FlashPAP - FlashAir WiFi SD card utility

[eseedhouse]

Well I found a site with documentation for this stuff. And what I discovered is that you can connect your card up to another wireless access point. I followed the instructions with little success, but actually I don't need to do this anyway.

The utility that comes with the card lets you set it up so that if you connect to it as your AP, you can still access the internet via the router's wireless access point anyway.

If my interpretation is right I have to run it in wireless mode anyway to connect to the card, so I might as well just leave it as it is now.

If I plug in the lan cable I lose access to the card, even though the wireless connection is still there for the flashair access point. I am wondering if there is some way to configure the router so that it will work when the wifi and lan cable are connected at the same time.

I am writing this using the "flashair" wifi access point, which routes to "zanzibar", my router's wifi name. Seems to work.

[TiredToo]

Ed,

When connecting as you are now (by choosing it in your list of WiFi networks) that is what we are referring to as "AP" (access point) mode. Taken one further, in your original config you also had the "bridge" commands set up for your home WiFi. This is called passthrough and what allows you to get on the internet while connecting to the FlashAir as an access point. This is why I can't understand why it won't work for you in station mode. You obviously know your WiFi's name and password otherwise passthrough internet wouldn't be working. Using station mode is basically just a matter of setting those values for other commands/parameters as I mentioned several posts back.

As krelvin mentioned, it could potentially be a setting in your router that is preventing the FlashAir from connecting or obtaining an IP address. Do you happen to know what brand and model your router is? We may be able to help you confirm settings or see if it is connected when in station mode.

At least it is working as it is, and I must admit you have been very patient! I wish I could help get this working for you in station mode, but at this point I am not sure what is going on.

Regarding having to connect wirelessly and your issue with the network cable:

As the card is configured now, yes you need to use your computer's wireless network interface to connect to the FlashAir because it is only available to you as a Wireless/WiFi Access Point much like your "zanzibar" AP. I would guess you need to unplug your cable in order to use it because either the cable connection is set as some kind of default or preferred connection or Windows is giving it priority simply because generally speaking a wired connection is more secure, reliable and faster than a wireless connection.

The reason why we are trying to help you get it working in station mode is because if you can successfully get it working in station mode, you COULD keep your network cable plugged in and use it as you always have... no need to unplug any cables or connect to the FlashAir "network" just to use it. It's really the best option. Which does give me one idea: After you change the config and place the card back into the CPAP, are you then plugging in the network cable and connecting to your network again? It may be a silly question but if you are not plugging the cable back in then that would definitely explain why you can't connect to the flashair when it is in station mode. In that case though you also would not be able to connect to anything such as the internet.

[eseedhouse]

...This is why I can't understand why it won't work for you in station mode. You obviously know your WiFi's name and password otherwise passthrough internet wouldn't be working. Using station mode is basically just a matter of setting those values for other commands/parameters as I mentioned several posts back.

As krelvin mentioned, it could potentially be a setting in your router that is preventing the FlashAir from connecting or obtaining an IP address. Do you happen to know what brand and model your router is? We may be able to help you confirm settings or see if it is connected when in station mode.

It's a D-Link DIR-655. Management is by a web app with many pages and things I don't really understand - and I was in IT for over 20 years.

As the card is configured now, yes you need to use your computer's wireless network interface to connect to the FlashAir because it is only available to you as a Wireless/WiFi Access Point much like your "zanzibar" AP.

Yes, but my computers directly connected to the router can see my wireless PC's, but not the SD card.

The reason why we are trying to help you get it working in station mode is because if you can successfully get it working in station mode, you COULD keep your network cable plugged in and use it as you always have... no need to unplug any cables or connect to the FlashAir "network" just to use it. It's really the best option. Which does give me one idea: After you change the config and place the card back into the CPAP, are you then plugging in the network cable and connecting to your network again?

I was connecting to the network via the wifi in my laptop, having pulled the LAN cable. Also I don't always have the card in the Resmed machine but in the SD slot of my desktop computer. Doesn't make any difference - it acts the same as if it were in the APAP slot.

It may be a silly question but if you are not plugging the cable back in then that would definitely explain why you can't connect to the flashair when it is in station mode. In that case though you also would not be able to connect to anything such as the internet.

No, I tried it both ways with no luck.

I spent a few hours fiddling with it today and I'm done until at least tomorrow. At least I can use it the way it is, so that's a step forward.

Maybe tomorrow a solution will come to me. That often happens with technical stuff. It happens when I'm playing a correspondence chess game on the internet too. I'll analyze a position for hours and find nothing convincing, then the next day, out of the blue, the right idea pops into my head, seemingly from nowhere.

[TiredToo]

It's a D-Link DIR-655. Management is by a web app with many pages and things I don't really understand - and I was in IT for over 20 years.

Link to manual: ftp://ftp2.dlink.com/PRODUCTS/DIR-655/RE....30_EN.PDF

Page 37 (pdf page 41): Your settings should look pretty close to the image shown (DHCP Server enabled, pretty wide range of IP addresses, Broadcast enabled).

Page 60 (pdf page 64): Make sure MAC filtering is disabled OR if enabled ("allow") and you use this feature, enter the MAC address of your SD card here to add it to the filter list.

Page 88 (pdf page 92): Under Status > Wireless, this is where it should list any computers or devices that are currently connected to your WiFi. This is where you should find your SD card if it is properly connected to your network in station mode.

These may be a place to start. If you do find your SD card listed with the wireless clients but still cannot reach it in a browser then another alternative would be to set up DHCP reservation (force it to always use the same IP address) and use the IP address to connect to it rather than the name ("flashair"). I don't want to put the cart before the horse though so I will skip the details unless it looks like you may need to do this.

Also I don't always have the card in the Resmed machine but in the SD slot of my desktop computer. Doesn't make any difference - it acts the same as if it were in the APAP slot.

For what it's worth, and I haven't bothered to determine the exact reason for this, when the card is inserted into my computer it does not seem to connect to my network as it should when it is inserted into an SD slot. It only seems to bother connecting to my network when inserted into the CPAP machine. For that reason, as soon as I save the changes to my config, I "safely remove the SD card" from Windows then take it directly to my AS10 and insert it into the slot. Maybe it's a fluke - maybe I'm crazy (or both) but this has been my observation. Perhaps it is interference from being so close to the wireless radio inside my computer? Also worth mentioning as it may not be obvious: Once the new configuration changes are saved, the card needs to be rebooted before the changes take effect. Pulling the card from your PC will power it off and plugging it into your CPAP will cause it to reboot when power gets applied to it from the slot.

[DariaVader]

it may be a dns issue. try connecting to it by IP address when it is in STA mode. I had to do that. (get the IP from the list of connected devices... It wont necessarily call itself FlashAir in there - it will be the new device that appears after changing to STA) Make sure that after changing settings that you remove the card and re-insert.

and even old IT guys are not born knowing this stuff.

This is where you will find your connected devices.

[krelvin]

I took a brand new out of the box 16GB FlashAir II card and configured it manually. I then stuck it into a Camera I had around and it showed up on the network and was accessible. This was done with Windows (win7 in this case).

The steps get all the way up to testing on the network. I have not yet put the "new" card into my CPAP yet but the card is view able on the network.

Note that the SD_WLAN folder is hidden in Windows.

https://sleep.tnet.com/resources.flashpap.manualconfig

[krelvin]

I completed the process of putting the new card into the CPAP, doing a 12 min test, using FlashPAP to pull the data, and then importing it into sleepyhead.

[eseedhouse]

For what it's worth, and I haven't bothered to determine the exact reason for this, when the card is inserted into my computer it does not seem to connect to my network as it should when it is inserted into an SD slot. It only seems to bother connecting to my network when inserted into the CPAP machine.

Thanks - that was the hint I needed, and I can now reach it over the regular LAN network rather than just with wireless. I reserved an IP for it's MAC address so hopefully it won't change.

Flashpap import now works fine using the IP address of the card.

[krelvin]

The new card I tested did not show up when in my Notebook. Not quite sure why that is. Might be that Wireless in the notebook interferes with it. That is why I used a camera to test to see if it was seen on the network before bothering putting it into the CPAP.

If your AP can lock the IP to a MAC it won't change. If you don't have that option, extending the lease time will pretty much do the same thing.

[Lazer1234]

No, not when the card is in the S9, in PRS1 it works fine. In the browser (Chrome and PRS1) works well too, but not in S9.

When properly configured (the FlashAir card), the card should work in just about anything you insert it in as long as it is getting power. Computer, Notebook, camera, GPS unit etc... as long as it has power it's WiFi will be on.

Can't see how the firmware of the S9 would made a difference. An AirCurve 10 or AirSense 10 can get an update over the air, an S9 would need to be done in a shop.

Is there a distance change when you try it between the two machines from the AP?

The problem is that the S9 format flashair card as soon as I put it in the CPAP. I managed to make contact and reading the data one time when I stopped in the card. But then I breathed 5 minutes in the machine and when I then would transfer data using FlashPap, the card was formatted.