Wifi Ranger - Page 2

sundancer 87 · 03-08-2017, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSCLARK

Been swapping email with tech support. He said I have a Generation 1 and it is possibly wired to a black PoE box or could be hardwired. Sent him a pic so the only way to find the wire color and trace is to take the 4 screws and top off from the roof unit. Maybe tomorrow I will know if I get a chance to get up there again. Will keep you posted.

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These are the colors you should find and their positions.

Just to add more confusion to your search. TomW says it works with 110VAC so you might look at the circuit breakers and see if you can find a circuit for it. No guarantee of course it'll be labeled.

CSCLARK · 03-08-2017, 04:01 PM

Ok got the cover off found the white wire on top and no wire found like it in the basement or behind the switch panel. I am baffled to say the least. Could it be going all the way under the basement into the tanks area above the coroplast?

But at least I'm having fun tearing this thing apart.

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donzinger · 03-08-2017, 05:29 PM

Mine is the WiFiRanger Sky - 12-24VDC powered. So guessing hardwired in the ceiling somewhere. One other member awhile back stated which 12V fuse powered it but I cannot recall at this time. Guess I'll pull one at a time until the wifi broadcast is gone...

sundancer 87 · 03-08-2017, 05:33 PM

Like the guy said when talking to the RV guy, 'if we build them right I'd be out of a job'.

Ok, what you have in your hand is the RJ-45 connector. The white wire is CAT5 cable, but it comes in all colors. Red, blue, green, yellow, you get the idea.

This is a SWAG on my part, if the cat5 cable was connected it should go into the ceiling cavity and eventually down to a power source. The loose end is in your hand so that tells that's where it's terminated or the trailing end wasn't pushed through a hole in the roof and connected.

At this point I'd say you don't have a working SKY thing.

An aside, you may find some cat5 cables down there in the rat's nest. Those may service the thermostat and adjunct equipment for the A/C.

sundancer 87 · 03-08-2017, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donzinger

Mine is the WiFiRanger Sky - 12-24VDC powered. So guessing hardwired in the ceiling somewhere. One other member awhile back stated which 12V fuse powered it but I cannot recall at this time. Guess I'll pull one at a time until the wifi broadcast is gone...

If his is PoE then the cat5 will supply the power. But, since it ends in the other world there is no telling what the deal is.

sundancer 87 · 03-08-2017, 05:53 PM

Also, since it doesn't appear anything could be killed up there in the box you can pinch the corner stand offs of the circuit board and lift it out of there to see if there is a knock out in the bottom of the box. The other end might be right below the box, maybe.

CSCLARK · 03-08-2017, 06:05 PM

Thanks for all the help Sundancer, it is not on any of the lights directly below it! Will have to keep looking. And maybe back on top and take the cover off again and remove the circuit board with a tug on the wire. According to tech support it was on line 3 yrs ago hitting the cloud server but nothing sense.

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sundancer 87 · 03-08-2017, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSCLARK

Thanks for all the help Sundancer, it is not on any of the lights directly below it! Will have to keep looking. And maybe back on top and take the cover off again and remove the circuit board with a tug on the wire. According to tech support it was on line 3 yrs ago hitting the cloud server but nothing sense.

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Wish I could have more help to you but now it's just a guessing game. The rest of it has to be somewhere in the bowels of the RV.

I'm still wondering where the antenna is, no rubber ducky and no connection for one that I can see.
At least you'll have a good idea of the wiring the blind installers leave us with.
If you open the box again see if you can't find some markings on the board that might be useful.

CSCLARK · 03-09-2017, 10:06 AM

Great help Sundancer I will keep you posted in what I find out.

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TomW · 03-10-2017, 03:49 PM

OK, good pix. You have the basic WiFi ranger like mine that has NO antenna. You might want to unseal the roof box to see where /if there are wires going inside the roof or lift the circuit board to see what color they are. It seams strange that you have a loose plug inside the box. It may be hot wired to the ceiling light or other close by fixture. mine plugs into 110V

calewjohnson · 03-10-2017, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donzinger

Mine is the WiFiRanger Sky - 12-24VDC powered. So guessing hardwired in the ceiling somewhere. One other member awhile back stated which 12V fuse powered it but I cannot recall at this time. Guess I'll pull one at a time until the wifi broadcast is gone...

Don,

Sorry, it was me. I have been on the road quite a bit and slow to get on internet. My fuse is the 5th fuse from the top....it is a 15 amp fuse. There is a reset cycle to make the WFIF Ranger revert back to factory settings if locked up. It is a 5 minute drill and involves removing the fuse at time intervals. Tech support sent it to me once, I cannot find that email, I may contact them so I can file it away for later.

*******

Also like Don, I have the 12-24 volt version. They have the router portion, which would have been nice to have, but WIFI Ranger had told me once that the manufacturer likely only installed the minimum amount of gear to make the system work, which is just the box on the roof...with power. Simple system, but would have been more effective if all the parts were installed.

Even as the system is currently configured, it works pretty decent.

Cale

donzinger · 03-11-2017, 11:47 AM

Thanks, Cale! Those reset instructions would be great. Now that are unlimited on our phones data plans, I have renewed interest in setting it up and using it again.

CSCLARK · 03-11-2017, 11:50 AM

With firmware version 6.6.5 there are now two different ways to reset any WiFiRanger router to factory default settings.

If you can access your WiFiRanger's Control Panel, there is now a Reset to Factory Default button at the bottom of the Setup page. When you push the button and confirm your action the router will reset itself and then direct you to reboot it.

If you cannot access the WiFiRanger's control panel you can force a reset to factory default by a specific sequence of reboots. The sequence has been changed from previous firmware versions to minimize accidental resets. Here's the sequence to follow:

Reboot

Wait 1 minute ( waiting 1:30 is smart to be safe )

Reboot

Wait 2 minutes ( waiting 2:30 once again is best to be safe )

Reboot

Wait 2 minutes ( waiting 2:30 for the last time to be safe )

Reboot

After this last reboot it should now have the factory settings.

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CSCLARK · 03-11-2017, 11:56 AM

Now for an update. Troubleshooting with tech support I have found I have power on 1 of 2 wires on the RJ45 on the roof. That is why you see it disconnected as I was testing. Apparently that means it is connected but only had a test light here. Will get multimeter today and test Voltage. Still no broadcast so he thinks the unit is bad. I'm not giving up though. I will get my toner out and trace it down.

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calewjohnson · 03-11-2017, 12:04 PM

Here is the procedure I pulled from my trouble ticket on wifiranger.com

When they passed this information to me, I could see the access point, but it would not respond to any inputs. I performed this with a stopwatch and it worked like a champ. The biggest pain was having to perform this sequence through the R&R of a fuse. I used the fuse puller from the truck to make it easier.

*************
Manually Resetting WiFiRangers on 6.6.5+ Firmware:

Unplug WiFiRanger from Power Source to Power Off (wait 5 seconds)

Power On (wait 1 minute 30 seconds)

Power Off (wait 5 seconds)

Power On (wait 2 minutes 30 seconds)

Power Off (wait 5 seconds)

Power On (wait 2 minutes 30 seconds)

Power Off (wait 5 seconds)

Power On (wait 3 minutes)

Cale

CSCLARK · 03-11-2017, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

Here is the procedure I pulled from my trouble ticket on wifiranger.com

When they passed this information to me, I could see the access point, but it would not respond to any inputs. I performed this with a stopwatch and it worked like a champ. The biggest pain was having to perform this sequence through the R&R of a fuse. I used the fuse puller from the truck to make it easier.

*************
Manually Resetting WiFiRangers on 6.6.5+ Firmware:

Unplug WiFiRanger from Power Source to Power Off (wait 5 seconds)

Power On (wait 1 minute 30 seconds)

Power Off (wait 5 seconds)

Power On (wait 2 minutes 30 seconds)

Power Off (wait 5 seconds)

Power On (wait 2 minutes 30 seconds)

Power Off (wait 5 seconds)

Power On (wait 3 minutes)

Cale

Haha Cale same post 2 above! Good info.

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calewjohnson · 03-11-2017, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSCLARK

Haha Cale same post 2 above! Good info.

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Chris,

I should have checked this site before posting, I saw Don's email this morning when I woke up and went off on a hunt. Our times are a little different, not sure of the time tolerance of their reset procedure.

You have done something I have wanted to do....remove the cover to see what is inside. I have been fulltiming in the Voltage since November 2014 and the WIFI Ranger has been doing OK.

I have been frustrated in the past, as the range is not as advertised, but I can only assume it is because of the lack of an antenna. Even where I have been for the past year, I can see other park access points on my computer that the Ranger does not recognize.

After seeing your pictures, I am curious if I were to purchase one of the upgraded models, could I leave the base on the roof and replace the insides and mate the new top to the base? I will submit a trouble ticket to find out...or to even see if they have a retrofit kit.

I love the idea of the system, as I run my printer through it and all of our devices. Even when traveling, the kids use the Ranger as a network without internet, but are able to play each other on games like Minecraft through their iPads.

Cale

CSCLARK · 03-11-2017, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

Chris,

I should have checked this site before posting, I saw Don's email this morning when I woke up and went off on a hunt. Our times are a little different, not sure of the time tolerance of their reset procedure.

You have done something I have wanted to do....remove the cover to see what is inside. I have been fulltiming in the Voltage since November 2014 and the WIFI Ranger has been doing OK.

I have been frustrated in the past, as the range is not as advertised, but I can only assume it is because of the lack of an antenna. Even where I have been for the past year, I can see other park access points on my computer that the Ranger does not recognize.

After seeing your pictures, I am curious if I were to purchase one of the upgraded models, could I leave the base on the roof and replace the insides and mate the new top to the base? I will submit a trouble ticket to find out...or to even see if they have a retrofit kit.

I love the idea of the system, as I run my printer through it and all of our devices. Even when traveling, the kids use the Ranger as a network without internet, but are able to play each other on games like Minecraft through their iPads.

Cale

Cale,
As far as retrofit here is the reply I got that may help out.

"The original Sky has been discontinued to a long time and we do not trade-ins. Our outdoor units are no long sold separately and only in packs with our indoor routers. You may be able to contact one of our partners and purchase a Sky3 DC version that they can install for you.

AJ Kalousek
WiFiRanger Technical Support"

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