random neuron misfires

One post in a series about De-Evolving Technology Products.

I’m not sure why, in 2007, we have technology companies producing products that do NOT have a dual-switching power supply with their hardware. Case in point, the Linksys WRT54GX2…

This lovely piece of hardware has never powered up for me since I purchased it. The PSU that they ship with it, only works on 120v, and failed to function when I used it in Australia when plugged into my inverter and voltage converters. Everything else I had with me worked flawlessly, except this device.

Examining the PSU case closely, I noticed that it only supports 120v~ 60Hz 220mA.

Is this 2007? Or 1997? The cost difference between a 120v only supply and a dual-switching supply is about 0.03 cents. Why would they scrimp on this, for mere pennies? Very frustrating, and left me without a wireless bridge for my colleagues while I was stuck in a hotel without any Internet access (well, they had Internet access, but it was $2.00 AUD/15 minutes).

I’m going to try to find a replacement PSU for this, and hope that I don’t have to send it back to Linksys for warrantee replacement. The part number is T481210RO3CT from a company called “Leader Electronics, Inc.” (Taiwan, of course)

Urgent telegram.                 <stop>
Regarding Linksys BEFW11S4 v4.   <stop>
Do not purchase this device.     <stop>
Major firmware and chipset bugs. <stop>
Return to vendor immediately.    <stop>

I bought this Linksys BEFW11S4 v4 router/WAP to hopefully replace some of my aging Luent wireless and network gear here on the network, and what a wonderful experience this has been. I also picked up the WSB24 signal booster for the 802.11 bits, because I wanted to go through some of these thicker walls. I’m also working out a plan for a Monster Cantenna that I’m building (Yes, that’s my arm).

Apparently there isn’t a single person who owns a v4 of this device who can keep a stable connection longer than 30 minutes. v1-v3 work fine, but v4 is a horrible mess of broken chipsets and firmware. Read here and here for the hundreds of users who have reported this issue. Linksys is curiously silent, and their technical support continues to blame MTU settings, Windows (even though I’m on Linux and FreeBSD), the cable modem, DSL providers, and the direction of the wind blowing.

I’m pretty close to giving up on the device, and shipping it back to the vendor I purchased it from online. I’ll barcode it off and RMA it, and let them deal with it. The Netgear MR814 is looking like a nice replacement for it.

Other News

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