So, today I’ve spent the morning beating a really crappy piece of tech with sticks. Last time I did this (back in 2008) I ended up reflashing the Airstation with new firmware which finally allowed it to demonstrate some semblance of working. Indeed, both the aged RiscPC, and the G5 managed to exercise some degree of internet access via wireless connection using it.
The fact that the password isn’t what it says it is in the manual, and that it’s completely random about its set up only adds to the joy of using it.
Basically, I wanted to get it set up such that I could use the benighted object to make our archaic Kyocera Laser Printer available wirelessly. And yes, I realise I’m into danger territory with printers being greatly hackable objects. But I’m hoping that the printer being behind our pathetic firewall (Lauren, help!) and on our unutterably flaky network, and also a source of not-very-much-of-use make us a not very attractive target.
At any rate, it’s my intention to switch it off most of the time.
However, having got the thing allegedly set up, with its status screen displaying the tissue of lies that it customarily displays (y’know, connected to network, IP address via DHCP, that kind of nonsense) I’d connected it to the printer which resolutely sat saying its IP address was 0.0.0.0 making me make a sadface. Eventually I tweeted at the everlovely Kyocera, who, despite the printer having been around since 2005 (I think actually it was the 1020D that I used to maintain on the network – thought the 1030D was older) offered lots of helpful support suggestions and even put me in touch with a proper tech support person.
Having had it pointed out to me that if the DHCP server is working correctly, it really should just pick up an IP address I sat down this morning and checked that the printer was, in fact working, which meant moving it downstairs to the router.
Lo, an IP address was assigned and Lo (the second) paper came out with nice printy on it when I asked it to print.
‘Goddamnit’ was basically the phrase I used as I wanted the world to swallow me whole for bothering Kyocera when it turned out to be a Buffalo Technology Airstation problem. After about an hour of poking the Airstation with pointy sticks, beating it with bundles of branches and swearing about it on Twitter, it suddenly did what it does. The appropriate number of resets-configure-reboot-find it’s lost config-reboot-configure-reboot cycles later the configuration actually took, it got an IP address from the router, and PLINK! I could connect it to the printer which now prints wirelessly. Ha.
Ha, ha, and god-damn ha.
I must never, ever, change any of our network settings again. Either that or get a more reliable wireless adaptor.
