Newbie question

[jpdennis]

I have been reading about loss of wireless connectivity.  I also just unwrapped my DL1608L.  Is there a "Best" iPAD model to get or some mystery settings to not get disconnected during a show?  In the past the Behringer X16 would just drop and it took some real technical savvy to get it to work again.  I am hoping the Mackie and a Cisco wireless device doesn't have the issue.  I am thinking of only using the 5Ghz band.  Any input concerning this would be highly appreciated.

Dennis

[dpdan]

Welcome to the forum Dennis and Happy New Year!

Congrats on your DL purchase.
I use an Apple Airport Express and it is WONDERFUL!

If, and I say if you have any issues with connection being unreliable I highly suggest either an Apple Airport Express or Airport Extreme.
If you purchase one of these, you should download the free Apple App called Airport Utility, it is great for setting up the router without a bunch of nightmares and headaches.
Dan 

[rocu]

I second the Airport Express. I have never lost a connection.

[pytchley]

+1 for the Express, better still get two, then you have a spare that can also extend your range which is already surprisingly good. Only downside is that it's reported that Apple is about to ditch the whole airport range...

[Keyboard Magic]

Only downside is that it's reported that Apple is about to ditch the whole airport range...

Noooooooooooo!!!!

Ah well, all good things must come to an end I suppose.

[stevegarris]

I also use the Airport Express. I have had connection difficulties, but have also found solutions. I was able to change settings in the Airport Express Utility, to enable better connections around large crowds with cell phones. Most often, if I'm having a problem, a quick reboot of the iPad will fix it. You can do this while running a show. I suggest nothing less than an iPad Air 2 for best performance.

[jpdennis]

Welcome to the forum Dennis and Happy New Year!

Congrats on your DL purchase.
I use an Apple Airport Express and it is WONDERFUL!

If, and I say if you have any issues with connection being unreliable I highly suggest either an Apple Airport Express or Airport Extreme.
If you purchase one of these, you should download the free Apple App called Airport Utility, it is great for setting up the router without a bunch of nightmares and headaches.
Dan

I am still concerned about security and 2.4Ghz conflicts.  Can you set the channelwidth to 20MHz if necessary?  I have read that Cisco and Apple are collaborating (or at least Apple is allowing code sharing) to provided seamless connectivity and better connectivity.

I also use the Airport Express. I have had connection difficulties, but have also found solutions. I was able to change settings in the Airport Express Utility, to enable better connections around large crowds with cell phones. Most often, if I'm having a problem, a quick reboot of the iPad will fix it. You can do this while running a show. I suggest nothing less than an iPad Air 2 for best performance.

Usually the saturation of 2.4GHz devices cause most of the conflicts even if they are not connected.  Cell phones, laptops, and even the "cordless" base-station phones.  Have you used 5GHz with any luck with say a 150 ft distance form the base station?

Thanks all,

Dennis

[dpdan]

no frills no bull.
this is a pretty large arena called Scott Trade Center (Home of the Blues Hockey team) I did a job in using the DL32R and an Apple Airport Extreme...
NO ISSUES
Remember to click on the icon after you start the video so you can watch the video in full screen with better screen resolution

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjI66lr-jWQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjI66lr-jWQ</a>

[JohnMHoyt]

I have a friend of mine who uses a directional antenna from his wireless AP, pointed right at his primary FOH mix position, and he uses a pair of repeaters on either side of the stage too.   
He's used to doing large production events with 10000-100000 people (festivals to football games) and he is very concerned about losing temporary control of his systems.
Now he's not using Mackie all the time, but he has a lot of controls that rely on wifi.... Everything from DMX lighting to big LED video display arrays, it's all controlled via wifi.

He uses 2.4GHz unlicensed spectrum for compatibility and the lack of need for frequency coordination.

I helped him design his system from easily replaceable components, and he keeps a spare set of everything.  At one event, he had to deploy all 4 repeaters to get full coverage of an arena, so now he has added 2 more, just in case it ever happens again.   

Yes, there are better solutions - you don't have to use 2.4/5GHz, but it sure makes life easier if you are using iPads and other off the shelf tablets and you don't want dongles/radios hanging off of them.

In his situation the biggest concern is not just losing control, it's about someone using his systems as a means of broadcasting propaganda or hate or the like...

Hijacking of a system at a major event could be awesome you know.  A person intent on doing so could seize control over a wirelessly controlled mixer (they have to break the encryption, but that's not impossible), using the correct mixer software (and if there are access limits in place, bypass those) then they have to know a channel (frequency) of a wireless mic that they can use for their input.  Then they have to overpower the actual mic if it is an FM system (capture effect will let the strongest signal win).   It's a lot of steps to make happen, but people have done even more elaborate things, like seizing a satellite =)

For us - our biggest fear is high RF from all the similar devices in our spectrum.   Therefore, have the best AP you can get, the stronger signal will usually win - and know a place you can run to that is direct line of sight to reestablish your connection.

Also, use a strong encryption key, don't be like the church I was at for an evaluation where their wifi was wide open and within 1 minute of getting there, I demonstrated how anyone could ruin their service.
 

[Weogo]

Hi Folks,

High powered routers may be great for getting signal TO your Ipad, but this doesn't boost your Ipad's transmit power.

A better router probably has a little better receiver section, but
at a certain point, forget higher powered units and do like John and go distributed.

Thanks and good health,  Weogo

[JohnMHoyt]

Hi Folks,

High powered routers may be great for getting signal TO your Ipad, but this doesn't boost your Ipad's transmit power.

A better router probably has a little better receiver section, but
at a certain point, forget higher powered units and do like John and go distributed.

Thanks and good health,  Weogo

You are absolutely correct, the signal from your iPad is certainly a weak link, but if you utilize directional antennas towards where you are, the antenna will reject signal from the sides and behind, and your little iPad's signal (and anything in that path) will get maximum signal into that directional antenna.   I've got some >18 db gain antennas that once you are off that lobe, you won't even be a blip. =)

You want to see this in action, you can model it in software.

[stevegarris]

no frills no bull.
this is a pretty large arena called Scott Trade Center (Home of the Blues Hockey team) I did a job in using the DL32R and an Apple Airport Extreme...
NO ISSUES
Remember to click on the icon after you start the video so you can watch the video in full screen with better screen resolution

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjI66lr-jWQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjI66lr-jWQ</a>

That is excellent clarity throughout the space, even on an iPhone. Is that the VRX system? I've not heard one live yet, but I frequently read about them. Sorry to go off topic.

[stevegarris]

I also use the Airport Express. I have had connection difficulties, but have also found solutions. I was able to change settings in the Airport Express Utility, to enable better connections around large crowds with cell phones. Most often, if I'm having a problem, a quick reboot of the iPad will fix it. You can do this while running a show. I suggest nothing less than an iPad Air 2 for best performance.

Usually the saturation of 2.4GHz devices cause most of the conflicts even if they are not connected.  Cell phones, laptops, and even the "cordless" base-station phones.  Have you used 5GHz with any luck with say a 150 ft distance form the base station?

Thanks all,

Dennis

I first had intermittent connection problems when I was doing some large-ish outdoor shows, with a lot of people right up close to the stage. I'm using dual band, and can easily go 10 ft. In fact, I've taken the mixer into the bathroom at some gigs, still connected.

The first thing I did was set my APE access point as a hidden network, WPA2 Personal. It runs dual channel 5 and 2.4 GHz. This helped immensely, but on one busy show I started loosing the connection again.

Next I attempted to get better reception by placing the APE on a mic stand, to get it up high. This also helped.

Lastly, using Airport Utility I set the Radio Mode on the 5 GHz to 802.11n only. This seemed to make a huge difference. Now, I rarely loose connection, and if I do, a restart of the iPad fixes it for the rest of the show.

I can't stress enough that the first thing you should try if you're having connection problems is a quick re-boot of your iPad. Mine is an old iPad 2.

[jpdennis]

Thank you all!!

I used the 5GHz band.  I was able to locate the actual MAC address of the unit using a freebie Network Scanner call "SoftPerfect Network Scanner".  By the numbers;

1) Access password changed
2) The Wi-Fi router uses a non-standard LAN side IP range
3) MAC filtering enabled
4) WAN side only used via DHCP to update firmware in controlled environment (disconnected and disabled at gigs)
5) Coverage range in preliminary test at 500 ft though multiple wall scenario (should work fine in 2,000 square foot open box)

That was fun!!

Dennis

[EDIT]

Oh yea, I set the darn thing to only use 802.11ac, WPA Personal with very strong encrypted key [tested using PW cracker ... still running after 40 hours so not likely during a 4 hour or less show].