Wi-Fi on X-treme

[Ned Ferguson]

Hi all,
I have a new tracker X-treme with Wi-Fi. I set it up to connect to my WEP encrypted router. It says it is connected, displays signal strength, and I can connect to the internet via Internet Explorer. The subnet mask and IP address looks ok. (It is assigned by DHCP)

However, in the nework tab, none of the computers on my network is displayed. On my PC, I cannot "see" the tracker either.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[Darcy Detlor]

Hi there,

You are into the "black magic" of Windows Networking. The display of the network computers is determined by the master browser on the network. Once the master browser picks up the Xtreme, it will appear on the list of computers.

[Ned Ferguson]

Darcy,
I've got to believe there is more to it than that. I have left the tracker on for hours while it is connected to my network and still cannot get it to communicate. My laptop, on the other hand (also wireless), shows up in a few seconds. I have also tried forcing a connection by "searching for computers" using the device name. Still no luck. Device not found.

Any other ideas?

[Ned Ferguson]

It has taken me a few days to get around to messing with this but I now have it figured out. I was under the mistaken impression that this device would network using windows networking services just like any other computer. Wrong.

When establishing a wireless connection you must first realize that you will still be using active sync. After that it becomes clearer. Certain rules must be observed, the first of which is a partnership must be established with the desired PC via a serial or usb connection before attempting to connect wirelessly. Otherwise the wireless connection will not work. Once I did that everything went smoothly.

Here are some other rules: source

There are a few ethernet sync "gotcha's" that most people will have to encounter... the most common are;

1 - You MUST first establish an activesync "partnership" using usb, serial or ir communications before an ethernet connection is possible.

2 - "Allow Ethernet Connections" must be enabled in the PC's activesync setup.

3 - An Ethernet activesync connection must always be "initiated" by the PPC using Start/Connections/Activesync. In other words, when you make an ethernet connection with the PPC it will not automatically activate activesync in the same manner that connecting a ppc to a pc with a serial or usb connection will.

[Note: Actually, on the Tracker, it is Start>>Programs>>Communication>>PC Link Remote]

Before you press "Connect" confirm that "Network Connection" and the name of the sync computer is showing.

[camte]

networking a device such as the tracker is really not hard, the trick is to know what the names of your devices are and to forget about using the networked office to find the tracker, you must use the tracker to find the network (thanks a lot microsoft). all you need to do is share a folder in the laptop with a really obvious name ie: tracker jobs. then on the tracker with the wifi connected type the name of the laptop in the address bar as such, \\name this will display any shared folders on the laptop. this also works for servers and any other public areas that you may have on your network. also, the way to find the name of the computer is to right click on Mycomputer (cant be a shortcut, look in the start menu) go to properties and one of the tabs is computer name. I have been using the wireless network to sync my tracker for some time as it is much faster than active sync. hope this helps, cam

[Ned Ferguson]

camte,

Just tried your solution. It worked beautifully. Thanks.