XL wifi programming

[ElroyJetson]

Looking for a little additional information here. I've got my XL-185P set up to connect to wifi, finally. I've configured RPM2 for wifi. But it's not discovering the radio yet. Yes I get an IP address on the radio so it is connecting.

What I don't knwo is if either of the two mission plans in the radio are enabled for wifi programming.

I don't yet have a programming cable for first read. I was hoping that it'd be readable via wifi just as it sits now. But apparently I'm not that lucky.

Can the programming of the radio keep the radio from being discovered over wifi?

 

[conversefeed]

This should get you up and running.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Why did Harris have to decide to build these radios with an uncommon wifi configuration? I'm using a dinosaur of an access point to connect to it and having issues configuring it with its ancient software. But it supports mDNS specifically which is what it needs to have.

 

[TDR-94]

Because they can.

 

[ElroyJetson]

Because somebody smokes crack, more likely?

 

[TDR-94]

Because somebody smokes crack, more likely?

I won't go into details but, some of their engineers have been known to dabble......

 

[sbk1982]

I have one of these configured. Actually just set it up last week. No issues.

Amazon.com

 

[BMDaug]

Why did Harris have to decide to build these radios with an uncommon wifi configuration? I'm using a dinosaur of an access point to connect to it and having issues configuring it with its ancient software. But it supports mDNS specifically which is what it needs to have.

It’s actually quite standard for (well-designed) devices manufactured in the last decade. It’s the same technology that lets Windows discover your wireless printer without manually typing an IP address. DNS simply points a ‘name’ to an IP address. The best example of this is evident in how we all use the internet. We enter “www.radioreference.com” and the Domain Name Server directs you to the IP address where RR is hosted. It’s essentially a phone book… you look up the name of the person you want to call and the phone book tells you the number to dial.

mDNS allows this to happen automatically on a local network without having to run a local name server. It also allows the IP addresses to be assigned dynamically (DHCP) without breaking the association between host name and IP address. This allows all devices on a given network to acquire an IP address automatically, and for a name association (host) to be made, without explicitly being configured by a systems administrator.

I run an eero system at the house and I didn’t need to do anything configuration-wise… I just entered the Wi-Fi credentials into RPM, loaded the mission plan with the cable, power cycled into Wi-Fi programming mode, and it connected and subsequently showed up in RPM. After it connected to the network, I went ahead and added an IP reservation for the 200P in the eero configuration, which I do for all important devices that will regularly connecting to the network. This way, the IP address becomes predictable.

I’m not sure why you are having the issues you are having, but it’s really not an uncommon configuration… You are clicking the Wi-Fi button on the radio tab in RPM2 right?

Good luck!

-B

P.S. @sbk1982 thanks for the link! That’s super handy to have on hand and it’s cheap too!

 

[ElroyJetson]

I'm about to beat this Linksys POS into grandust. (see who gets the reference...) SOMETIMES I can make the radio see it. SOMETIMES I can even have the PC connected and have an internet connection at the same time. And sometimes...neither.

I'm asking again, because I didn't get a straight answer and still don't know this: Can the programming in the radio keep the radio from being discovered via the wifi discovery process in RPM2?
Yes I'm clicking the wifi button and in preferences have also selected wifi as default rather than USB or serial.

That is not addressed in the offered document.
I also apparently need to find a much newer version of the Linksys configuration software (I have 2.1) or just ditch it for a router that is verified good, like that 30 dollar yellow one. (But I don't have an amazon account, and WILL NOT.)

 

[ElroyJetson]

If you've got a library of feature strings collected from radios that have been feature upgraded, would you please PM me? I've got a question...

 

[BMDaug]

I do not believe that the mission plan has anything to do with the radio being discovered if you are entering the Wi-Fi credentials from the front panel in Wi-Fi programming mode. I can test this on my next day off, which is Friday. I don’t have enough time at the bench until then.

I’ve had several linksys routers over the years and at least one of them started working as you describe. My MO used to be: wake up in the morning, reset the router, go to work, get home, reset the router, cook and eat dinner, reset the router, go to bed, repeat… I even had it on a lamp timer for a while…

If you've got a library of feature strings collected from radios that have been feature upgraded, would you please PM me? I've got a question...

What radio? The focus of this thread is the XL line, which does not use feature strings…

-B

 

[ElroyJetson]

Any newer radio that is Phase II capable...

 

[wa8pyr]

I have one of these configured. Actually just set it up last week. No issues.

Amazon.com

When you use it to program radios, do you connect to the outside world, or just use it as a standalone?

 

[nikronzo]

Ok no offense, but these radios were designed for Public Safety users who have real radio shops with real networks and real tools which include cables for every radio they support. Harris and every other manufacturer don't fricken care about you or any other hump that has one radio and wants to avoid cables.

I get you're frustrated that it's not working perfectly, but until you get your cable, it's going to continue to be problematic until you can program in a mission plan that has wifi settings that are customized for your network specifically.

 

[nikronzo]

And as for sharing ESNs and strings, most folks I know aren't in the habit of sharing those because they do have value and they dont want their personally owned radios whose actual ESN belongs to them floating around on someone else's radio.

and ESN's are now irrelevant on the XL line because of this exact chicanery that is going on with sharing them!!!

Harris is no different than Motorola when someone cracks or finds a way to defeat their process for protecting internal features, they release a new method that is more difficult to break.

 

[Monocle209]

Woah? Wifi on Radios now? That's pretty cool. Wonder what all you can do with it.

 

[GTR8000]

Woah? Wifi on Radios now? That's pretty cool. Wonder what all you can do with it.

Not really a new thing. The Motorola APX 8000 had Wi-Fi back in 2015 when it was released, and today nearly all APX subscribers feature Wi-Fi or integrated LTE. It can be used for programming or to extend the reach of the LMR system where there is no RF coverage by connecting back to the system through the public internet.

 

[KevinC]

Not really a new thing. The Motorola APX 8000 had Wi-Fi back in 2015 when it was released, and today nearly all APX subscribers feature Wi-Fi or integrated LTE. It can be used for programming or to extend the reach of the LMR system where there is no RF coverage by connecting back to the system through the public internet.

And I was programming my fist APX7000 via BT back in 2012 or so. But this isn’t a bash Harris thread (unlike all the bash MSI threads 😁).

 

[BMDaug]

And I was programming my fist APX7000 via BT back in 2012 or so. But this isn’t a bash Harris thread (unlike all the bash MSI threads 😁).

The 100P had Bluetooth programming around that same time too, but the Wi-Fi is definitely faster and more reliable. The biggest problem with BT is getting a bunch of devices to pair with the computer at once, not reliably programming once connected… Now, L3H doesn’t even support Bluetooth programming with XL radios. BT is relegated to audio devices like SCBA masks and RSMs. Unity radios were the only Harris products to include BT programming abilities.

I don’t have a problem using /\/\ radios, I just don’t prefer their business/software/upgrade model and people love to root for the underdog!

-Brian

 

[mmckenna]

The new L3Harris radios will also use the LTE and WiFi to create a hot spot. "Worlds most expensive WiFi hotspot" I think someone here recently called it.