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DS Misc > Recommendable WiFi dongle wit SoftAP?

#173430 - 0xtob - Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:50 pm

Hi!

I'm often asked how to use DSMI without a router, so I want to add an FAQ item on the DSMI page that has solutions for all three OSes. Under OSX it's really easy to set up an access point. Under Linux it probably requires some fiddling, but everything is well documented. Under Windows, however, I'm having trouble giving a general recommendation.

I do not want to recommend the Nintendo Wifi adapter, because it's hella expensive and difficult to set up as a SoftAP.

The best solution seems to be USB wireless adapters with the Ralink 2571 chip because they are cheap (15?/$) and the drivers from Ralink have a SoftAP feature that seems easy to set up.

Does anyone here have any experience with SoftAP via USB and can give some advice on which (easily available and cheap) USB adapters work with that feature?
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#173441 - Lazy1 - Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:56 pm

Actually, a bargain basement $5 router would be the best suggestion.
At least from my experience they can be set up as only an access point when connected (not via wan port) by ethernet.

WEP Sucks for security but all you have to do is unplug your "access point" when you're not using it :)

#173443 - 0xtob - Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:09 am

You have a point there. I also went with this solution for a while.

The advantages of the router solution are:

- you can't go wrong picking a product
- you have no driver setup (just some fiddling with a web front-end)
- it works independent of your OS

There are some drawbacks to this however:

- You need an extra power supply (more fiddly to set up, more stuff to carry around if you're a musician on tour)
- If your laptop connects to the internet at home via wireless, you can either connect to the internet (via a WPA secured router that is connected to the home network) or to your DS (using your cheap WEP router)

So I'll definitely recommend that, but I still want to give people some advice who are looking for a more portable solution.
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http://blog.dev-scene.com/0xtob | http://nitrotracker.tobw.net | http://dsmi.tobw.net

#173449 - wintermute - Wed Apr 07, 2010 2:39 am

Found this guide on dcemu -> http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-36057.html

seems to be a newer file on linfox for the softap stuff -> http://www.linfoxdomain.com/nintendo/ds/dl.php/nin_wifi_Fullpack_NEW_2933.rar

ASUS WL-167g has a few reports here & there of working as softAP & seems to be cheap & available ( ?14 on amazon for instance )

I used to use a Belkin 54g PCI card like this with a gigabyte softap but I've long since switched to a wireless router.
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#173450 - 0xtob - Wed Apr 07, 2010 3:08 am

Thanks a lot for the research! I guess I'll also post some info on the Nintendo Wifi adapter for people who already own it, but I won't recommend buying it since it's hopelessly overpriced. That ASUS adapter seems to be a good recommendation. Unfortunately, according to the manual, SoftAP is only supported under Windows Xp (for whatever reason). Windows is such a mess :-)
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http://blog.dev-scene.com/0xtob | http://nitrotracker.tobw.net | http://dsmi.tobw.net