Resolved by thetechguru!
First question and problem: I think the intent is to be able to connect up to 5 EZB's through ARC. However I've hit a wall trying to connect ARC to two V4 EZB's when they are in AP (Access Point) mode. Using my laptop I've followed directions and connected ARC to the first V4 after establishing a wireless connection through the "Wireless Network Connection" icon on my Win 7 Taskbar. Then when I try to connect wirelessly to the second V4 EZB I lose the wireless connection to the first. My laptop will only let me have more then one wireless connection at a time. What am I missing here?
Second question and problem: With both V4's in Client mode and the Green light blinking (the voice says she's attached to my network), I can only have one EZB powered up at a time and have a successful search of my router for a IP address. If both are powered up and attached to the network ARC cant find an address. Is this normal? I've watched the tutorial several times.
Third Problem: For two nights now after the laptop and robot are powered down the second EZB entry in ARC will not connect to the second EZB board. I have to push the network reset button on EZB and redo the IP search in client mode.
@Jeremie, there is already a 1/2 inch of polycarbonate plastic and 1/4 inch acrylic between the EZB and aluminum plate. That's a lot of plastic. However I do have screws run down into the plate a all over the place holding all the other equipment down. I guess I could pull that EZB off the robot to see if it makes a difference.
@d.cochran, I found a little time this evening to grab mine and my wife's cell phone and do the test you mentioned. I walked around the robot in a 5 foot radius with them and even stuck them inside the shelfs where I have the EZB's mounted. With my phone my varied in signal strength from good to fair and even dropped out a few times and I had to reconnect to the network. With my wife's phone I had good to excellent signal strength. Go figure. I have one of the newer motorola electrify's and my wife has one of the newer Samsung Galaxy's.
I guess my next step is to get the router closer to B9.
@Dave I'm not really concerned with the amount of plastic but rather the EZ-B's position in relation to the metal plates inside your robot. I was just thinking if you could position the lower EZ-B somewhere half way between the two metal plates and the upper EZ-B further off the top plate you may be able to get better signal strength getting to the EZ-Bs.
I do like the WiFi repeater idea though, those are getting popular these days.
Here's a video for connecting two EZ-B's to my Wi-Fi network via Client Mode. Dave, you might need to upgrade your router... Or, you can easily mount a cheap router in the robot
They usually run on only 5 volts.
Thanks for the tutorial on this...
@DJ, thanks so much for taking time out of your very busy day to do this video. I'm touched that you care about helping.I'll certainly keep that open as an option. I never once thought that this is the fault of the V4 or a design flaw. Seeing your two EZB's sitting so close and connecting is confirmation that the problem is in my setup. Now the question is; Is the failure to connect to the second EZB the fault of all the aluminum I've built my robot out of or my geriatric router.
@Jeremie, OK, I understand now where your coming from. I'll raise the First EZB or move it completely away from the robot to see the effect. I should have some extra time now over the next few days to play and test.
I just want to say I'm not in the least bummed or angry. Like I said above I know it's got something to do with my set up. I just need to find the right way to either work this new technology into my robot so it works or get the proper equipment that will let it work. I'm actually enjoying this trailblazing. Being one of the first to get a V4 EZB I figure every bump I hit now will that I can work out will help someone down the road that cones upon the same issue.
Happy building!
I really feel the best option is to get a cheap "newer" router and mount it in the robot. That way, your EZ-B's will connect to it and your laptop/phone/etc... It will be a little portable hotspot with Wi-Fi security
I bought a dlink router for my home a few weeks ago for $34 and it runs on 5 volts DC
You can elevate your router and see if it is getting better signal from the router to your robot
OK, I made a few changes this evening:
I moved the wireless router into the basement and within 10 feet of B9 with only one wall between them.
I removed the top EZB from the top shelf of the robot and elevated it about 4" above the shelf. The lower EZB is sitting about 3 feet away from the robot.
I reset both EZB's and then reset them into client mode and power cycled. After the power cycle each reported it was "connected to my network". I then made sure each's "Connect/Disconnect" button showed "Connect"
Next I did a Scan on Board "0". This is the first time I was able to get both IP addresses appear in a scan without having one of the boards powered down. This is a huge deal! When I did a scan to assign board "1" the same two IP addresses popped up and I was able to assign the 2nd board. This Is great progress!
I've powered down everything for the night and I'll see if it holds overnight. In the past I've been able to get both boards connected but only by having one powered at a time. The next morning I always couldn't connect to a second board.
Now I still don't know if it's an interference problem because of having the top EZB mounted near the aluminum plate or a signal strength issue. If all is still OK tomorrow I'll start reversing my changes to see when things go wrong.