LinkSys WRT54GS and Power Over Ethernet

Hi,
I am going to buy a couple of LinkSys WRT54GS wireless routers to set up
an external wi-fi bridge (about 340 meters).

I will put the LinkSys routers on the roofs of the two houses and I want
to bring them the electrical power with the ethernet cable (power over
ethernet).

How can I do that?
Is there any kit I can buy?

I have another quick question: is the LinkSys power adapter
multi-standard (110 to 230 V)?

Thanks a lot.

meATprivacyDOTnet thought carefully and wrote on 10/11/2004 3:07 AM:
<snip>
> I have another quick question: is the LinkSys power adapter
> multi-standard (110 to 230 V)?

Can't answer your other questions about the WRT54GS, but my WRT54GS
plug-in type transformer/power supply is single input only.

Input - 120VAC, 60Hz, 23W.
Output - 12VDC, 1000mA.

Lance
*****

Yeah, the Screen Savers did something like that on their G4/TechTV show last
week I think. You might want to go up on their website and read their
article on it. I think they said they got it from another source and will
probably give a website for it.


"meATprivacyDOTnet" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
> I am going to buy a couple of LinkSys WRT54GS wireless routers to set up
> an external wi-fi bridge (about 340 meters).
>
> I will put the LinkSys routers on the roofs of the two houses and I want
> to bring them the electrical power with the ethernet cable (power over
> ethernet).
>
> How can I do that?
> Is there any kit I can buy?
>
> I have another quick question: is the LinkSys power adapter multi-standard
> (110 to 230 V)?
>
> Thanks a lot.

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 12:07:38 +0200, meATprivacyDOTnet <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>I am going to buy a couple of LinkSys WRT54GS wireless routers to set up
>an external wi-fi bridge (about 340 meters).

I don't thin the WRT54GS will play transparent bridge. Methinks the
WAP54G is what you probably want. If you only want to bridge one
computah, then the WRT54GS at one end, and just about anything on the
other end, will work.

>I will put the LinkSys routers on the roofs of the two houses and I want
>to bring them the electrical power with the ethernet cable (power over
>ethernet).
>
>How can I do that?
>Is there any kit I can buy?

Linksys WAPPOE
http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=582&scid=38
Note the list of supported products. I find it interesting that the
WRT54G is supported. The WAPPOE box outputs 5VDC while the Linksys
WRT54G allegedly runs on 12VDC. Well the answer is that the WRT54G
will run on just about anything between 5VDC and about 18VDC. That's
because internally, it runs on 3.3VDC and has a very nice internal
switching regulator (low dropout voltage). The original WRT54G was
supplied with a 5VDC wall wart and had a really small voltage
regulator, while later models came with 12VDC wall warts and a big
TO-220 size regulator.
http://www.linksysinfo.com/modules.p...showpage&pid=6

The wide voltage range also means that you can easily build your own
PoE contraption and tolerate quite a bit of voltage loss in the CAT5
cableing. If you can get 5VDC or more up the pole, it will work.
See:
http://www.gweep.net/%7Esfoskett/tech/poecalc.html
for calculating the losses. I think (not sure) the WRT54G uses 0.6A
at 12VDC (or about 7 watts). With a switching regulator, the power
dissipation is fairly constant, regardless of input voltage.
Therefore, at 5VDC input, the box would draw about 1.5A.

Oh yeah, how to build your own PoE adapter.
http://www.nycwireless.net/poe/

>I have another quick question: is the LinkSys power adapter
>multi-standard (110 to 230 V)?

No. Looks like different wall warts for 117 and 230VAC.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

Linksys make a POE kit for the WRT54G.
Check out
http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=47&prid=582



"meATprivacyDOTnet" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
> I am going to buy a couple of LinkSys WRT54GS wireless routers to set up
> an external wi-fi bridge (about 340 meters).
>
> I will put the LinkSys routers on the roofs of the two houses and I want
> to bring them the electrical power with the ethernet cable (power over
> ethernet).
>
> How can I do that?
> Is there any kit I can buy?
>
> I have another quick question: is the LinkSys power adapter multi-standard
> (110 to 230 V)?
>
> Thanks a lot.

I dunno about the 5VDC part and the WRT54GS. When I first set up my
WRT54GS, I tried the 5VDC supply that came with my BEFw11s4 v2 (too lazy
to untangle the cords under the desk) - didn't work, no lights.

Of course the WRT54GS did start right up when the 12VDC "wall wart"
was used.

Lance
*****

Jeff Liebermann thought carefully and wrote on 10/11/2004 9:46 AM:
> On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 12:07:38 +0200, meATprivacyDOTnet <(E-Mail Removed)>
> wrote:
>
>
>>I am going to buy a couple of LinkSys WRT54GS wireless routers to set up
>>an external wi-fi bridge (about 340 meters).
>
>
> I don't thin the WRT54GS will play transparent bridge. Methinks the
> WAP54G is what you probably want. If you only want to bridge one
> computah, then the WRT54GS at one end, and just about anything on the
> other end, will work.
>
>
>>I will put the LinkSys routers on the roofs of the two houses and I want
>>to bring them the electrical power with the ethernet cable (power over
>>ethernet).
>>
>>How can I do that?
>>Is there any kit I can buy?
>
>
> Linksys WAPPOE
> http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=582&scid=38
> Note the list of supported products. I find it interesting that the
> WRT54G is supported. The WAPPOE box outputs 5VDC while the Linksys
> WRT54G allegedly runs on 12VDC. Well the answer is that the WRT54G
> will run on just about anything between 5VDC and about 18VDC. That's
> because internally, it runs on 3.3VDC and has a very nice internal
> switching regulator (low dropout voltage). The original WRT54G was
> supplied with a 5VDC wall wart and had a really small voltage
> regulator, while later models came with 12VDC wall warts and a big
> TO-220 size regulator.
> http://www.linksysinfo.com/modules.p...showpage&pid=6
>
> The wide voltage range also means that you can easily build your own
> PoE contraption and tolerate quite a bit of voltage loss in the CAT5
> cableing. If you can get 5VDC or more up the pole, it will work.
> See:
> http://www.gweep.net/%7Esfoskett/tech/poecalc.html
> for calculating the losses. I think (not sure) the WRT54G uses 0.6A
> at 12VDC (or about 7 watts). With a switching regulator, the power
> dissipation is fairly constant, regardless of input voltage.
> Therefore, at 5VDC input, the box would draw about 1.5A.
>
> Oh yeah, how to build your own PoE adapter.
> http://www.nycwireless.net/poe/
>
>
>>I have another quick question: is the LinkSys power adapter
>>multi-standard (110 to 230 V)?
>
>
> No. Looks like different wall warts for 117 and 230VAC.
>
>

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 17:01:40 -0700, Lance <lltbhill@link_earth.net>
wrote:

>I dunno about the 5VDC part and the WRT54GS. When I first set up my
>WRT54GS, I tried the 5VDC supply that came with my BEFw11s4 v2 (too lazy
>to untangle the cords under the desk) - didn't work, no lights.
>
>Of course the WRT54GS did start right up when the 12VDC "wall wart"
>was used.

Oops, y'er partly right. Thanks.
Methinks I see what happened. The various photos at:
http://www.linksysinfo.com/modules.p...showpage&pid=6
don't look anything like the photo on the FCC web pile
(FCCID: Q87-WRT54GP2):
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/f...ive_or_pdf=pdf
Note the much larger number of components including the *DUAL* TO-220
case 5 terminal switching regulators. The ones in the photo from
Linksysinfo site show single regulators. I guess(tm) there are
variations in the design. I know for sure that a WRT54G v1.1 will
work at about 7-8VDC because I have one running on a pole. No clue on
the v2.0 flavour but I can try it in a few days.

Incidentally, unlike your BEFW11S4 v2 incantation, my BEFW11S4 v4 uses
a 12VDC 1A wall wart. Do you see a trend here? Just for fun, I'll
stick it on a variable voltage power supply and try it at lower
voltages. It's not the same as the WRT54G, but it would still be
interesting. If I'm wrong....well, I don't wanna think about it.

Drivel: I guess PoE is nice because it only uses one cable, but for
home use, maybe running a 2nd CAT5 cable and using it solely for power
might be much easier than the RJ45 connector wiring pretzel.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 18:02:39 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Incidentally, unlike your BEFW11S4 v2 incantation, my BEFW11S4 v4 uses
>a 12VDC 1A wall wart. Do you see a trend here? Just for fun, I'll
>stick it on a variable voltage power supply and try it at lower
>voltages. It's not the same as the WRT54G, but it would still be
>interesting. If I'm wrong....well, I don't wanna think about it.

I'm right. The BEFW11S4 v4 stock wall wart is 12VDC 1A, but the unit
works just fine down 3.7VDC at 0.7A. See:
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com/pic.../low-volt.html
The power supply is a bit difficult to read, but full scale is 6VDC.
I had no problems with startup at 3.7VDC.

This is obviously not the same as a WRT54G or your v2 model, but my
guess(tm) is that the internal switching power supply designs are
similar. The problem might have been that your 5VDC wall wart was
gutless and could not supply the necessary current. At 5VDC, I
measure 0.62A. So much for that idea as I think the Linksys 5VDC wall
warts are 1.5A to 3.0A. Try it again.

Anyways, with such a huge allowable voltage DC input voltage range,
you could just run almost any type of wire from the stock 12VDC wall
wart and almost ignore the copper losses.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann thought carefully and wrote on 10/11/2004 6:41 PM:
> On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 18:02:39 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>
>>Incidentally, unlike your BEFW11S4 v2 incantation, my BEFW11S4 v4 uses
>>a 12VDC 1A wall wart. Do you see a trend here? Just for fun, I'll
>>stick it on a variable voltage power supply and try it at lower
>>voltages. It's not the same as the WRT54G, but it would still be
>>interesting. If I'm wrong....well, I don't wanna think about it.
>
>
> I'm right. The BEFW11S4 v4 stock wall wart is 12VDC 1A, but the unit
> works just fine down 3.7VDC at 0.7A. See:
> http://www.LearnByDestroying.com/pic.../low-volt.html
> The power supply is a bit difficult to read, but full scale is 6VDC.
> I had no problems with startup at 3.7VDC.
>
> This is obviously not the same as a WRT54G or your v2 model, but my
> guess(tm) is that the internal switching power supply designs are
> similar. The problem might have been that your 5VDC wall wart was
> gutless and could not supply the necessary current. At 5VDC, I
> measure 0.62A. So much for that idea as I think the Linksys 5VDC wall
> warts are 1.5A to 3.0A. Try it again.
>
> Anyways, with such a huge allowable voltage DC input voltage range,
> you could just run almost any type of wire from the stock 12VDC wall
> wart and almost ignore the copper losses.

The supply that came with the BEFW11S4 v2 has these specs on the unit:

Input: 100-240V 50/60Hz 0.5A
Output: DC5.0V 2.5A

I tried it again and am embarrassed to see that the WRT54GS does indeed
work with this 5VDC supply. I don't know what happened the first time.

Lance
*****

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 19:45:37 -0700, Lance <lltbhill@link_earth.net>
wrote:

>The supply that came with the BEFW11S4 v2 has these specs on the unit:
> Input: 100-240V 50/60Hz 0.5A
> Output: DC5.0V 2.5A

That should be more than enough to supply the necessary 0.7A at 5VDC.

Drivel: I have a large number of totally dead 5VDC 3A power supplies
in the office that came from mostly Netgear and Edimax boxes. No clue
why they died, but these are the only dead wall warts that I've seen
in several years. It makes me wonder if there was a bad batch of 5VDC
wall warts and Linksys substituted 12VDC versions because they were
more reliable (or cheaper). Dunno.

>I tried it again and am embarrassed to see that the WRT54GS does indeed
>work with this 5VDC supply. I don't know what happened the first time.

Oh good. I just hate being wrong. When that happens, I get very
depressed, tend to stop answering questions, and revert back to doing
paying work, cleaning the house, shovelling office paperwork, and
generally doing useful things. It's good to know that I won't have to
do all that.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558