Remote Radarbox with Lantronix Ubox.

[belgianguy]

Hi all,

A few weeks ago, i got interested in the Ubox of Lantronix after a question from GlynH in the forum here. Because of the long distance between the ideal antenna position and my computer I wanted to find a solution to connect my Radarbox in the neighbourhood of my antenna and still be able to use my computer downstairs in the livingroom. It  was very difficult to place a cable from the attic to my computer and the length would be around 30 meters i guess. Maybe a little more.

I ordered a Ubox 2100. With this device you can connect a usb-device through your local network to a computer. With the special software of the Ubox, a usb-device acts like it is connected directly to your computer.

Next problem was that I still needed to have a network cable from the attic to my livingroom.
There was D-Link with a solution. The DHP-300 Powerline 200 Mbits HD Ethernet Adapter.
On the picture you can see how all is connected.

The DHP-300 is pluged in to a 230V outlet on the attic.
In my livingroom, a second DHP-300 is also pluged in to a 230V outlet and is then connected to my wireless router.

Now with the Ubox and the DHP-300, my radarbox is connected to my wireless network and even with good weather, I can sit in my garden and connect my laptop through the wireless network and enjoy the traffic above my head.

At the moment my radarbox is still connected to the standard antenna and it's placed on the attic.
You can see the result on the screenshot taken this morning.

Next thing will be an external antenna.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Tallyho]

Couldn't you just use a wireless USB hub to do the same thing?
Single box instead of two.
Something like this....
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?f5l009uk

Don't know but it appears to do the same thing as your two boxes.

[belgianguy]

No, i couldn't because the range of a wireless USB hub is maximum 10 meter so this wouldn't be enough for me. You could compare it like a wireless mouse. The wireless USB box is connected to the router by a cable, not wireless, and there is a wireless connection with the USB device but as I told already, the range is maximum 10 meters.

The Ubox has it's own ip address so it is even possible to access the radarbox via internet if you like. This would not be possible with a wireless usb hub.

[Tallyho]

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=356042

This wireless hub is not connected to the router via an ethernet cable but it does have the 30'  or 10 meter restriction on range that you mention but that may be OK for some people.

I am just looking ot put my RB up in the loft to maximise reception range so it should be OK for me (less than 30' away from my computer).

I may work out the cost of your solution to see if it is cheaper though.

[Deadcalm]

Belgianguy, I'm guessing that you're resident in Belgium.  If so, have you details of suppliers of both the D-link and Lantronics products in continental Europe, please?

DC

[belgianguy]

@Deadcalm

I sended you PM

[doro]

Belgianguy, I'm guessing that you're resident in Belgium.  If so, have you details of suppliers of both the D-link and Lantronics products in continental Europe, please?

DC

Me to please ;)

[rogerl]

It looks like some people have had success using the (expensive) Ubox but I was wondering if anyone has had any success with any other Ethernet USB hub devices and could report it so we could form a compatibility list.

I have just tried using the Maplin "4-Port USB Network Server" and have to report it is incompatible.

Initially you can connect to the Radarbox and all looks good, but after a couple of minutes the signal light stops flashing and a minute or two later the USB light stops and the updates fail. The Radarbox software reports the device as still connected but there is no activity.

Can anyone else list device they have tries and whether or not they worked?

[tarbat]

I recently tested this USB over ethernet connection software.
http://www.eltima.com/products/usb-over-ethernet/

It would work for a couple of minutes, and then fail.

[rogerl]

Interesting that this is exactly the same as I experienced with my "hardware" solution. This strongly implies the hardware itself was okay but there was an issue with the software server somewhere.

Network traffic at the time of my testing was only around 2% of the available ethernet bandwidth so there shouldn't have been any contention there.

[hofs]

I had the same distance problem between my antenna and the computer.
I simply used 85 mtr of quallity cable and a good amplifier and from the place where i live (Doetinchem in the Netherlands) i can see all the traffic from the middle of the UK to the middle of France and the half of Germany.
So think about a good external antenna.

[CoastGuardJon]

Hi Hofs, what antenna and pre-amp or mast-head amp are you using please?

[hofs]

Hello
I am using a GP 1090 Groundplane antenna € 80.-   on top of a 24mtr antenna mast.
On the top of the mast i use a AS1090 amplefier  and just behind the radar box  the AS1090 BT power supply. together € 175.-
To connect the antenna to the radarbox i use  coax aircell -7  € 1,70 per mtr.
For the communication i use 2 ubc 785xlt and 1 ubc 9000 xlt with a jim m-75 amplifier  connected to the antenna with aircom coax.
My computer is connected to two screens so i can see all the info on one screen and the radar on the other screen. Everything works very well .
So i am a very happy radarbox user.
Greetings FRED HOFS

[anorak]

Hi All, Ihave an Acer 9423 laptop through Netgear WiFi and a Belkin USB hub , it don`t work either. Everything works fine till I turn on the RB, then after an undefined period I get a blue screen error crash, so I sit in the back room like Billy Nomates watching my RB on my own.
I`m just going to order a SJ1090 aerial and Westflex 103 cable to put outside, http://www.ssejim.co.uk/26-sseads1090sj.htm
Iwould be glad to have any thoughts or advice please, and I`ll feed back the results.

[CoastGuardJon]

Hi Fred, many thanks for the info..   Have you tried the JIM M-75 with the RadarBox antenna supply, if so, how did it perform.   24M mast, you're lucky - I'll be lucky if I don't get the local council complaining about the discone and the others!