JimS

I do pretty good watching ebay, amazon, and craigslist for certain items, but then I get lazy after about 2 weeks and stop searching.

Axis P3364-VE 6mm has a 2.5mm wide lens, awesome image quality and is compatible with almost everything. Budget wise, I found a seller on Amazon selling them for $449. Normally they are about $650-$800. Were you serious about $450 PE3364-VE cameras? If so, that deal is long gone. They're double that now.

I have an Axis IP cam connected via Ethernet to a 2.4Ghz access point in client bridge mode, which "talks" 200' (from barn to house) to my wireless router. The router does the DHCP, NOT the access point. I know static IP is recommended, but I've been more successful so far using DHCP. When I look at the "connected devices" status in the wireless router's admin interface, it shows the camera and its IP addr, but it never shows the access point or its IP. Does this make sense? Should the access point be "transparent" and therefore not even show up? I read a TCP/IP book and learned a few things, but nothing that addresses this. The only reason it matters is because my connection is not reliable, even 10' apart in the same room, so I can't tell if the access point is crapping out, or if the camera itself has an issue, or what.

I just rechecked and the Status/LAN screen doesn't show the access point or client bridge as connected devices, but they are listed under Services/Services screen as devices that have been issued an IP from the DHCP server. If the access point or client bridge went down right now, I couldn't tell by looking at the router admin interface. I'd have to go to each device's admin interface via its individual IP and discover it's down. The more I think about it, I don't think the router even knows how the camera packets are reaching it, other than through one of the wired ports.

I finally did the DD-WRT firmware update on the WRT54GL router using the FW version recommended by the DD-WRT team. I indeed got the nice admin interface posted by buellwinkle. Unfortunately the wireless operation after the DD-WRT upgrade is still buggy. The DD-WRT team knows it, but I guess they don't have the resources to correct the issue. That’s okay. I'm still happy with the improvements the FW update provided. Since the "wired" part is great, I abandoned the wireless operation of the router and just shut off the radio and removed the antennas. Removing the antennas was not necessary, but it made me feel better. I bought another EnGenius wireless Access Point/Client Bridge and have the following set up: In the barn, the Axis IP camera is connected via network cable to the co-located EnGenius device which is configured as a Client Bridge. The Client Bridge communicates on the 2.4GHz band to the other EnGenius device in the house, which is configured as an Access Point. The Access Point is connected via network cable to the co-located WRT54GL router. My laptop computer also communicates on the 2.4GHz band to the EnGenius Access Point in the house. I use MAC filtering and encryption in the Access Point so presumably nothing else can connect to my network via the wireless Access Point. For people like me that don't know much about networking, here are a few observations: The router admin interface has a screen that shows the IP address of each device that is currently connected to it. Each powered up computer in the house shows up in the list. The Axis camera and laptop that are connected via wireless through the Access Point also show up. But the Access Point and Client Bridge devices themselves NEVER SHOW UP AS CONNECTED DEVICES. I guess this makes perfect sense now, considering they are part of the infrastructure. But when I was struggling with getting all of this configured, I didn’t know how it should work and was confused over not seeing their IP addresses as connected devices. Their IP addresses are however in the static IP address list in the router admin interface. I originally let the router hand out IP addresses using DHCP, then switched to static. One last note. I’m using an EnGenius ENH202 as the Access Point and an ENH200 as the Client Bridge. This is only because when I went back to buy another ENH202 they didn’t have any so I bought an ENH200 instead. Both are configurable for Access Point mode or Client Bridge mode (and other modes). The main difference is the ENH200 is an 802.11b/g device and the ENH202 is an 802.11b/g/n device; the latter capable of more bandwidth. They both seem very stable, and have great, intuitive admin interfaces.

Thanks for the screen capture. That's not what I have. Somehow my ebay searches for pre-flashed routers (like you recommended) turned into Google searches, that ended with me rushing off to MicroCenter for the WRT54 router. I let the Linux verbiage in their ad and the WRT in the router name fool me. Now I'm doing the required reading to do the DD-WRT upgrade. We'll see if I know how to read and follow directions in a few days. Maybe then the wireless will work with the laptop and the camera. Thanks for all the help.

I swapped my NetGear for this. "WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router with Linux Firmware" Based on the description and model number, I thought it already came with the DD-WRT firmware installed. http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0302906 When you're in a router with DD-WRT firmware, is there an obvious way to see that? I've spent literally all day today just trying to make the wireless work. I've tried every combination except for the correct one obviously! It connects with excellent signal strength but it never authenticates.

I returned my NetGear and got a WRT54GL. All is well so far except that I can't make the wireless work, even with the encryption shut off. The laptop connects but apparently isn't authenticating. Once I get the wireless to the laptop going, I'll try to make the client bridge and camera work.

I'll check the scanning apps. My intent was for the AP to transmit only the hardwired camera input. I'll have to recheck the settings, but I don't think it will repeat WiFi signals the way it's set up. Point taken though. Most router reviews on the internet say their firmware is buggy or they need improvement and my NetGear is no exception. Somebody on a networking forum suggested I buy an enterprise grade router, but then I'd have to buy another AP for the wireless function, and then a switch for multiple ports. I don't know if the DDWRT firmware is supposed to offer more solid operation or more functions but it might be time to find out.

The access point is an EnGenius ENH202. The RF path is through a wooden barn wall, 200' of air, and a pane of glass at the house, where the router sits in the window. Yes, the AP has an IP addr, but it doesn't show up as a connected device in the router GUI. I'm weak at IP so I didn't know if it would be normal for it to be almost "hidden" since it's really almost just an RF extender so to speak. Since my NetGear N600, WNDR3400 router (on my second one) is quirky, I don't trust it. When I can't connect to the camera, I can't tell if it's the camera, the AP, or the router. I did do a firmware update on the camera which didn't change anything. Razer..... I don't want to put words in your mouth, but are you saying that your router does not show the AP when it's connected? If they all work that way, I may have to get over it. Thanks for the replies everyone......

It sounds like you were able to focus the ones you've had, so I'll just try harder.

I just bought one of the Nuvico 3895 cameras and have a question. Am I the only one that finds the zoom and focus controls hard to reach and use? I am having a real hard time just trying to get the thing focused at about the "mid-zoom" position. I have also tried getting the focus close, and then trying to focus the image by varying the zoom. I still can not get a razor sharp image at mid-zoom.