new 2wire SBC install

A friend of mine just got DSL from SBC, and asked me to set it up for her.
She received a self-install kit with a 2wire wireless modem 2701HG-B.

I wasn't properly prepared for that ;-(
I thought I was going to attach a wireless router that I have left over,
and a DLink DWL-122 USB adapter that I had in my pocket, and run through
the manual steps to configure the DSL without loading the SBC junk on
anyone's PC.

I didn't have the proper manual steps for the 2wire, but I think I do now,
from DSLreports faq 13705. I thought I might go ahead and run the
"assisted" setup while I was there, since it didn't seem too painful, but I
wanted to do it on her computer not mine.

I put the DWL-122 dongle on her computer (far side of the room, of course),
and couldn't connect. Couldn't even see the router. My Thinkpad, which
seems to have outstanding range on it's built in AR5211 WiFi, showed 15%
signal, and I could see the router, 20 feet away.

In fact, I was picking up identical signal strength from a real estate
office a block away ;-(

My USB adapter might be toast... too long powered up inside a coffee can.
I might have to give up and buy a new one. It has a little dent in the
front that I don't remember. It is either melted plastic or an artistic
divot that I didn't notice before.

Is the 2701HG-B really a weak performer, or did she get a bum one?

Is the "assisted" setup innocuous? Should I let it configure on my
computer, or will I be forever sorry for some background software that it
loads?

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

(E-Mail Removed) hath wroth:

>A friend of mine just got DSL from SBC, and asked me to set it up for her.
>She received a self-install kit with a 2wire wireless modem 2701HG-B.

Good router. Should work fine. I've done about 5 of those without
much difficulty.

>I wasn't properly prepared for that ;-(

Sigh. AT&T has been been using 2wire for perhaps 5 years. Every 2
years or so, 2wire comes out with a new model, which AT&T delivers.
Think of it as a learning experience.

>I thought I was going to attach a wireless router that I have left over,
>and a DLink DWL-122 USB adapter that I had in my pocket, and run through
>the manual steps to configure the DSL without loading the SBC junk on
>anyone's PC.

You can do it easily without the SBC junkware. Point your browser at
the IP address of the router (probably 192.168.1.254) or the DNS name
of http://gateway.2wire.net and start configuring.

>I didn't have the proper manual steps for the 2wire, but I think I do now,
>from DSLreports faq 13705.

That works. See:
<http://www.dslreports.com/faq/twowire>

>I thought I might go ahead and run the
>"assisted" setup while I was there, since it didn't seem too painful, but I
>wanted to do it on her computer not mine.

It's quite simple and works every time. The only thing it does wrong
is leave the wireless encryption at WEP instead of changing to WPA.

>I put the DWL-122 dongle on her computer (far side of the room, of course),
>and couldn't connect. Couldn't even see the router. My Thinkpad, which
>seems to have outstanding range on it's built in AR5211 WiFi, showed 15%
>signal, and I could see the router, 20 feet away.

Yech. You should do better than that. Something is wrong. The
2701HG is a 400mw xmitter. However, the internal antennas suck. It
seems to work best in the "tower" arrangement. The router is also
delivered with the tx output set to about 20milliwatts. Dive into the
settings and crank it up.

>In fact, I was picking up identical signal strength from a real estate
>office a block away ;-(

Ok, the laptop is working. Is there anything in the way, even at
20ft?

>My USB adapter might be toast... too long powered up inside a coffee can.
>I might have to give up and buy a new one. It has a little dent in the
>front that I don't remember. It is either melted plastic or an artistic
>divot that I didn't notice before.

Probably dinged it while hammering on the coffee can.

>Is the 2701HG-B really a weak performer, or did she get a bum one?

My guess is a mixture of both. The radio is usually fine, the
antennas suck, and the default tx power is way too low.

>Is the "assisted" setup innocuous?

Yes. It just covers the basics. You don't really need it but if you
decide to do it manually, go through all the cute graphical menus to
make sure you didn't miss any settings. Many settings are in some
rather strange places. There's also an item to check for updated
firmware. The SBC/AT&T assisted install does this for you, but if you
do it manually, you'll need to also check this manually.

>Should I let it configure on my
>computer, or will I be forever sorry for some background software that it
>loads?

Don't install the SBC/AT&T software. The penalty is eternal
damnation, Windoze reinstall, or both.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558