Digital Mixer and Gigs

[dave_bass5]

Another Opal user here. Never once let me down and very convenient for being powered from many sources. I’ve even run it off a USB power bank as an experiment. Worked for the full 4 hour rehearsal we did, although I’d not want to do that at a gig unless i had to. 

Im surprised at the other suggestions here being called high end or expensive. Sub £100 doesn’t seem to command those statements IME. 
Not that my opinion counts, but I’ve never had much luck with TP-link routers. I have 3 faulty ones in a box from the past 6 years. I’d trust them if i had to, but wouldn’t buy another.

[Silvia Bluejay]

They are a pain to set up, Dave, unless of course you work in IT (I used to, but my knowledge is now mostly obsolete!). Apart from that, we've had no problems, but TP-Link isn't the only option obviously. I would describe £70-100 for a router as mid-range rather than high end. 👍

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

Another Opal user here. Never once let me down and very convenient for being powered from many sources. I’ve even run it off a USB power bank as an experiment. Worked for the full 4 hour rehearsal we did, although I’d not want to do that at a gig unless i had to. 

Im surprised at the other suggestions here being called high end or expensive. Sub £100 doesn’t seem to command those statements IME. 
Not that my opinion counts, but I’ve never had much luck with TP-link routers. I have 3 faulty ones in a box from the past 6 years. I’d trust them if i had to, but wouldn’t buy another.

I have had quite a few for different projects, and never had a problem, except when trying to use them underwater.

Edited November 21, 2023 by Chienmortbb

[Chienmortbb]

53 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

They are a pain to set up, Dave, unless of course you work in IT (I used to, but my knowledge is now mostly obsolete!). Apart from that, we've had no problems, but TP-Link isn't the only option obviously. I would describe £70-100 for a router as mid-range rather than high end. 👍

I agree, the advent of IPv^6 plus Mash technology has pushed up top end prices, so £70-£100 is now mid-range. With my Soundcraft UI16, I use a TP LInk Travel Router. Ite has never let me down and when I needed another Ethernet (wired) port, I bought one of these Soho Switch.

 

Here is the Ethernet adaptor I use on the iPad..

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Chienmortbb

[vsmith1]

On 20/11/2023 at 13:53, Silvia Bluejay said:

Off the top of my head:

a. The router might be going west

b. Interference. There are places where the connection is faultless throughout, and places where it's a constant struggle, and it's not the router's fault.

In addition to the actual WiFi routers in the venue, we found that WiFi printers may interfere, and LED lights (especially the decorative ones you can route all around marquees etc.) seem to have a bad effect on the connection too, when there are a number very close to the unit or even worse, when they're plugged into the same circuit or an adjacent socket. Unfortunately, unless you have a residency in a certain venue, there's no way of testing.

 

We are now using a Soundcraft Ui 24R and we've occasionally encountered similar problems, but to a far lesser extent.

It might also be a limitation of the number of concurrent devices able to connect. The Soundcraft ui24r has a limit of 10. When I set up the external WiFi router (Access Point) then I set the DHCP Scope to limit the range to 10 devices.  I think that the internal WiFi Access Point on the Behringer X Air is limited to 4 devices. 

 

[Silvia Bluejay]

14 minutes ago, vsmith1 said:

It might also be a limitation of the number of concurrent devices able to connect. The Soundcraft ui24r has a limit of 10. When I set up the external WiFi router (Access Point) then I set the DHCP Scope to limit the range to 10 devices.  I think that the internal WiFi Access Point on the Behringer X Air is limited to 4 devices. 

 

That wasn't our case (we used usually max 2 devices, 3 if we count the wired laptop) but yours is a valid point.

[tauzero]

On 21/11/2023 at 13:53, Chienmortbb said:

I agree, the advent of IPv^6 plus Mash technology has pushed up top end prices, so £70-£100 is now mid-range. With my Soundcraft UI16, I use a TP LInk Travel Router. Ite has never let me down and when I needed another Ethernet (wired) port, I bought one of these Soho Switch.

 

It's one of those TP-Link AC750s that I was using that started losing connection. You also have to be sure to use a good USB lead to power it.

[Chienmortbb]

24 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

It's one of those TP-Link AC750s that I was using that started losing connection. You also have to be sure to use a good USB lead to power it.

Yes, they take a lot of juice, I think close to 2 amps. If you find that the travel router is not good enough, you may need to get a router like the one mentioned above or one of the more expensive Mesh/IPv6 routers. Are you using 5GHz?

[tauzero]

Just now, Chienmortbb said:

Yes, they take a lot of juice, I think close to 2 amps. If you find that the travel router is not good enough, you may need to get a router like the one mentioned above or one of the more expensive Mesh/IPv6 routers. Are you using 5GHz?

 

Yes, I've gone 5GHz for as much as possible. If the power to the AC750 is inadequate, it just endlessly goes through the bootup sequence without getting to a stable state. I'm going to give it another test at home, it may have been a one-off at that particular pub.

[stewblack]

Hi guys. Lots of stuff to consider. Appreciate everyone's input. 

I suspect that the second hand router I've been using has suffered a bit from being used outside of its comfort zone for so long. It's designed to sit on a shelf after all 

I'm looking at a travel router as it's more compact and more robust 

[dave_bass5]

4 hours ago, stewblack said:

Hi guys. Lots of stuff to consider. Appreciate everyone's input. 

I suspect that the second hand router I've been using has suffered a bit from being used outside of its comfort zone for so long. It's designed to sit on a shelf after all 

I'm looking at a travel router as it's more compact and more robust 

The small GL.inet routers are really handy. As mentioned you can even run them off a phone charger or any USB port. 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09N72FMH5?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I have mine Velcro’d to the column of my keyboard stand. This gets it off the floor and keeps it elevated. 

Edited November 23, 2023 by dave_bass5