Wireless Bridge info needed

prof_porridge · 12-22-2004

I bought a lot of electronics at an auction and included was a 'Cisco Aironet 350 Wireless Bridge'. I looked it up at Cisco's site and it seems to be capable of working as an AP as well as a bridge. I have a few questions -

-What is a wireless bridge, and what use does it have?

-This unit came without a power supply, but there is no power plug either, just the words 'inline power ethernet' beside the network jack. I assume this is POE - so how do I power this guy?

- There are two antenna jacks, a left and a right. Why? Do I need both?

Thanks guys

wrzwaldo · 12-22-2004

http://www.google.com/search?q=What+...ireless+bridge

RedSector · 12-22-2004

You'll need a PoE injector
http://www.netgate.com/product_info....3e66d4602adf23
You can probably find one that's cheaper on ebay

The 350 has RP-TNC connectors. A antenna is required. I don't know how it would preform with a single antenna, however I assume it would preform poorly. I would buy two, unless diversity can be disabled. Good find though. Cisco 350s are quite nice.

prof_porridge · 12-22-2004

Thanks RedSector, you seem to know the unit well. Have you set one up before? I can't imagine it would be too dificult to homebrew a POE myself... It shouldn't involve much more than hacking a cable, right? Has anyone here attempted this before? Are the pinouts hard to find? (http://www.google.com/search?q=how+d...or+a+cisco+350 right?)

edit: Damn, i was being a smartass with that link but it actually took me to a good site.

wrzwaldo · 12-22-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by prof_porridge

Thanks RedSector, you seem to know the unit well. Have you set one up before? I can't imagine it would be too dificult to homebrew a POE myself... It shouldn't involve much more than hacking a cable, right? Has anyone here attempted this before? Are the pinouts hard to find? (http://www.google.com/search?q=how+d...or+a+cisco+350 right?)

edit: Damn, i was being a smartass with that link but it actually took me to a good site.

I wonder if that's the reason we toss it around so much? As for the antennas go, you may want to find a matched factory pair (unless you can disable diversity as already mentioned). Diversity works by using a pair of antennae of a know gain at a know distance apart (if I recall correctly).

RedSector · 12-22-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by prof_porridge

Thanks RedSector, you seem to know the unit well. Have you set one up before? I can't imagine it would be too dificult to homebrew a POE myself... It shouldn't involve much more than hacking a cable, right? Has anyone here attempted this before? Are the pinouts hard to find? (http://www.google.com/search?q=how+d...or+a+cisco+350 right?)

edit: Damn, i was being a smartass with that link but it actually took me to a good site.

Unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing I would buy one. They arn't that expensive. Looks like they can be had on ebay for about 10 bucks
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...150002090&rd=1

I wish I had a 350. Only Cisco product I have is a Cisco 340 PCMCIA card. I am more or less a Cisco fan.

prof_porridge · 12-22-2004

Well, that ebay item doesn't seem to be appropriate for the 350. it says "The Regulated outputs are + 5V and + 12V" but the back of the 350 says this needs 48 volts DC. If I could find a 48 V power supply somewhere it shouldn't be too hard to get this thing working.

RedSector · 12-22-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by prof_porridge

Well, that ebay item doesn't seem to be appropriate for the 350. it says "The Regulated outputs are + 5V and + 12V" but the back of the 350 says this needs 48 volts DC. If I could find a 48 V power supply somewhere it shouldn't be too hard to get this thing working.

Yep you're right. Looks like Cisco uses a different standerd in wireing the buggers too. The guides on how to build your own I was looking at said they didn't work for Cisco.
Here is a Cisco PoE injector but its 50 bucks http://shop.wirelessguys.com/s.nl/c....it.A/id.772/.f
Personally I think the cost of the PoE adapter plus the cost of antennas is worth a Cisco 350. From what I have seen they can range from $200-$600+ so I would be willing to shell out $50 for the PoE and another $50 for the antennas.

prof_porridge · 12-22-2004

Looking at that last link you posted (thanks for tracking that down btw) I don't think that the power supply is included, so I would still need to find a 48 v supply somewhere.

In a moment of weakness i opened the case and was surprised to see a pcmcia card attached to a circuit board! The card is totally unlabelled, but has two antenna connectors which have pigtails leading to the antenna jacks. There are also 2 leds on the card (which would not be visible from outside the enclosure). My guess is that the card is an Aironet 352 PC Card . I'm going to check out Cisco's own site to see if I can order a power supply direct from them.

RedSector · 12-22-2004

Yup I think its a 352 too. Best of luck getting it up and working.

prof_porridge · 12-25-2004

Well, I got it working.

I didn't have a 48v power supply, but the small print in the manual specifies that the voltage has to be between 24 and 60 volts, so I figured that the power must be heavily regulated when it gets to the unit. I took a 24 v wall wart , hacked off the plug, and hooked it up to the correct pairs that I had hacked off an ethernet cable. Plugged it all in and was pleasantly surprised by the flashing of green lights. It took me a while to figure out how to reset the thing to the default settings but once I did I could log into the unit with my browser and set it up. It's a nice little unit, lots of features. Will post some pics ASAP.

Thanks RedSector and everyone else!

RedSector · 12-25-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by prof_porridge

Well, I got it working.

I didn't have a 48v power supply, but the small print in the manual specifies that the voltage has to be between 24 and 60 volts, so I figured that the power must be heavily regulated when it gets to the unit. I took a 24 v wall wart , hacked off the plug, and hooked it up to the correct pairs that I had hacked off an ethernet cable. Plugged it all in and was pleasantly surprised by the flashing of green lights. It took me a while to figure out how to reset the thing to the default settings but once I did I could log into the unit with my browser and set it up. It's a nice little unit, lots of features. Will post some pics ASAP.

Thanks RedSector and everyone else!

Glad to hear its working fine. I am looking foward to seeing the pics

RedSector · 12-25-2004

Neat!
Though you might want to post links to the images rather than attach them, lest you want a mod to come unleashes his wrath. (http://netstumbler.org/showpost.php?...69&postcount=2)

wrzwaldo · 12-25-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by prof_porridge

Here's some screens from the setup utility
...

Here's some grainy webcam pics of the hack job I did on the cables and the unit itself
...

Not only are they grainy/shit quality, they are almost 200K in size!

Time for you to read up on the rules...

http://www.netstumbler.org/showpost....69&postcount=2

Note: I was able to cut image13 down to 45K (is 202K as you attached it) with no loss of quality (not that there was any to begin with).

All attached images = 633 KB!

Thorn · 12-25-2004

prof_porridge,
READ the Rules. Pull that crap again, and you''e out.

12-22-2004	#1 (permalink)
prof_porridge Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5	Wireless Bridge info needed I bought a lot of electronics at an auction and included was a 'Cisco Aironet 350 Wireless Bridge'. I looked it up at Cisco's site and it seems to be capable of working as an AP as well as a bridge. I have a few questions - -What is a wireless bridge, and what use does it have? -This unit came without a power supply, but there is no power plug either, just the words 'inline power ethernet' beside the network jack. I assume this is POE - so how do I power this guy? - There are two antenna jacks, a left and a right. Why? Do I need both? Thanks guys

12-22-2004	#3 (permalink)
RedSector Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 673	You'll need a PoE injector http://www.netgate.com/product_info....3e66d4602adf23 You can probably find one that's cheaper on ebay The 350 has RP-TNC connectors. A antenna is required. I don't know how it would preform with a single antenna, however I assume it would preform poorly. I would buy two, unless diversity can be disabled. Good find though. Cisco 350s are quite nice. __________________ Get thine ass into the Church The Church of Wifi Last edited by RedSector : 12-22-2004 at 01:22 AM.

12-22-2004	#4 (permalink)
prof_porridge Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5	Thanks RedSector, you seem to know the unit well. Have you set one up before? I can't imagine it would be too dificult to homebrew a POE myself... It shouldn't involve much more than hacking a cable, right? Has anyone here attempted this before? Are the pinouts hard to find? (http://www.google.com/search?q=how+d...or+a+cisco+350 right?) edit: Damn, i was being a smartass with that link but it actually took me to a good site. Last edited by prof_porridge : 12-22-2004 at 01:36 AM. Reason: should have checked first

12-22-2004	#10 (permalink)
RedSector Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 673	Yup I think its a 352 too. Best of luck getting it up and working. __________________ Get thine ass into the Church The Church of Wifi

12-25-2004	#13 (permalink)
RedSector Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 673	Neat! Though you might want to post links to the images rather than attach them, lest you want a mod to come unleashes his wrath. (http://netstumbler.org/showpost.php?...69&postcount=2) __________________ Get thine ass into the Church The Church of Wifi

12-22-2004	#2 (permalink)
wrzwaldo I amuse you? Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 9,147	http://www.google.com/search?q=What+...ireless+bridge

12-22-2004	#7 (permalink)
prof_porridge Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5	Well, that ebay item doesn't seem to be appropriate for the 350. it says "The Regulated outputs are + 5V and + 12V" but the back of the 350 says this needs 48 volts DC. If I could find a 48 V power supply somewhere it shouldn't be too hard to get this thing working.

12-22-2004	#9 (permalink)
prof_porridge Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5	Looking at that last link you posted (thanks for tracking that down btw) I don't think that the power supply is included, so I would still need to find a 48 v supply somewhere. In a moment of weakness i opened the case and was surprised to see a pcmcia card attached to a circuit board! The card is totally unlabelled, but has two antenna connectors which have pigtails leading to the antenna jacks. There are also 2 leds on the card (which would not be visible from outside the enclosure). My guess is that the card is an Aironet 352 PC Card . I'm going to check out Cisco's own site to see if I can order a power supply direct from them.

12-25-2004	#11 (permalink)
prof_porridge Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5	Well, I got it working. I didn't have a 48v power supply, but the small print in the manual specifies that the voltage has to be between 24 and 60 volts, so I figured that the power must be heavily regulated when it gets to the unit. I took a 24 v wall wart , hacked off the plug, and hooked it up to the correct pairs that I had hacked off an ethernet cable. Plugged it all in and was pleasantly surprised by the flashing of green lights. It took me a while to figure out how to reset the thing to the default settings but once I did I could log into the unit with my browser and set it up. It's a nice little unit, lots of features. Will post some pics ASAP. Thanks RedSector and everyone else!

12-25-2004	#15 (permalink)
Thorn Did you do the math? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Villa Straylight Posts: 10,361	prof_porridge, READ the Rules. Pull that crap again, and you''e out. __________________ Thorn "Read Altas Shrugged. Compare it to today. Repeat as necessary"

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