS2: 24.123.123.124
GATEWAY IP: 192.168.0.1 (wired router)
Encryption DISABLED (at least until I get this working)
Network Type: Infrastructure
Power Mgmt: Disable, Disable
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

The Network Settings are also (other than those noted above):

Service Name: Xircom Wireless Ethernet

Note since I have OS 3.1H3, I do not have the Connection option. I need to have "00" entered for the phone number. So, I have done this already.

Now, when I click on CONNECT, I get the following response:

Handshaking occurs (liitle diagram of hands shaking!);
Dialing Xircom Wireless Ethernet
Established

But when I check my wired router to display the IP and MACs that are using the router, it does not show.

Also, under the Status option, it hsows that there is no "Network Associated".

What am I doing wrong? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.