Add wireless device to Airport Network?

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Level 1

22 points

Add wireless device to Airport Network?

I recently invested in a network multimedia player that came with it's own wireless 802.11n dongle.

Its new, with nothing except manufacturer's blurb available

Perhaps not the wisest move I ever made, but still. It seemed like a good idea at the time

I have successfully got on line with it but my efforts of pairing it with my iMac and OS X have not been as effort free as the flimsy instructions would suggest.

References to using it with Mac are few and far between. i think they really had MS in mind.

Firewall permissions have been floated as a cause, but I have not found this to be of any help.

I have found references to networking multiple macs but not to this type of gadget.

I had hoped that there might be a well established list of instructions re the above operation, but surprisingly enough none applicable have shown up.

I assume that adding it to my existing network is not device specific.

My details are below, but I use a Netopia 3347 with the wireless disabled as a modem and Time capsule as a router.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

Posted on Jun 2, 2011 12:08 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

William-Boyd-Jr

Level 6

10,578 points

Jun 4, 2011 8:16 AM in response to cromdubh

I don't see any details. It would help a lot if you supplied (1) the brand and model number of the "network multimedia player", (2) the steps you've tried, and (3) the results of each. Also, what do you mean by "pairing" it with your Mac?

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,566 points

Jun 4, 2011 8:25 AM in response to cromdubh

Many "network media players" use a protocol called UPNP (universal plug 'n play?).

See this article for references to media players that might work: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1182472?start=0&tstart=0

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Answer 3

cromdubh Author

Level 1

22 points

Jun 6, 2011 5:10 AM in response to William-Boyd-Jr

I feel that I am admitting to a particularly deviant activity, but I got myself an Iomega ScreenPlay DX HD Media Player.

It has quite a few features which I thought might be interesting, ( including Mac operability) but I seem to have run into difficulties with the setup, never mind the operation.

I have succeeded in getting it on-line, must have done something right.

Regaining contact with it having disconnected requires restarting the computer and their ScreenPlay Discovery application fails to find the device.

I had hoped by tracking backwards to find and add the device to my wireless network that I could get to grips with it, but I can only get information on adding computers to the network.

It would appear that I may have to format the HDD for use with Mac, but I have to find it first!

As well as that I do not want to erase the little bit of software that came with it at this early stage.

It looks that it has exposed severe shortcomings in my knowledge of networks, file sharing and the associated permissions.

"Pairing" with Mac was an unfortunate term, I meant using it with Mac.

A suggestion of where to start in studying the basics of adding devices to a network would be welcome.

All in all, I should have got myself an Apple TV device for a fraction of the cost and probably none of the bother! I still might just do that.

Thank you

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Answer 4

cromdubh Author

Level 1

22 points

Jun 6, 2011 5:15 AM in response to Barney-15E

Hi Barney,

I think it did the plug and play thing in getting it on-line etc.,the initial setup was automatic, it was trying to use it with my iMac (and an elderly PC laptop on the same network) that has proven problematical.

Thank you.

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,566 points

Jun 6, 2011 4:50 PM in response to cromdubh

My point was the references to all the software to use to play from a UPnP player, if it is one of those.

I don't know that there is anything built into Mac OS X to do that. Apple has their own media streaming protocols.

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Answer 6

Jun 6, 2011 5:01 PM in response to cromdubh

In general, to add a device to a network, you need to open some sort of configuration screen, choose the network to be joined, and enter the network password. It's also best to configure the device to use "DHCP" if that's an option.

To determine if the Iomega unit is connecting to your network, launch AirPort Utility, then double-click on your base station on the left to enter "manual setup" mode. Pull down the "Base Station" menu, then select the "Logs and Statistics" item. In the resulting window select the "Wireless Clients" tab. The list you see shows every client connecting to your network. Try to find an entry with a "MAC address" that matches the Iomega unit. (The MAC address may be printed on the case.) For any MAC address you can't identify, you can use this Web page to learn the manufacturer that's assigned that range of MAC addresses.

http://www.coffer.com/mac_find/

By the way, this may have nothing to do with your current problem, but if you have "the wireless disabled" on your Netopia unit but didn't also disable its router functions, then you probably have two different devices both acting as a router, which could cause trouble in the future.

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Answer 7

cromdubh Author

Level 1

22 points

Jun 8, 2011 4:39 AM in response to William-Boyd-Jr

Thank you re checking for the MAC address.

It's there alright.

I feel now that I have a start point to move this further,

Re the Netopia with the wireless disabled, you may have provided me with an explanation for the "Default" network which shows up on my available networks. Not too sure what to do about it, if anything. Odd that no modem has ever been singled out for use with the Time Capsule router.

it may be that the "Bridge Mode Off" in my Time Capsule configuration is the reason why I have not been able to set up a proper home network, rather than just having another computer joining my ISP connection. "Network for Dummies" ordered!! I find that this genre of book seem to be written by PhDs for potential PhDs.

Thanks again. I should have got into this while i had more grey cells than I have now. Still, its fun.

Tom Johnson

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Answer 8

Jun 8, 2011 11:58 AM in response to cromdubh

cromdubh wrote:

Odd that no modem has ever been singled out for use with the Time Capsule router.

Each broadband ISP seems to have its preferred modem.

it may be that the "Bridge Mode Off" in my Time Capsule configuration is the reason why I have not been able to set up a proper home network, rather than just having another computer joining my ISP connection.

It should be possible to configure things the way you have them, but the cleanest configuration might be to turn off the router function of your Netopia unit, so that it functions in "bridge mode". Then you could take the Time Capsule out of bridge mode.

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