Wireless Router Set-up

[Nyquist]

I am trying to set-up my "3COM OfficeConnect ADSL Wireless 11g Firewall Router" to work with my Homechoice box. Unfortunately I am not having much luck. Can you please help?

Thanks :clap:

[ched]

I will try and help if I can. I have Tiscali TV and their router so a bit different to your setup. Plus I have 2 other routers connected to the system with 2 laptops, 2 pcs, Xbox, 2 network printers, wireless access points etc...

If you could describe how your stuff is connected, i.e is the Home choice box connected to the phone line or your router connected to the phone line???? Then how everything else connects together, then I might be able to advise.
Cheers.

[Nyquist]

Hi Ched,

Thanks for the response. Here is how the connections are:

Phone Line --> Home Choice Box ---> Home Choice Box PC output ----> 3COM (wireless router and modem) any of the Ethernet Ports---> PC network card.

Unfortunately I could not get this set-up to work at all :-(

You can find the 3COM data-sheet at:

http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/result.jsp?selected=2&sort=effdt&order=desc&sku=3CRWDR100A-72

Hope this information helps.

Thanks for your help and time.

[MK_Brett]

Hi,
The reason this isn't working is that the router you're using is an ADSL router (has built in modem). You should be using a DSL/Cable router. From your description, you have the old Homechoice STB (silver front with Blue light). The LAN or PC port on the back of STB is a network connection (RJ45) and the WAN port on your router is an ADSL port (RJ11).

Regards

Brett

[ched]

Right, as far as I can tell (never seen an old style TTV/homechoice box) the Home Choice Box has an adsl modem built in. So that will take care of the modem side of things no problem. The cat5 (rj45) ethernet port on the back of the Home Choice Box should normally be connected to a pc? If so then this ethernet port on the Home Choice Box can be connected to any of the 4 LAN ports NOT the ADSL port as the Home Choice Box takes the modem roll.
Your PCs, laptop, games console etc should be connected to the 3Com routers other ports or wirelessly.

Now the fun bit. Basically you are using a router as a network hub/switch, so you need to tell the router to use the Home Choice Box as the gateway to the internet. This means you need to find the internal IP address of the Home Choice Box, (it also has an external IP address given to it by Tiscali on a lease basis). The IP address will be in the form of 192.168.2.1 or something like that.
Then you need to configure your router to a static IP address, say 192.168.2.2.Turn the routers DHCP to off. Your other pc's etc should be set to fixed IP addresses and set the gateway to the Home Choice Box IP address.

Basically all you are doing is telling your PCs that the path to the internet is via the gateway at 192.168.2.1 . ope that that gives you a bit of an idea how to sort things out. To be honest the simplest way to connect multiple pc's to your Home Choice Box would to to use a cheap network switch or hub. But as you already have the router you can use that. I am using a total of 4 routers on my network as I already had them. I do have the new style Tiscali TV that comes with a wireless router so my stuff isnt the same as yours but hopefully you get the idea? If not let me know.

[Nyquist]

Ched,

Thanks for the information. I will have a go at it and let you know how it goes. I was not setting a static IP. "Default Gateway" IP number of the HomeChoice box is dynamically allocated each time box is turned on or is it static? I can see an IP address (dynamic I am guessing) and "Default Gateway" IP address should be static ( I am hoping)

I did try a "network switch" with no luck. Maybe I connected it wrong way round.

Hopefully, in the new year Tiscali might upgrade my box !!!! I think it is long overdue since I have been a homechoice customer for several years.

Once again thanks for the pointers. I will let you know how it goes. In the mean time have a happy new year.

[ched]

I am guessing that the Home Choice Box has a static IP address for computers connected to it and a dynamic external IP address given to it by Homechoice/Tiscali.

You might be able to find out the IP address of the Home Choice Box by plugging a PC into the Home Choice Box and setting it up to connect to the net. Ten open a dos window. In XP its start the Run then type in cmd. You will get a black window type in tracetr www.google.com this will then list the devices and IP addresses that are in between your PC and www.google.com. The first one is normally your connection point to ADSL line, it your Home Choice Box.

You could, having found out the Home Choice Box IP address just use a switch and set your PC's to use the Home Choice Box IP address as the default gateway and DNS addresses. But you wouldnt get the wireless network without your 3com router.

Happy New Year.

[Nyquist]

Thanks for the info. If I do ipconfig from the cmd window I get an IP address for the Default Gateway. If I do tracert I get a different IP address. Can you help ?

Thanks

[MK_Brett]

I am guessing that the Home Choice Box has a static IP address for computers connected to it and a dynamic external IP address given to it by Homechoice/Tiscali.
I'm afraid you are wrong. It dosen't.
Ip address is assined dynamicly to the STB at login and will change each time you log off and back on again.
The hub(switch) won't work as there is nothing to take care of routing.

Happy new year

[ched]

As I said earlier I dont actually have your version of the set top box so I am guessing a bit. As Mk_Brett has said that its a dynamic IP address allocated to the Set top box. Well I am still guessing here but Tiscali will give your router or set top box a dynamic IP address that is your connection to the internet. How would you normally connect a PC to the internet when you have the homechoice box? If its to connect it to the homechoice set top box then I would have thought the settop box would allocate a connected PC a local IP address. It may be that the homechoice box isnt capable of supporting more than 1 PC but I cant see that.
What Ip addresses did you get from the tracert and ipconfig? Private message me if you want to keep the IP addresses quiet. I am guessing that you might get 2 IP addresses in the same range (ie 192.168.1.xx and 192.168.1.xx) with the ipconfig. If so then the default gateway is the crucial bit of info you need to enable the routing to work.

Keep the info coming you never know we may be able to solve this? MK_Brett does work for Tiscali and probably knows a megga amount more that me on their kit, but you never know we might find a work round :grin:

[Nyquist]

"Default Gateway", IP address is changing each time you connect to Internet as "MK_Brett" pointed out. What is not changing is the IP address for : "sc1-stbc-rtr1.homechoice.co.uk", I wonder if this is the IP for the box ????

Maybe I should call Tiscali and ask them to send me a new box with the wireless already installed. After all, all these years I have been using the same box I was given when I first joined.

[Nyquist]

Hi,
The reason this isn't working is that the router you're using is an ADSL router (has built in modem). You should be using a DSL/Cable router. From your description, you have the old Homechoice STB (silver front with Blue light). The LAN or PC port on the back of STB is a network connection (RJ45) and the WAN port on your router is an ADSL port (RJ11).

Regards

Brett

Can't I disable the modem and just use the routing capability of the 3COM box?

[ched]

"Default Gateway", IP address is changing each time you connect to Internet as "MK_Brett" pointed out. What is not changing is the IP address for : "sc1-stbc-rtr1.homechoice.co.uk", I wonder if this is the IP for the box ????

The default IP address that keeps changing is the external IP address for the Set top box to the internet. The fixed one for "sc1-stbc-rtr1.homechoice.co.uk" should be your other PC's default gateway IP address.

So say the sc1-stbc-rtr1.homechoice.co.uk IP address is 192.168.1.254.

Plug your 3com router into the homechoice box (Not the adsl port on 3com, just normal ethernet). Give the router a fixed IP address of say 192.168.1.250. Now connect a PC to one of the other 3 router ports. Set the PC's IP address to 192.168.1.2 and the default gateway to 192.168.1.254.

This should in theory work. As for the new Tiscali kit its very different to yours. Basically the set top box doesnt have a modem built in. They supply a wireless router and the set top box plugs into the Tiscali router via ethernet. Some other forums seem to be suggesting that Homechoice customers may be getting upgraded to the new Tiscali kit. I have seen some reports of Feb and some March, so if you cant get it working you may not have to wait long.

Let me know what happens if you try the above and then what ipconfig and tracert results you get.

[MK_Brett]

The default IP address that keeps changing is the external IP address for the Set top box to the internet. The fixed one for "sc1-stbc-rtr1.homechoice.co.uk" should be your other PC's default gateway IP address.

So say the sc1-stbc-rtr1.homechoice.co.uk IP address is 192.168.1.254.

Plug your 3com router into the homechoice box (Not the adsl port on 3com, just normal ethernet). Give the router a fixed IP address of say 192.168.1.250. Now connect a PC to one of the other 3 router ports. Set the PC's IP address to 192.168.1.2 and the default gateway to 192.168.1.254.

This should in theory work.
I agree this should work, in principle.


As for the new Tiscali kit its very different to yours. Basically the set top box doesnt have a modem built in. They supply a wireless router and the set top box plugs into the Tiscali router via ethernet. Some other forums seem to be suggesting that Homechoice customers may be getting upgraded to the new Tiscali kit. I have seen some reports of Feb and some March, so if you cant get it working you may not have to wait long.

Again correct. You will be migrated soonish to the new setup as described by ched. Don't ask me for a date, I can't help you with that. And my advice is to wait untill we contact you about this.:)

[Nyquist]

Ched and MK_Brett,

Thank you very much for the information and insights :thumbsup:.

Ched:

Each time I do ipconfig the default gateway IP as well as the assigned PC IP changes as expected. What is remaining constant is the "sc1-stbc-rtr1.homechoice.co.uk " IP address. I will have a go and get back to you.

MK_Brett:

I know you said not to ask for a date for migration, but as a ball park figure will it be in Q1 of 2008?

Thanks a lot for all the help :clap:

[MK_Brett]

I know you said not to ask for a date for migration, but as a ball park figure will it be in Q1 of 2008?
Thanks a lot for all the help :clap:

Yes