Nikon wireless problems

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Paul D.Smith - 05 Jun 2006 08:41 GMT

Nikon Coolpix P2
Netgear DG384G router
They connect but then the Coolpix fails to contact the host PC correctly and
I can't download pictures.

Anyone got a Nikon talking via a Netgear router to a host PC using
infrastructure wireless mode? If so, how?

Feel free to "talk techie" - I'll understand!

Cheers,
Paul DS

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CSM1 - 05 Jun 2006 16:45 GMT

> Nikon Coolpix P2
> Netgear DG384G router
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Cheers,
> Paul DS

Have you read your manual?

Read "Wireless Transfer Mode". In the non-print PDF it starts on page144 in
the PDF, Actual page number in the printed manual is 132. Wireless setup
(actual page numbers) 133-136.

There are several modes for wireless transfer, make sure you have setup the
correct mode.
And you have setup the router and computer to work with the camera.

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CSM1
http://www.carlmcmillan.com
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Paul D.Smith - 06 Jun 2006 08:48 GMT

>> Nikon Coolpix P2
>> Netgear DG384G router
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> the correct mode.
> And you have setup the router and computer to work with the camera.

Carl,

Thanks for the suggestion , although I've read the manuals, the website,
Googled etc before posting my question ;-).

It turns out that this is an incompatibility between the manner in which the
Camera attaches to the host PC and my router. In techie speak, both camera
and router send, and expect to receive responses to, multicast packets sent
to the multicast address 224.0.0.251. The Netgear DG384G (software rev.
2.X) does NOT pass these packets from the wired network to the wireless
network. Since they don't reach the wireless network, the camera never sees
packets sent form the computer and assumes the computer isn't there.

Unfortunately ALL the camera modes require these multicast packets so none
of them work. At this time, there doesn't appear to be a work around.

There is a latter revision of software for the Netgear DG384G (3.X) which
I've going to try tonight, but I'm not hopeful :-(.

Paul DS.

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CSM1 - 06 Jun 2006 13:38 GMT

>>> Nikon Coolpix P2
>>> Netgear DG384G router
[quoted text clipped - 40 lines]
>
> Paul DS.

I am glad that you found what is causing the problem.

Maybe you can set the address of 224.0.0.251 as a pass-thru address in your
router.
In my router, it is Static Routing.

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http://www.carlmcmillan.com
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Paul D.Smith - 06 Jun 2006 16:01 GMT

...snip...

I am glad that you found what is causing the problem.

> Maybe you can set the address of 224.0.0.251 as a pass-thru address in
> your router.
> In my router, it is Static Routing.

Carl,

How do you achieve this? My Netgear DG384G only seems to allow my to say
"direct 244.0.0.251" traffic to X.Y.Z.W". The problem is that if I do this,
any multicast packets in either direction bounce to X.Y.Z.W. So if I set
X.Y.Z.W to be the camera, even packets from the camera get bounced back to
it but if I set the PC address, packets all end up at the PC.

Do you see what I mean? I don't have the option to say "packets from X,
route to Y" and "packets from Y, route to X".

I am going to try and set a static route on my PC tonight to see if that can
sort it. Fingers crossed.

Paul DS.

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CSM1 - 06 Jun 2006 18:43 GMT

> ...snip...
>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> I set X.Y.Z.W to be the camera, even packets from the camera get bounced
> back to it but if I set the PC address, packets all end up at the PC.

Lets say
244.0.0.251 to 192.168.1.102 (My computer IP on the LAN)
Then maybe set up:
192.168.1.102 to 244.0.0.251
You have two addresses setup, Camera to PC and PC to Camera.

Do you get bi-directional when set up that way?

> Do you see what I mean? I don't have the option to say "packets from X,
> route to Y" and "packets from Y, route to X".
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Paul DS.

I am going to take my foot out of my mouth, now.

I was only thinking that if the IP address of the camera was passed thru the
network, It would show in the wireless output.

If your router will not pass the wired network calls (packets) on to the
wireless, I don't know of any cure.

My router also allows you to configure a DMZ on the LAN address, so that the
firewall routes everything to the Lan address. In effect it removes the
firewall for that one computer.

Image of the static configure in my router. My router allows you to add as
many routes as you wish.
http://www.carlmcmillan.com/Temp/

I don't not know if this will work for you, so good luck.

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CSM1
http://www.carlmcmillan.com
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Paul D.Smith - 07 Jun 2006 08:38 GMT

...snip...

> Lets say
> 244.0.0.251 to 192.168.1.102 (My computer IP on the LAN)
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Do you get bi-directional when set up that way?

...snip...

> I am going to take my foot out of my mouth, now.
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> If your router will not pass the wired network calls (packets) on to the
> wireless, I don't know of any cure.

Carl,

Setting a static route from my PC seems to have changed what flows on the
network, but the darned thing still doesn't work!

Thanks for the picture of your router settings. I don't think the Netgear
allows anything similar but I'll take a look.

I'm guessing that since you don't have wireless, you don't have a Coolpix P2
either (or don't use the wireless feature). If I'm wrong, and you do have a
Coolpix P2 with wireless, any chance of a network (Ethereal) trace of it
contacting the PC? I'm trying to figure out what is wrong but I don't have
a good exemplar to compare to.

Thanks,
Paul DS

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CSM1 - 07 Jun 2006 14:38 GMT

> ...snip...
>
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
> Thanks,
> Paul DS

You are correct, I do not have wireless network and I do not have a Coolpix
P2 camera.

All that I can go by is what is printed in the online PDF manual.
Good Luck.

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CSM1
http://www.carlmcmillan.com
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