Digital
Loggers Web Power Switch
and Ten-Tec Omni VII (see below)
The Digital Loggers Web Power Switch is a remote controlled eight power
circuit unit accessible through a built-in web server. It allows you to
turn on / off a power circuit from anywhere through the
internet via a browser.
This is a quick cookbook approach to installing and configuring the Web
Power Switch (WPS). This assumes you have a copy of the User Manual
(downloadable fro the site). I will only touch on the areas that seem
to cause most consternation.
Part One - Configuring the WPS Locally
The default IP address of the WPS is 192.168.0.100.
If your router IP address is not 192.168.0.xxx, then you need to change
the WPS address to match the first three sets of numbers.
For example, if your router subnet address is
192.168.1.xxxx and the WPS IP address is
192.168.0.xxxx, then they are not on the same network and one
doesn't know the other exists. (The WPS defaul is "0" and your
router is "1").
You need to use the crossover cable to change the WPS IP address
to the same network.
Connect power to the WPS. Connect an ethernet crossover cable
between your PC and the WPS.
For example, set it for 192.168.1.200. See the
manual for directions on how to change the IP address. DO NOT change
the default socket number (80); you need it for the browser to work.
Once that's done, re-connect the WPS with a straight-through
ethernet cable to your router and start up any browser
(Internet Explorer, FireFox, Netscape or Opera). Enter 192.168.1.200 on
the address line and press enter. You should get the same screen as the
crossover cable example. Basically you are sending a request from your
PC to through the router to the WebSwitch's IP address.
Once you get the WebSwitch working on your network through the router,
then you can work on connecting through the internet.
Part Two -Configuring your router to access the WPS remotely
This is a bit more complicated. Re-read the manual to understand the
theory first. Let's look at it from the outside working inward.
1. Get your external IP address and write it down. Simplest way is to go to http://ipchicken.com. For our exercise, let's assume it is 66.91.58.106
2. You need to assign a unique number (called a port) to your IP
address in your router. Use something high, like 8888. This is to allow
you to connect with our network and pass the connection only to your WPS.
3. You need to assign that port (ex: 8888) in your router to the
dedicated IP address of the WPS (ex: 192.168.1.200).
Here's the steps:
Log into your router and find the screen that pertains to "persistent
port forwarding" or equivalent. It's often under "security" or "WAN".
You will add a new "rule" or equivalent.
A. The name can be anything you choose. WebSwitch or some such.
B. The port type is TCP, which is the port type used by a browser.
C. The port start is 8888 because this is what you chose.
D. The port end is 8888 because you need only one port
E. The port map start is 80 because when you send 8888 via the internet, you
want the router to change it to 80 and pass it to your WPS which you
left as 80.
F. The port map end is 80 because you need only one port..
F. The persistent or dedicated IP
address is 192.168.1.200 because that's what you chose.
5. When you connect remotely via a browser with the
address of
<<your.external.IP.address>>:8888, your ISP
will send it to your router which in turn will look up socket 8888 and
send it to 192.168.1.200 (which should be your WPS) and you
should be able to control the Omni VII. (ex:
http://66.91.58.106:8888).
Test this by asking a friend (not connected to your local router)
to try <<your.external.IP.address>>:8888 from a web browser. It should show the log in screen.
Note: When you are remote, it's always a good idea to:
1. Get the log in screen.
2. Click on refresh/recycle/renew icon at the top of the browser screen.
3. Wait for the log in screen again
4. Then log in
The reason for this is that often the login screen is saved in your
browser cache and re-presented to you. In other words, you are not yet
connected to the WPS. By refreshing the connection, you are guaranteed
to be connected. Otherwise you may get an error login screen
because the WPS wasn't aware that you want to talk to it.
Part Three - Using a Domain Name instead of an IP Address for remote access
Most people have a dynamic IP
address provided by their ISP which means that the ISP can change your IP
address at any time for their convenience.
To get a fixed IP address cost about $40/month. Not worth it.
You can use a free service called a "Dynamic Domain Name Server" or DynDNS.
(see http://dyndns.com
for more info).
1. Sign up for a free service (DynDNS.com is just one of many).
2. Select a name (ex: jim-omni7.dyndns.org) and update it with your current external IP address.
Once
you have activated a dynamic DNS service you need to keep th IP address
updated. You can maintain this automatically if your router has a
dymamic DNS update function. Three popular routers that have this
feature are Linksys WRT54G, DLink DL514 and Netgear WGR614.
Others may have this feature, too. check your router manual. The
router will check your external IP address periodically and send an
update to your dynamic DNS service when it changes.
Alternatively you can use a dynamic DNS updater program available free for
Mac, Windows and Linux. Load it onto a computer that you can leave on whenever you're away.
It must be connected to your network.
What this does is to check your network periodically to see if your ISP
has changed your IP address. If it has, it will send an update to
DynDNS. DynDNS will update their DNS record of your selected name with
the new IP address.
With the automatic update, you can now connect to the WPS using http://jim-omni7.dyndns.org:8888 totally unaware of any changes to your IP address.
Ten Tec
Omni VII Transceiver
Part One - Check your IP addresses
If you're using the Omni VII remotely and it would not connect, you can check to see if the IP address changed. See below:
You can always check your current IP address at home at http://checkip.dyndns.com
or http://ipchicken.com and
use that to update your Omni VII remote control program. Write down
this IP address as <<your.external.IP.address>>
When you're away from home, use any IP address translation program or
Ping program or web-based equivalent to check your selected domain name
for the current IP address. BePing is a free PC program. Download it
here --> http://www.tucows.com/preview/302261
For a web-based lookup, try http://network-tools.com/
Select "lookup" , type in your domain name (ex:
jim-omni7.dyndns.org) and press enter. It will return your domain name
and IP address.
Once you have the latest IP address, you can update the Omni VII parameter and connect.
Part Two - Configuring your router for the Omni VII
You need to configure your router to pass information from your
computer to the Omni VII. The set up similar to the WPS. I
will only mention the differences.
A. The name is Omni or whatever you choose.
B. The port type is UDP (mentioned in the manual).
C. The port start is 49152 because you chose the example from the manual.
D. The port end is 49157 because the manual requires six contiguous ports.
E. The port map is 49152 because you want to pass the same port directly to the Omni.
F. The port map should also ask for a port map end, which should be 49157, for the same reason as in E. above.
G. Somewhere it should have asked for the persistent or dedicated IP
address. This should be 192.168.1.xxx which you chose for the Omni.
.
Hopefully this will get you up and running in 10 minutes or less.
Have your friend try <<your.external.IP.address>>:8888 from a web browser. It should show the log in screen.
An anecdote:
We've had great success with the WPS and Omni VII. In late 2007, a
Hawaii ham (Alex KH7YY) visiting an Austrian ham, used it to
control the Omni in Hawaii to talk to his friend operating a rig in the
next room in Austria. Talk about mind-blowing global
wrap-around communications!! <grin>.
