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Connect Obi200 through a PC wireless

Started by magno_grail, May 02, 2021, 05:36:53 PM

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magno_grail

I was under the impression that since the Obi200 had an ethernet and USB connection that it could connect to the internet through a PC's wireless to the modem. Is that not possible?
What I want to do is wire the Obi200 to a PC (Raspberry Pi actually) and use a range extender to connect to the modem. I cannot access the modem with a cable because it is not in the room. This is in an assisted living facility. The bright people who refurbished the wing did not put in phone lines so wireless internet is the only connection and no, a cellular phone is not a solution as 90 year old people loose them or forget to charge them. An old fashion desk phone is what they are familiar with.
At some point I would like to add voice to text using the Raspberry.

drgeoff

The Wi-Fi range of a RPi is not appreciably greater than that of an OBiWiFi5G USB dongle.  If the Wi-Fi signal strength  is not sufficient for reliable operation with the OBi dongle I would not have high hope of the RPi being successful.  Indeed the use of a 6 foot USB extension cable between OBi200 and dongle plus an essentially unconstrained length of cable between phone and OBi would give more flexibility in positioning the OBi dongle in a good position.

You also need to be aware that like most computers, a RPi should be shutdown before power is removed.  Without doing that, the removal of power, either deliberately or inadvertently, risks corrupting files on the boot medium (typically a micro-SD card) resulting in a failure to boot or operate properly when power is reapplied.

Despite the seemingly modest price of a RPi you need to add on the cost of a power supply (using an existing phone charger is NOT recommended), a micro-SD card and a case.

Voice to text is a whole different ball-game.

magno_grail

#2
I have a USB WiFi dongle with an actual antenna that can be used on the raspberry. It does not appear to work with the Obi200. It does not show up on the network on the windoz7 PC sitting next to it or the modem.
Do you have any information on connecting the Obi220 wired to a PC that is wireless to the modem?
Another reason for using the raspberry is that the phone is a Captel which displays the text of the call on a screen. What I was not aware of is the calls are monitored by someone listening in and typing the conversation which seems a ridiculous way to text a call and not just from a security standpoint.
Sorry for the multiple posts, when I hit the post button it kept coming back with an error. Obviously there was not as it posted several times.

azrobert

It's easy on a Windows PC, just bridge the 2 adapters.

Control Panel
Network Sharing Center
Change Adapter Settings
Click one of the adapters to highlight it.
Hold CTRL and click the 2nd adapter to highlight it.
Right click one of the highlighted adapters.
Select Bridge Connections.
Plug the OBi into the PC.

I did a search on "raspberry pi wireless bridge" and got several hits.

You need to get an OBiHai WiFi adapter, others won't work.

azrobert

Why do you need a PC? Caption phones only need a WiFi connection, so the facility's WiFi should work.


magno_grail

A "wireless bridge" is not what I want. It connects the raspberry to the modem with a LAN cable. I do not have wire access to the modem, only wireless.
The problem with the caption phone is it requires someone to listen to the conversation and type it in. I doubt they do that for free and you do not want to discuss medical or banking information on a phone where some unknown person is listening.
So the problem remains on connecting the Obi to the raspberry by USB or ethernet cable and have it connect to the internet, is this possible?
Also, doing searches requires knowing the key words that other people use. "Connect Obi to raspberry pi" gave no results. The only close result was something called rasPBX and asterisk. Typing that in gave no information on what it actually does. It is some sort of VOIP or local e-mail network.

drgeoff

For info.

USB is not a symmetrical system.  One end is host and one end is client.  The USB port on an OBi is a host.  The USB ports on a computer are hosts.  Ever wondered why USB cables with full size "flat" USB plugs at both ends are as rare as hens' teeth?  Ditto cables with two of those USB plugs that would be almost square if not for the two chamfered corners

The software drivers in an OBi for the USB port support only the original 2.4 GHz OBi branded Wi-Fi dongle, the newer dual band OBi branded  dongle and maybe USB storage devices.  Not absolutely sure about the storage devices as the facility to use them appears to have been removed from recent OBi firmwares.

The only model of RPi that can function as USB host and USB client at the same time is the 4B but even that is a long way from making it appear to the OBi as, and communicate with the OBi as, an OBi Wi-Fi dongle.

drgeoff

Quote from: magno_grail on May 03, 2021, 02:39:04 PM
Also, doing searches requires knowing the key words that other people use. "Connect Obi to raspberry pi" gave no results. The only close result was something called rasPBX and asterisk. Typing that in gave no information on what it actually does. It is some sort of VOIP or local e-mail network.
I don't pretend to understand exactly the scenario of your desired voice to text setup but https://nerdvittles.com/?p=32202 may be of interest.

azrobert

I'm nowhere near a network expert, so maybe I have my terminology wrong. I think you plug a device into a wireless bridge with an ethernet cable. The wireless bridge connects to the main router via WiFi, giving the device access to the internet.

The Windows solution I gave you is basically setting up a PC as a wireless bridge. You plug the OBi into the Windows PC via ethernet cable. The PC connects to the main router via WiFi, giving the OBi access to the internet.

DD-WRT router firmware has a solution called Client Bridged. See this thread:
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=5229.msg33913#msg33913
The DD-WRT website is up, but their Wiki with the configuration instructions is offline.

When I searched for "RPi wireless bridge" I assumed the hits I got were doing the same. I did not read any of the instructions.

If you want to use your RPi, you probably will get better support at a RPi forum.

drgeoff

Quote from: azrobert on May 03, 2021, 05:13:13 PM
If you want to use your RPi, you probably will get better support at a RPi forum.
Indeed. The name of one of the posters in the thread https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=310907 might ring a bell.

SteveInWA

This really seems like far too much complexity to connect an OBi to a network.  Aside from the technology challenges, trying to run a VoIP phone over an institution's shared WiFi network will be unreliable and subject to dropouts and distortion, or at worst, frequent disconnects.

If you must, just do what Geoff already mentioned:  get an OBiWiFi 5G dongle.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B07FZQX1RQ&ref=nb_sb_noss

By the way, Captel service is typically free, depending on the state, paid out of the Federal USF fee.

https://www.captel.com/

Both the OBi device and the Captel device need Internet access.  The Captel device has built-in WiFi.

jccpa

FYI. OBi2182 has inbuilt WIFI and BT connectivity for cell phones, headsets, etc.

I don't know if this Arduino project would connect and work, but it might be worth reading.

https://www.instructables.com/Speech-Recognition-With-Arduino-Bluetooth-LCD-Andr/

We've been recently buying 2182's from Amazon for $50-$59 /ea



magno_grail

I have full size "flat" USB cables. I use mini-USB cables to wire pressure sensors into volt-oil pressure gauges. I use ethernet cables to connect the pickups to my ignition system. Non-traditional uses, I know.
The DD-WRT solution will not work as I do not have access physically to the modem and I doubt they will let me change the modem software. This is why I need a PC or raspberry to connect to their WiFi.
I looked at the ObiWiFi adapter information PDF but it gives no information on how the connection to the wireless modem is made. No point in buying more equipment with only guesses that it will work. The modem has a password and since there is no way to input one from the Obi200 or the Obi-WiFi I doubt it will be able to make the connection, hence the PC or raspberry in between.
I found the administration guide under the DOCS which might give some answers. Their "data sheet" is merely advertisement.
The raspberrypi.org description of a wired access point or bridged access point both have the raspberry wired to the modem and wireless to the client.
The phone is a Captel 800 which does not have WiFi.

drgeoff

#13
Quote from: magno_grail on May 04, 2021, 04:56:00 AM
I looked at the ObiWiFi adapter information PDF but it gives no information on how the connection to the wireless modem is made. No point in buying more equipment with only guesses that it will work. The modem has a password and since there is no way to input one from the Obi200 or the Obi-WiFi I doubt it will be able to make the connection, hence the PC or raspberry in between.
You are completely wrong about that.


Method 1: https://www.obitalk.com/info/faq/OBiWiFi-sec/How-do-I-set-up-OBiWiFi

Method 2: See screenshot.

azrobert


magno_grail

From your posting:
"You MUST follow their instructions exactly or you could brick your router.
Edit:
Just to be clear.
After you install their firmware it's still a router, then you re-configure it to make it a bridge."
They are not going to let me modify their router software.
On the Obi-WiFi information sheet I was looking at this: obi-wifi-adapter_ps-en.pdf
Still, I was not asking if there was more equipment that I could buy to make this work.
The Frequently Asked Questions are rarely helpful. What is the range of the ObiWiFi? "You may place the OBi202 with the OBiWiFi Wireless Adapter anywhere in your home or office with good Wi-Fi reception." Totally useless. Of course it can be placed anywhere there is good WiFi reception.
Can I use the OBi202 with OBiWiFi as a wireless bridge?  "With your OBi202 (with OBiWiFi) connected to a Wi-Fi network, you can plug a computer into the OBi202's Ethernet LAN port a to get internet access." Except I have a 200 and want the Obi to connect through the PC or raspberry to the internet.
This would have been a lot simpler if the twits refurbishing the building put in phone lines. Even cellular phone reception is not good enough to transmit data from a pacemaker monitor.

drgeoff

#16
Quote from: magno_grail on May 04, 2021, 09:22:31 AM
The Frequently Asked Questions are rarely helpful. What is the range of the ObiWiFi? "You may place the OBi202 with the OBiWiFi Wireless Adapter anywhere in your home or office with good Wi-Fi reception." Totally useless. Of course it can be placed anywhere there is good WiFi reception.
Can I use the OBi202 with OBiWiFi as a wireless bridge?  "With your OBi202 (with OBiWiFi) connected to a Wi-Fi network, you can plug a computer into the OBi202's Ethernet LAN port a to get internet access." Except I have a 200 and want the Obi to connect through the PC or raspberry to the internet.
How many adverts or spec sheets have you seen that do provide a practical, believable figure for the range of a Wi-Fi device?  Please provide links to a few.

An OBi200 plus an OBiWIFI will not give internet access on the LAN port.  That arises from a limitation of the Wi-Fi specs, not a flaw in the OBi200 nor in the OBiWIFI.  That is explained at https://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:Wireless_Station_Modes#802.11_limitations_for_L2_bridging (which was linked to in one of the posts in the RaspberryPi forum I linked to above).  The OBi202 can do it because it includes a NAT router which puts the LAN port on a different subnet from the Wi-Fi link.

SteveInWA

Why do you keep referring to "modem"?  There are no modems involved.

Get the dongle.  Plug it into the OBi's USB port.  Go to the configuration page for the OBi and enter the WiFi access point's WiFi SSID and password.  That's all there is to it.

If it works, great, but again, trying to make VoIP work over a facility's multi-user WiFi system will be flaky at best.

magno_grail

Unless they have some other way to connect to the internet, the equipment I have is a WiFi router connected to a modem which connects to Frontier's internet. As far as connections go I only need to connect to the router wirelessly. All I know about their building is they have a WiFi connection.
I am sure you want me to buy more of your companies equipment but I do not see the point if it will not do what I want. The dongle cost more than the Obi200. WiFi USB dongles are cheap but they made the Obi200 only work with their custom dongle.
Yes, the problem with equipment "data sheets" is they are actually marketing publications so they are worthless. If I buy an antenna chip for a board the manufacturer usually includes information on radiation pattern and gain. They do not say "buy it and see if it works for you" or "it will work if it is within range".
I am not trying to get internet access with the Obi200 and a ObiWiFi-USB from the LAN port.
I wanted the Obi200 to access the internet wired through a PC or raspberry but apparently it cannot be done. Too bad the marketing sheet did not say it only works with a wired connection or their custom USB-WiFi. I would not have bothered with it. I do not know if the building's WiFi is strong enough in the room but I could add a repeater if necessary.
It may be flaky but at the moment there is none at all so flaky will still be better that what it is.

drgeoff

Quote from: magno_grail on May 04, 2021, 07:11:32 PM
Unless they have some other way to connect to the internet, the equipment I have is a WiFi router connected to a modem which connects to Frontier's internet. As far as connections go I only need to connect to the router wirelessly. All I know about their building is they have a WiFi connection.
I am sure you want me to buy more of your companies equipment but I do not see the point if it will not do what I want. The dongle cost more than the Obi200. WiFi USB dongles are cheap but they made the Obi200 only work with their custom dongle.
Yes, the problem with equipment "data sheets" is they are actually marketing publications so they are worthless. If I buy an antenna chip for a board the manufacturer usually includes information on radiation pattern and gain. They do not say "buy it and see if it works for you" or "it will work if it is within range".
I am not trying to get internet access with the Obi200 and a ObiWiFi-USB from the LAN port.
I wanted the Obi200 to access the internet wired through a PC or raspberry but apparently it cannot be done. Too bad the marketing sheet did not say it only works with a wired connection or their custom USB-WiFi. I would not have bothered with it. I do not know if the building's WiFi is strong enough in the room but I could add a repeater if necessary.
It may be flaky but at the moment there is none at all so flaky will still be better that what it is.
None of the people who have tried to help you in this thread work for OBihai/Poly and have no incentive to encourage you to buy their products.  You were advised to get an OBiWIFI because that is the most likely way to achieve a simple working solution to the problem you have described.  Most likely but not guaranteed because no-one else in this thread but you has knowledge of the route that the Wi-Fi link must traverse.

You have not responded to my challenge to come up with other Wi-FI products which publicise explicit range figures.  I fully expected that because there are too many variables which affect the range and most if not all are outside the control of the manufacturer.  The transmit power and receive sensitivity of the remote Access Point, the antenna gain of that AP, the orientation it has been placed in relative to the Wi-Fi dongle, the orientation and mounting of the dongle, the number, type and incident angle of intervening walls and other obstructions, the presence of reflecting items, the presence of other W-Fi systems, other equipment that uses the same unlicensed frequency band etc.

Unlike USB flash drives there is no standardised protocol for talking to many other device such as printers and Wi-Fi dongles.  They require specific drivers.  The OBi firmware cannot contain drivers for all possible Wi-Fi dongles on the market now and in the future.  And as an embedded system it isn't possible for the end user to install a driver even if it were available.  So the firmware contains drivers for the two Wi-Fi dongles that OBi market and support.