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802.11 Acccess Points with Dialup Capabilities?

Posted by Cliff on from the wireless-on-the-road dept.

timothy asks: "Since I like to visit friends and family, yet still be able to access the internet without hurting -their- access, I have purchased an all-in-one Linksys NAT box which combines firewall, NAT, 4-port switch, and 802.11b access in one cute little box. That's great when staying with people who have an ethernet network, but doesn't work for dialup. More and more people have DSL or cable, but Motel6 is still POTS! ;)"

"I'm thinking of either selling or supplementing the Linksys because it lacks a serial port for controlling a modem. In fact, despite the many brands of wireless AP right now, the only maker I can find with the ability to use a modem (besides Apple -- both generations of Airport have built-in modems) is SMC. One of their Barricade models has a serial port in addition to 3 hardwired ethernet ports and wireless, and a friend has demonstrated how it can be hooked up with an inexpensive 56K modem. This model has a decent web-based interface, but it's also not ideal for travel: sort of clunky to need a 2nd box (the modem), another wallwart, etc.

Can anyone suggest a box more akin to the Linksys (seems well-constructed, stacks, good indicator lights on front) but with a built-in modem? The ideal would be a single box I could set up quickly on any borrowed phone line to provide both wired and wireless access. The Apple Airport is the only one-box way to do this I can find, but I've heard only bad things about the Java setup utility necessary to make it work under Linux. (It also doesn't allow MAC address cloning, not necessary for dialup but often is when broadband is available) All suggestions welcome!"

2 of 28 comments (clear)

  1. Airport configuration by Cadre · · Score: 4, Informative

    Apple has also released a Windows utility to configure the Airport (it isn't Java). If you don't have Windows box, perhaps it will run under WINE?

    --
    All editorial writers ever do is come down from the hill after the battle is over and shoot the wounded.
  2. Pick up a catalog or something. by NetJunkie · · Score: 3, Informative

    Orinoco (formerly Lucent) has a home gateway product that's an 802.11 AP with NAT and a built-in 56K modem. Orinoco's wireless products are great.

    www.wavelan.com