Photo of V2 POE for the WET11 
Kevin Custer W3KKC kuggie at kuggie dot com
Am looking for a low cost, *reliable* wireless point to point bridge and just wondering how stable is the WET11?
Is there a version to avoid? a version to use?
Short distance, 802.11b single point to single point wireless bridge in an area with virtually no 2.4ghz interference.
thanks,
sunworks (at) smig *dot* net
Note (1/13/06): A person posted midway down the page: "...I found the schematics to the WET11 on the net...", but he/she neglected to include a link, or their own contact-info. A google-search has not turned up the WET11 schematics so far. Will that poster PLEASE update this page to include an FTP link for the schematics? thank you so much!
The Linksys WET 11 is a Wireless Ethernet Bridge but it functions well as a client adapter also.
- - The wet11 now comes in two flavors, wet11 v1 or v2 - v1 uses intersil prism chipset and can be upgraded by replacing the pcmcia card - v2 uses the agere hermes2 chipset which is built into the board and IS NOT upgradeable (v2 is in the new cisco/linksys packaging) - i have many problems with the WET11, Version 1 work OK but sometimes they have a error in the firmware, if you flash it new it will work again, Version 2 make more problems, only Firmware 2.08 would work stable, but somtimes after flash the Bridge the Bridge hang and will no response, than you only can send it back, or program the Ubicom Chip directly but if you do that you lost the warrany
i think the new WET11 V2 makes to much problems, and it is better you buy another bridge
Connector: RP-SMA
Price: $95 - $130
Power: 18.5dbm, 71mw.
Antenna: the stock antenna is rated at 5dBi of gain, which boosts the effective power output to ~20dBm or 100mw.
Schematic from the FCC info page
Sources:
Notes
You can attach the WET 11 to your computer (Client mode), or your existing Ethernet switch/hub, using standard Ethernet Cat 5 cable and by setting the convenient toggle switch to run in "cross over" or "straight through" mode. If you use it in "Client" mode it functions similar to a USB client adapter but your cable can be up to 300 feet long.
NoCatter Bruce Matson is analyzing the WET 11 in various ways. This is his first effort in which he examines packet dumps from and over the WET 11 as it responds to ICMP echo requests. This is part of Bruce's effort to determine why the WET 11 has trouble with DHCP requests: http://nocat.net/wet11/wet_ping.html
More from Bruce Matson on the WET 11 front. Here he has packet dumps of the WET 11 in response to DHCP requests: http://nocat.net/wet11/wet_dhcp.html
You can replace the stock PCMCIA Bromax card inside the WET11 with the Senao/Engenius NL-2511 Plus EXT2 for better receive sensitivity. When I did this, my WET11 status page indicated a jump of 20 points on the Link Quality indicator. I'm using the Bromax card that came out of the WET11 in my laptop (anyone know what chipset it uses? Prism 2.5 windows driver? linux driver? Drivers, utility and firmware for the old Bromax card can be found at demarctech.com under 200mw card...of course it's not 200mw, but they work!) ...inserted a 2.1 inch long, very small gauge wire into the mmcx connector for an antenna.
I updated firmware in the WET11 and Senao card before swapping. Also updated the Bromax card using DemarcTech firmware. Apparently some WISPs have been doing this to increase range...learned it from the WISP forum at BroadbandReports http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/dslalt MrMitt
There is an interesting hack on Wireless-Fr about a WET11 coupled with a tin can. This allows to place the antenna on a good spot while powering the device with PoE. Ofcourse, you don't need to use all those connectors. It is in French, but there are nice pics. There are also links to pages showing the inside of the beast.
I don't know if this counts as a hack, or stupidity, but I managed to use a WET11 as an access point by putting it into infrastructure mode. I had three notebooks, all in infrastructure mode, talking through the WET11 to an ethernet WAN.
One can also use the WET11 stand alone with AA batteries to test antennas (or possible spots). So, you can send your little brother on his bike on the other side of the lake to get some long shots. (While there is a strange phenomenon with the signal stability on the upper channels. See the plots at the (near) bottom of this page)
Linksys WET11 is not compatible with GEMBIRD switch.
Attaching a parabolic reflector can eliminate signal from some areas while enhancing signal in other areas. See WET11 template link near bottom of this web page http://osiris.urbanna.net/antenna_designs/projects/template/
I've been looking at the web admin system for the WET-11 and it seems to use JavaScript to do most of the processing of information, status.html requests two javascript files that seem to be encoded sections of the WET-11's ram. The reason I know this is because I wanted my WET11 to be accessable from my lan's web page. -Kyle Kienapfel
http://acelere.net/notes/wet11.html
Power Over Ethernet?
The WET11 is built with POE built in unfortunately this is disabled because a diode and resister are missing. In particular D12 and R26. There is another capaciter missing (C45) but I don't think it effects POE. The missing diode allows current from the ethernet cable through but doesn't allow current from the plug to pass into the ethernet cable. You can replace this with a bit of wire, but if you ever plug your power socket in when there is an ethernet cable connected it will send 5 volts down the cable. A bad thing. From the datasheet this diode is a 1N4002-S. The resister provides a link between the ethernet cable ground and the WET11's ground. I couldn't read it off the datasheet, but I've looked at the FFC info page and I think its 75ohms. I imagine its alright to replace this with a link tho.
Step-by-step POE article for WET-11: http://www.pectol.com/WET11/wet11_poe.html
I chopped up a usb cable from an unused device, bought a cheap adapt. end that fit the wet11 and powered it over USB. As my wet11 is my only wireless card, this comes in very handy when using it with a laptop. No batteries or extra power cable needed.
The POE hack above is nice! Here is a way to make it better! I found the schematics to the WET11 on the net. D12 is supposed to be a 1N4002 Rectifier (Diode) rated at 1A/100V. R26 is shown as NC (Not Connected) so just solder a wire across like the hack above. The Diode is put there to prevent a reverse polarity situation if the POE is wired wrong. I also looked up the switching regulator used in the WET11. The regulator can take an input of 40 Volts!, but the filter capacitors around it can't. If you keep the voltage under 18 volts you will have no problems.
I've just successfully (I hope) completed the PoE hack on a Version 2 WET11. This is the one using the Agere chip and is Cisco branded on the case. Otherwise it looks the same as the V1. The hack is basically the same except there are no pads for you to solder wires to. So, on the reverse of the PCB I soldered a 1N4002S diode between pins 4 and 5 of the RJ45 and the +ve pin of the DC in socket (cathode - denoted by the bar on the diode - nearest the DC socket). I bridged the pcb track between pins 4 and 5 with the lead of the diode. This requires a steady hand and some fine soldering. I also put insulation on the diode leads. I then connected pins 7 and 8 to the -ve pin of the DC in socket. I used a pair of wires from an RJ45 cable connect one to pin 7 and one to pin 8 and then connected the other ends to the DC socket. I also managed to bridge pins 7 and 8 with solder for a 'better job'.
Can anyone tell me what the cap is supposed to bet @ C34? is it the same as C36? mine went poof during a recent lightning storm.
thanks, GJC
Writing another firmware?
The v.1 WET11 is equiped with a functional SPI bus connector. It is possible to up/download software via the parallel port of a PC with this SPI Driver using a simple cable (with no extra electronics). The GNU tools (gcc and binutils) are able to generate IP2022 code. The IP2022 datasheets and a user's manual are available too. I am not very far in the exploration, but I started a kind of 'blog' on http://ReseauCitoyen.be (French). So far, I've been able to (kind of) disassemble the original code and upload some code in the 'program ram' to flicker the leds. An early version of this 'very experimental' program is in BidouilleWet11-v0.01.tgz (communication/disassembling; no upload yet, but soon). Maybe there is still a long way to go, but is doesn't seem impossible (as the orinoco.c driver works with the WET11 wifi card and that it is not impossible to find Wifi chips 'programming manuals'). What I like with this device is that it is (/should be) cheap and the electrical consumption is (/should be) low (and should work for a long time on batteries :SourcePortable/hack45-3)
Netstumbler for the WET11
Well, almost: A cut and paste from http://forums.netstumbler.com/showthread.php?p=76195#post76195
A "stumbler" for Linksys WET11.
Download it here: http://www.djchrisle.com/wet11/wetstumbler.zip
about: I was lucky enough to get a Linksys WET11 to play with, but couldn't find any way to use it as a "stumbler." You can use the little internal web interface, but you have to hit F5 a bunch of times.
So, I wrote this little app that would do everything for you. It's not a stumbler per-se -- It doesn't interface with a GPS system. It will however do a site survey every 2.5 seconds, and display what it finds in a window. There's a lot of things I'd like to add to it later... but it might useful to someone as it is. Besides, this is only a day's worth of code. Think of it as "proof of concept".
Some things you need to know: 1. It uses WGET to download stuff, and the installer is supposed to copy WGET.EXE to your SYSTEM32 windows directory.
2. It's currently hardcoded with the login/password "admin/admin". That's on the todo list.
3. Tested on Windows XP /w Linksys WET11, firmware V 1.5.4....
4. To use it, just type in the IP address of the WET11 and click the survey button. And it will refresh itself every 2.5 seconds.
ItWorksForMe (tm) but if you have problems with it, let me know, I'll see if I can fix it in the next round. If it WorksForYouToo (tm).. enjoy.
Chris.
Disclaimer: You won't hold me accountable for any of your actions.
Hardware Hack: WeatherProofing and POE
Found myself in the need for a power over ethernet installation along with the need for a outdoor water-tight/weatherproof enclosure for my Linksys WET11 Version-1.0. So here you have it, the project box that will let you keep your wireless bridge outside but also hidden from the elements that may cause it to short circuit. For this application, I used a standard PVC WeatherProof box that is 4"Wx4"Dx4"L that you can commonly find at your local LOWES/ Home-Depot, which worked very well for this application as you can see. Secondly, I went on ebay and picked up a breezecom/breezenet power over ethernet module. Which in turn not only gives you the 5volts to power the WET11 but also a second 12Volt DC Plug for future upgrades to Amplify the unit.
Here are my contributions to the WET11 Hacking/Modification project
Regards, sir-hoax@efnet (irc) Wireless Photo Gallery
