Add new Wi-Fi network VS Start Hotspot

[Jorge]

Hi, i am a new rtk reach user and i dont understand the diference between adding a new Wifi network and starting a hostpot.
can someone explain the diference to me ?
is it posible to have reach (both modules) connected to several wifi networks, because i want to connect to my home wifi and also to my phone hot spot.
is that posible ? or is reach only posible to connect to a wifi aces point at a time ?

ty very much

[bide]

With WiFi communication you normally have a host/client relationship. There are other modes, but we won’t discuss them here.

These things are WiFi host devices, or universal devices in ‘host mode’. They broadcast a station ID:

• Your home WiFi router
• Hotel WiFi
• Your smartphone, but only when you enable the ‘hotspot’
• Your Reach device the first time you start it up
• Your Reach device, if it can’t find any familiar network to connect to
• Your Reach device, if you go to the wireless settings and click “start hotspot”

These things are WiFi client devices, or universal devices in ‘client mode’. They look for a station ID and connect to it:

• Your laptop
• Your wireless printer
• Your smartphone, but only when it is connected to a host, such as your home WiFi router
• Your Reach device, if you have configured it to connect to a WiFi host, and if that host was found at boot time.
• Your Reach device, if you go to the wireless settings; configure it to connect to a WiFi host; and click ‘connect’.

Other words for WiFi host are: access point, WiFi network, the generic term ‘router’, etc.

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Now, about Reach WiFi:

1. First time setup. Reach creates a hotspot. You connect to that hotspot and open the updater page at 192.168.42.1 . You enter WiFi settings of a WiFi host that has a gateway to the Internet (Internet access). Reach updates its software, and that is it.

2. Using Reach in WiFi hotspot mode: You go into the field where no WiFi hosts are present. Each Reach you turn on creates it’s own hotspot because there are no familiar WiFi hosts/networks in the area. To access ReachView for each Reach device, you must first connect to its individual hotspot. And if you want to access ReachView on the next device, you must connect to that device’s hotspot, which means you have disconnected from the other Reach.

3. Using Reach in WiFi client mode: If you have multiple Reach in the same area, then it is easier to have them all connect to your WiFi network. That could be your WiFi router at the office, or it could be your smartphone or tablet hotspot in the field. If there is a familiar WiFi host/network present when Reach boots up, it will connect to that network. This way you can have several ReachView windows open from different Reach devices at the same time because they are all on the same network. You can also use the ReachView ‘app’ or Fing to locate each of your Reach devices or at least find it’s IP address.

4. If you have several WiFi settings for different WiFi hosts/networks that is OK, but if more than one is present at boot time, Reach will connect to one of them. You will not know which without putting some effort into connecting to each network yourself and searching for Reach on each of those networks.

5. The recommended way is to set up your Reach devices to connect to a WiFi hotspot that is enabled on your smartphone/tablet. I typically use my Reach devices far apart, so I let them run in WiFi hotspot mode, and I use my smartphone to connect to each Reach device after I turn it on, or when I approach it in the field. You can decide for yourself how you want to manage the WiFi setup for your Reach devices.

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That was probably way too basic for you, I’m sure it will help others who read it.

[Jorge]

ty very much you helped me a lot, a very good explanation really