Wi-Fi Support Update Released

[NYRHKY94]

Guruuno:

Thanks for the correction on the VLC helper (from Hobbyist Software) not being required after all for the iPhone/iPad. I had incorrectly posted earlier that was needed, but you are correct! Jay911: I like your suggestion about a supported RTSP client list. So far, VLC is the only one I can get to connect using the RTSP protocol. I tried Quicktime & Real Player and could not get either of them to connect. My favorite player WinAmp would not work either.

Thanks - Mike

 

[fpo701]

Mike,

I ran into the same list you did. No luck with mplayer, winamp, wmp, Media Player Classic, RealPlayer.

I'm still not having any luck connecting audio from outside my local network. I've even gone as far as watching network traffic over WireShark. Hopefully, Uniden will get us some instructions for route setup to allow remote connections.

I did manage to get VLC to assign a few of its used ports consistently. Here's how:
1) open VLC
2) select the Tools->Preferences menu item
3) in the lower left corner, select "all" under Show Settings
4) under Input / Codecs -> Demuxers -> RTP/RTSP, the second setting is "client port"

"client port" is defaulted to -1. This tells VLC to connect over any port. I have mine now set to 8110. This means that two of the ports VLC is not using are 8110 and 8111.

At this point, I don't know what I just described is noise or not. If it turns out to not help, there's always the "reset preferences" button to undo what I just did. Who knows? Maybe it will help someone else.

 

[rcool101]

The reason we are asking those questions is because in your initial post, you are talking about Device Manager on your computer and also the Wifi not connected message on your scanner...

When you connect your dongle to your computer, you wrote that in Device Manager, it says "unknown device"... is it showing under Ports (COM & LPT) ?

COM 4 is all...Thats my GRE 600.....unknown device with the yellow triangle is under Universal Serial Bus Controllers

 

[rcool101]

rcool101, people are trying to help you - please show a little respect. I know you're frustrated, but being angry at those who are offering assistance is not going to get you anywhere.

What I would do if I were in your situation right now is:

- plug the dongle into the computer
- go to device manager and highlight the device that appeared when you plugged in the dongle
- hit the Del key on your keyboard. On the popup that comes up, if there is a checkbox for 'remove driver software' check it, and in any case hit OK.
- remove dongle from the computer

While I've been typing this, MikeOxlong has basically said the rest of the steps I was going to suggest. Redownload the firmware updater and firmware file, and try starting over. Like MikeOxlong says, you may have to try pushing the older 5.01 firmware in first.

Sorry Jay..Frustration Yes... Angry no....Did everything and reapplied . BC WIFI updater shows COM 4 only and nothing in the firmware box. .....The box that comes up when ever dongle is plugged in to PC is....USB Device Not Recognized. One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned and Windows blah blah blah. You don't think this dongle is bad do you? I'll keep digging. I know somebody that just bought a used 536 with no dongle. I'll see if he wants to play with it

 

[Jay911]

Sorry Jay..Frustration Yes... Angry no....Did everything and reapplied . BC WIFI updater shows COM 4 only and nothing in the firmware box. .....The box that comes up when ever dongle is plugged in to PC is....USB Device Not Recognized. One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned and Windows blah blah blah. You don't think this dongle is bad do you? I'll keep digging. I know somebody that just bought a used 536 with no dongle. I'll see if he wants to play with it

If you completely uninstalled the dongle (removed the drivers), rebooted, and reinstalled it complete with the drivers that are downloaded from this page, and you have tried a different USB port, and if possible, a different computer, and nothing makes it work, it sounds like the dongle is defective.

 

[dispatcher812]

Has anyone gotten the VLC streamer to work on an Android type device like a Kindle Fire?

 

[rnwjr]

Yes. In my Nexus 7 and I have had no issues.

 

[BenScan]

Yes, with my Nexus 7 too, but so far, I have not been able to connect the PC and the Nexus at the same time. Seems like it may only support one device at a time, but hopefully I am wrong.

Has anyone gotten the VLC streamer to work on an Android type device like a Kindle Fire?

 

[kruser]

Yes, with my Nexus 7 too, but so far, I have not been able to connect the PC and the Nexus at the same time. Seems like it may only support one device at a time, but hopefully I am wrong.

You are not wrong.
Only one VLC type connection per dongle.

The RH control utility on the other hand can accept several connections.

Hopefully Uniden will find a better streaming method and allow more than one audio stream per device at a time when they release the real version.

 

[eaf1956]

Anybody else get a VIRUS threat on the RH 536HP program and get it deleted for WS.Reputation.1 by Norton?

 

[kruser]

Anybody else get a VIRUS threat on the RH 536HP program and get it deleted for WS.Reputation.1 by Norton?

I'm pretty sure the "Reputation" things that Norton sees are nothing more than files that not many people have used so Norton considers them suspicious.
There should be a 'reputation' setting that allows you to just have Norton warn you instead of deleting the file.
I think it can also be set to a number of users using the file and anything lower will result in the warning or deletion.

Otherwise, the RH app is fine and it is just Norton being over cautious.

 

[trido]

well for me this is what I have found,
If i have scanner in infrastructure mode then yes for iphone i had to run the CORRECT helper( i had wrong version at start) I must use helper on pc or iphone just wont find PC.
now if scanner setup with access point then no helper just direct connect to scanner from iphoine.
this both at home network and also at work I do need helper cause i have scanner infract mode

Guruuno:

Thanks for the correction on the VLC helper (from Hobbyist Software) not being required after all for the iPhone/iPad. I had incorrectly posted earlier that was needed, but you are correct! Jay911: I like your suggestion about a supported RTSP client list. So far, VLC is the only one I can get to connect using the RTSP protocol. I tried Quicktime & Real Player and could not get either of them to connect. My favorite player WinAmp would not work either.

Thanks - Mike

 

[NYRHKY94]

FYI for those that are interested, I was able to successfully stream the scanner audio over the internet using VLC. The method I used is noted below and required Port Forwarding.

Streaming BCD536HP Over The Internet Using VLC:

1. Run VLC and click on Media, then Stream in the drop down
2. Click on Network and put rtsp://192.168.1.x/au:scanner.au in the text box (make sure to use your scanner's IP in the url).
3. Click on Stream at bottom right and Stream again in the drop down. Your rtsp url will appear as the source.
4. Click next.
5. Click on File and then choose HTTP in the drop down. Click on Add.
6. The next screen will show the port to be used for streaming (default is 8080) along with a path. I left both at the default. Click Next.
7. On the Transcoding screen, change the profile to Audio - MP3. Click Next.
8. On the Option Setup screen, click Stream. See screen shot below.

NOTE: Port Forwarding of 8080 was set-up on my router and directed to the IP of the PC where VLC is running (not the scanner's IP). Once this was done, I was able to listen to the BCD536HP audio over the internet via any media player using the standard HTTP url protocol: http://routerip:8080 (IP address is the one assigned by your ISP to your router, not the PC's IP). This also allows you to access the stream on your phone/tablet using a scanner app that accepts custom url's.

FYI - The audio is "ok" (a bit tin can sounding) using this method and I have not tried any other audio configuration other than the one noted above. Your mileage may vary. It should be noted that there is also an Icecast streaming option in the drop down under step 5 above, however I could not get that method to successfully establish a connection. Someone else here probably can get that going.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Jay911]

Good workaround solution, but IMO not ideal.

I'd like to see the wifi dongle standardize on a range of ports it sends to (at least, my limited understanding of the setup makes me believe the dongle is what decides the ports to use). Those port ranges should be published as well. Perhaps that's still under construction, so to speak. Any app (i.e. Siren) will have to accommodate this, too, which could be part of the issue.

 

[BenScan]

Thanks NYRHKY94. Very good instructions, and I have mine working, and I'm able to use Windows Media Player to get to my scanner's audio over the internet(outside of my router). I'm not sure how/if I'll use it just yet, but at least it's a step forward.

 

[trido]

when i go to connect to scanner it is asking for login and password vlc i think? anything special to use?

thanks

 

[rnwjr]

Uniden times it just right!!!!

VLC for iOS Slowly Returning to App Store http://iClarified.com/47138.

 

[Voyager]

when i go to connect to scanner it is asking for login and password vlc i think? anything special to use?

thanks

It should not require either.

 

[AE7Q]

Status update: success so far!

My WiFi dongle had the 4.x firmware and of course could not hold a connection any longer than a baby can hold his ...

So, on the Uniden installation page, I skipped down to the Sentinel installation. Installed on top of the previous version, and the program would open just fine, but I could not "pin" the Windows 7 task bar button. Uninstalled and reinstalled, now I could "pin" the button.

Here, due to the cable layout in my home, I varied the procedure:

1. Turned off scanner, removed the 16GB SanDisk microSD card, and inserted in into my PC.
2. Ran Sentinel to "update" the firmware (actually, on the card).
3. Properly ejected the card from the PC and inserted it into the scanner.
4. Turned on the scanner (with the WiFi dongle already connected), and it immediately updated the scanner firmware and then (after a short delay) updated the WiFi dongle firmware. Note minor bug: while the screen remains lit during the scanner update, the background light is off during the dongle update.
5. Configured the WiFi dongle (WPA2 infrastructure), and then it successfully connected to my WiFi network.
6. Then I realized that I had configured my DHCP server to give the dongle a different IP address from the one I wanted it to have. So, I updated the DHCP configuration to specify the desired IP address, and thought I'd have to wait for the DHCP lease to the dongle to be renewed (1 hr), but in a couple minutes, the dongle picked up the new IP address, which I can ping. Based on prior history, this is a very promising sign!

Edit: It appears that the WiFi dongle is attempting to get a new IP address every 5 minutes or so, in CLEAR violation of the lease period that was issued to it (2 hrs). If that's the fix for the frequent disconnections, it is the WRONG FIX (namely, a bandaid). Furthermore, rather than doing a renewal request (like the other 20 or so devices on my network), it is requesting a new address each time (with a DHCPDISCOVER request). Of course, the DHCP server is just reissuing the same address, so everything appears to work. For now.

I have not tried the remote control software, but I will (hopefully, later today). I have little interest in monitoring the audio on my PC, so I don't intend to try that unless someone needs a test.

 

[JamesO]

when i go to connect to scanner it is asking for login and password vlc i think? anything special to use?

thanks

You sure you are not trying to connect to your router??

There should be no login or password prompt for the VLC connection that I am aware of, double check your IP address on the scanner and make sure this is the address you are using for the VLC connection and make sure you understand if you are in Infrastructure mode.

Note that the scanner should not have an IP address of xxx.xxx.xxx.001 if it is Infrastructure mode.