# Netgear Wireless Game Adapter



## brobin1 (Sep 13, 2004)

Has anybody used a Netgear Wireless Game adapter with the Tivo & a cachecard?


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## gazter (Aug 1, 2001)

yes, but it wont work if you use a switch between the tivo and the netgear.


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## Jimus (Dec 28, 2005)

Yes I have a WGE111 connected to my TiVo, works great.

Jimus


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## brobin1 (Sep 13, 2004)

Thanks for the info - Just ordered one from Amazon


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## ColinYounger (Aug 9, 2006)

I have an old one of these lying around which works fine with 'compooters' - i.e. the machines get a wireless link to the internet, etc. I currently use it to allow guests to easily connect to my network. I've been trying this afternoon to use it to connect my TiVo to my home network.

But I can't connect to the TiVo. 

It works fine if I trail a spare cable to the nearest port, meaning that the TiVo is happy with the setup, but a trailing cable won't make the other half happy. Currently other half holds sway. 

Can anyone who uses a Netgear WGE111 (Netgear Wireless Game Adapter) let me know how they've got it working? I have a funny feeling the WGE111 is a 'one way' device - i.e outgoing traffic only.


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## worm (Feb 10, 2005)

I suspect it wouldn't be much use for gaming if that were the case


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## ColinYounger (Aug 9, 2006)

OK - I'll take the hint and play with the setup again. Bet it's something on the AP.

Uh-oh, TOH is giving a 'not that again' as I reach toward the network cable...


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## ColinYounger (Aug 9, 2006)

For completeness...

Tsk. It seems impatience was my enemy. I plugged in the WGE111 and had not been able to reach the TiVos IP address. While scanning through Netgear documentation, my continuous ping started responding.

We're connected via wireless, yeah!


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

Well, I'm about to move into a new house. Rather than traipse the long ethernet cable from the office to the living room (what I did in my old house), the new house's layout makes this rather prohibitive so I decided to get a wireless link.

As I already have a Netgear DG834G wireless router, I'd heard someone recommend the Netgear WGPS606 print server as a solution.

I got this in the post yesterday and set it up last night. On the negative side, it's incredibly fiddly to set up if you've changed your IP number from the default range that the Netgear hubs. At least this is what I think stopped the wizzard from seeing the device. I just couldn't get the (badly worded) instructions on the manual to work. When I did get the wizzard to work, when I put in a valid IP number and netmask it told me that either the IP number was already in use or the netmask was invalid. I have up after trying many combinations.

On the plus, once it starts working it works well and quickly.

In the end I changed the IP number on my laptop's ethernet port and logged in using its web interface and changed the IP number manually. After a number of goes, this began to work and it now works as a wireless ethernet link.

I think part of the problem with the manual and wizard is that it assumes you're going to be installing printers and not just using it as a wifi bridge (which is a by-product I think). But it works as one - and works well. It's obviously not as fast as connecting using a raw 100Mb/s ethernet - but it's fast enough for Very Big Files to download in acceptable amounts of time.

Once installed it's transparent in use unless you go into looking at the lower level network layers and exactly how the IP layer works. In effect, the TiVo (and all other devices plugged into the print server's ethernet ports) assume the MAC address of the print server, but all routing seems to work fine.

The WGPS606 is a little more expensive than the WGE111 coming in at around £60 compared to around £50 for the game adapter but the WGPS606 has 3 extra ethernet ports for fututure use as well as 2 USB ports that I can plug a printer into should I wish to do some printing downstairs instead of in the office.


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

I'm very happy with mine. The only disadvantage that I found, when compared to my old WGE101 and switch, is the very bright blue flickering light on it. When I turn off my room lights to watch DVD's (it improves the effect of surround sound), that end of my lounge looks like an oil rig at night, what with all the other lights as well.


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

The WGPS606 has this problem as well (I assume you're talking about the WGE111). I've faced it away as it's way too bright and distracting even with the lights are on, but even then, with the light off, the wall behind the TV is lit with a blue glow, which flickers whenever there's activity on the WiFi. I suspect it'll be going inside some form of enclosure when finally deployed or alternatively, a layer of black gaffer tape placed over the front...

Edit: Hmm - you may well have been talking about the WGPS606... sorry for the confusion if you were!


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## healeydave (Jun 4, 2003)

I use a US Robotics Gaming Adapter. 

When I looked a couple of years ago, it was cheaper than all the others and always liked their modems back in the day (reminises the pre-ADSL days for a nano second).

It been sitting behind the tivo ever since and seems to do the job.


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

aerialplug said:


> Hmm - you may well have been talking about the WGPS606... sorry for the confusion if you were!


Yes, I meant the WGPS606. I used to have a WGE101, which was like the WGE111 but not crippled to one attached device. Unfortunately, that died (probably from a lightning strike, even though on a surge suppressor).

I think that the mistake with the WGPS606 is using a blue light. I have two other devices with blue lights, and they all seem much brighter than the red, yellow and green lights. Must be the wavelength.


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

yes, the blue light is way too bright - but then, to be fair, it wasn't designed to be part of the home cinema kit 

Speaking of blue light - I've just bought a water cooler from Argos which chills water to a nice cool drinking temperature (and adds a foul plastic taste when new too). When it's chilling the element down to chill temperature, as well as running a large noisy PC fan to cool the element, a discrete green LED is displayed.

When it's at chill level, the brightest blue LED I've ever seen comes on! I swar - I don't need to turn on the light in the kitchen - this thing projects a blue circular pattern on the opposite wall that's bright enough to illumniate the entire room, when the eye is used to the dark!


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## Nebulous (Nov 28, 2005)

I think manufacturers treat blue LEDs as a *must have* because they have only recently become available at a reasonable price. Boring old cheep red and green ones have been around since forever.

When I saw the first blue ones appear in the RS catalogue (6-ish years ago?) they where 7 quid each  for a bog standard 5mm round one, whereas red and green ones where just a few pence.

Perhaps it's code for "Look at me I can afford blue ones"


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## The Bear (Sep 19, 2006)

I also use the WGPS606, and it was very fiddly to initially setup as it always wanted to try and install printers as mentioned above.

The blue light also lights my room up at night. I just put a sock over it when I go to bed. May have to invest in some gaffer tape!

I was hoping there would be some kind of unofficial firmware version to disable the lights but haven't come across one yet.


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