WET11 wireless bridge problem

This bridge has a status light for the wireless connection which is on, meaning it is talking to my wireless access point. Wireless access point is connected to a router. Computers on the router can ping the WAP and the bridge so that is all working. When I plug my Rio into the bridge, the ethernet link light on the Rio comes on, but the ethernet link light on the bridge does not. I can use that same cable to directly plug in the Rio to the router and the link light on both the Rio and the router port comes on and I can talk to the Rio just fine. I can also pull one of the computers plugged into the router and plug it into the bridge, and the bridge link light comes on and that computer can wirelessly talk to the network. I'm baffled, why won't the LAN link light on the bridge come on when it is plugged to the Rio? Needless to say, I can't talk to the Rio through the bridge but I know that the bridge works and that the Rio works, I just don't know why the Rio and the bridge don't want to play. Please help, I worked on this for 5 hours last night, staying up till 4am. I also called Linksys and baffled their 1st line of support which forwarded me to their second line of support. Still waiting to hear from them.
-Brian

Is it possible that the port on your device is 100Mbps only? The empeg is 10Mbps only.

Edit: Nope. The manual claims the WET11 is 10BaseT.

The 100mbps thing is a possibility. Also could be that you need a different cable (i.e., crossover vs non crossover). Sometimes the routers I've seen have special needs in that area. Does your router have a TX/RX switch next to the port?

Please see ethernet troubleshooting steps here.

Make sure that you can plug a PC computer into that port and that the PC can work on the network when plugged into the port. Don't use the empeg as a network troubleshooting device, make sure the network is functioning FIRST, then plug the empeg into the network.

Thanks for that link, Bitt. Manual shows it does have a crossover switch.

Yeah, try switching that X-II switch to the other direction and see if it works, then.

Tried the X - II (cross over or straight through) switch. The interesting thing is that on straight through the link light on the Rio goes out, but on cross over the Rio link light is on. In both cases the bridge link light is off.
The bridge does function; if I take a computer off the router and plug it into the bridge, the bridge link light comes on (as does the NIC link light on the computer) and I can access the network and internet on that computer connected through the bridge.
I'm really at wits end; bridge works, Rio works (when connected via ethernet cable to router) and bridge is supposed to make ANY etherner device work wirelessly but they don't want to work. Grrrrrrrr...

Try a 10mbps hub between the empeg and the router.

Will try that when I get home... I know others on this board have used the WET11 bridge with the Rio successfully... I should find them. Thanks all.

When you attached other devices to the WET11, did you use the same ethernet cable? That is, maybe your cable is bad.

(BTW, the link lights on most ethernet devices are just power indicators. There's no logic behind them at all; they just light up when there's power on the proper pins.)

Plugging a hub in between the Rio and the bridge works... why do you guys think that is?

If it were real network equipment, I'd say to force both the interfaces to 10BaseT half duplex and see if it worked. Can you do that on the WET11?

No way to force half-duplex on the WET11... thats probably the source of the problem since it can only connect at 10mbps.

I seem to recall that others in the past who'd run into the same problem (empeg didn't like to talk to their router/switch/hub) tried forcing it to 10mbps half-duplex, and that still didn't solve the problem. So I've still got no idea why this happens with certain router/switch/hub devices and not with others.

yea, true, I have come accross equipment that in theory should work, but doesn't.

However does anyone else have a WET11 that works with the EMPEG?, Cause Im going to buy one (WET11) soon too, so I'd like to know if it works...

Mine does. I've got a netgear switch inbetween.

Greg

I tried a WET11 too. Same deal. Link on the EMPEG. Not on the WET11.

I added a 3com 10bt hub - The WET11 freezes as soon as I plug the EMPEG into the hub. Very odd indeed.

Try poking with the "crossover" switch on the WET11, as well as trying different cables, and ports on the hub as well. I haven't tried using a hub as the go-between, but my switch worked great.

Greg

Not all ethernet devices will send a link pulse. Some will only wait for the device at the other end to send link and then start talking. This often happens when you try to plug two laptops together without a hub (but I've never seen that problem with desktops). This sounds like what's happening with your setup.

I'd suggest returning the WET11 and buying a WAP11 instead. It's the same price (12 cents cheaper at CDW) and offers many more features. Yes it can do what the WET11 does (be a client to another AP without bridging). Since it's got an integrated switch, you won't have the link problem that requires you to have an extra hub with the WET11.

Edit: fixed typos. My fingers are telling me it's bedtime.

With the newest firmware, the WET11 fails to establish a link even though the Empeg is able to establish one. With earlier versions of the firmware, it worked fine (preinstalled firmware, whatever that was), with the exception of DHCP, which didn't work with either version of firmware.

Stu