Dan Posted December 29, 2010 Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 Hi fellow Stoker users, I thought I'd share with you all a wireless gateway that I found for the Stoker. it's very small, very inexpensive and has worked well on a few cooks so far. You can find them on ebay for about $30 USD. Setup is pretty simple if you're familiar with configuring home gateways 1) Install the PC software 2) Configure the bridge to a static IP address (e.g.: 192.168.0.99) 3) Configure your home gateway to always setup the bridge's MAC address to be the above IP address The unit can operate on 5 VDC so you can use the same transformer to power both the Stoker and the gateway. Note that you need to start the gateway up first, then the stoker so don't wire them up to the same switch. Here's what it looks like: As you can tell by the size of the USB connector, the overall unit size is pretty small. It's also about 3/8" thick (if the Stoker case was not metal, I'd have shoved it inside... it does fit!) Once you program it via the USB, you can unplug it. I was brave (foolish?) and then cut the USB connector off so that I could weld the adaptor to the wallwart that came with the Stoker. Now both are powered by the same wallwart. It's a lot smaller than the "Gamming adaptors" that you often find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryR Posted December 29, 2010 Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Looks pretty cool! I'm using the WET11 currently but wouldn't mind getting something smaller, how's the connection without an external antenna? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted December 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Reception is not too bad but not fantastic if you double-side tape flat to the metal case. I've had better luck with the antenna portion of the unit (rounded end) sticking out. I've done two 15+ hr cooks with this setup and have not lost any data. Here's a picture of how I have it now: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Thanks for the post..grabbed one the other day. Coming from China, so hope it arrives soon. $29.90 & free shipping. -=J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Let me know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Very Nice...came in today. Appreciate the suggestion as it turned out great. Couple things (possibly slightly different model): - On mine, the USB is for power only (no data wires) and the connector simply pulls off leaving a barrel type connector. Power can be supplied via this cable to power the unit, or can be used to feed power to device (ie..Stoker). - Programming is done via the Ethernet jack (plugged into computer). Almost perfect wiring. As I mentioned above, the USB plug pulls off leaving barrel jack. Unfortunately it is the next size smaller than what is on the Stoker. But a simple solution was to drill it a tiny bit bigger and it fit the Stoker perfectly (there was plenty of room to drill it out). For the power to the wifi device, just so happens in my stack of old computer junk/cables, I had a 5v power supply with the smaller barrel jack that fit perfect. So now I have one power supply that feeds both devices and it is pretty compact. As Dan mentioned the range is not great (but my router is upstairs at front and grill is in backyard). Luckily I had a bridge repeater handy for the downstairs. -=J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregR Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Has anyone used a powerline adapter like http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-85Mbps-Powerline-Network-Adapter/dp/B001AZUTCS/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_1 with a Stoker? Looks like it could be a simple (admittedly more expensive) alternative to this wireless solution. My cooker is quite a distance away from my wireless router and I'm concerned the signal won't reach. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Yes, I use a NetGear model (perhaps a bit older) and it works fine. I have it running the entire length of the house, plugged into a power strip, through an extension cable to the Garage, down the entire length of the house (and through the circuit breaker in the middle) to my router. Works great and pretty reliable, but I try to power it on first and then power on the Stoker a bit after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregR Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Thanks for the reply. You say "pretty reliable." Have you had issues with dropped connections or other issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway No dropped connections, but there seems to be a race condition if you power the Stoker on at the same time. My guess is that the Stoker sometimes boots before the link is established and it doesn't get an IP address. Once it's working it doesn't seem to break the connection, but obviously hardwired to a switch is going to be a better solution if it's possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted May 5, 2011 Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Has anyone used a powerline adapter like http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-85Mbps-Powerline-Network-Adapter/dp/B001AZUTCS/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_1 with a Stoker? Looks like it could be a simple (admittedly more expensive) alternative to this wireless solution. My cooker is quite a distance away from my wireless router and I'm concerned the signal won't reach. Greg With a little DIY attitude, I am guessing it would not be hard to add an antenna to extend the range of the Vonets wireless adapter. Been meaning to try it myself, but have so many projects going at once right now. The unit is right at the very end on my range right now (literally, a few feet and it is within range), so I bet the antenna would put it within range. -=J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
