Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

jdhindes · Jun 19, 2003, 09:05 PM

I just got hooked up with wirelss DSL here in my home. (This is where there is an antenna on top of the roof pointing to a radio tower connectivity.) Anyway the DLS "radio" is set on channel 1 and the Airport Extreme is set on 11. (They have to be set several channels apart.) Here's my problem. After about 2 hours, I lose my internet connection. If I reset the Airport Extreme Base Staion, everything works again. Is there some setting in the Airport Base Station Configuration I'm missing? It is set to have a manual IP address that the DSL wireless installer setup. Then the AE Base Station assigns 10.0. . . .IP numbers to the 3 computers on the network here in my house. Why is the Airport crapping out on me? We know it's the Airport because of the lights on the DSL radio. (They remain fine. . . while I lose my connection the radio is OK.) Any ideas? I am using a 12" Powerbook, wirelessly, 1 Win XP & 1 Win Me. Everyone of the computers loses its connection until the Airport Base is reset. Any ideas?

Jim

ghporter · Jun 20, 2003, 06:22 PM

You're assuming that the problem is AirPort related-I disagree. I think your DSL connection is dropping, and when you reset the base station, it reestablishes that connection.

Do you use PPPoE authentication (a possibility, even with a static IP)? In this case you should go to the Internet tab in the Admin Utility, and click the "stay connected" box.

Of course you must have the DSL modem connected to the WAN port on the base station...

jdhindes · Jun 20, 2003, 07:29 PM

Thanks Glenn for the reply. Today I took the Airport totally out and used an old router I had from Compaq. It worked all day until about 1 hour ago when I had the same problem all over again--no internet connection. So, I think you are right, the problem may be with the DSL dropping. Anyway, I have ticket with Applecare as well as the ISP. I am ready to pull my hair out over this! I just want it to work! The ISP is out of San Antonio.

Jim

ghporter · Jun 20, 2003, 07:36 PM

If the router has a "keep alive" function, you could see if that has any affect. This would tell you whether it's simply an issue of a time-out or a real problem with the connection.

I have a policy of using a cable/DSL router on any connection that it will work with, as these devices make your LAN private and give you a lot of control over your connection. Even noting that an AirPort base is a one-port router, configuring it using the Admin Utility is not as straightforward (to me) as the web-interface that other routers provide. Some of that control and straightforwardness includes the ability to check your connection's status and at the same time whether your LAN is working-you have to have a working network connection to see the configuration pages.

jdhindes · Jun 21, 2003, 01:01 PM

Ok, I have everything working again! I solved my own problem. I had to "rethink" everything I was doing. I have the Compaq router connected to my Wireless DSL Modem to the outside world. The DSL radio modem is set on Channel 1, the Compaq router is on Channel 11. I have an ethernet cable coming out of the router to the LAN port on my AE base station. The AE base station is set to NOT distribute IP addresses, so the Airport gets its ip address from the Compaq router, like it should. My Canon printer is connnected to the Airport. The Airport is on channel 6. Now my 12" Powerbook can see both wireless networks--so if I need to print wirelesssly, I can. The problem with the dropped DSL has only happened once this a.m. Now my ISP is monitoring my connection. Glenn was right, there was NO problem with my AE base station. Hope this helps someone. I decided to use the 2 routers since I already have them. I have 2 PC's running on the net + my 12" Powerbook. One of the PC's is running wireless and the other is connected directly to the Compaq router. Everything has worked flawlessly today! YEA!!!!

Jim