Stoker - Wireless Gaming Adapter


 
LarryR

LarryR

TVWBB Diamond Member
So I placed my order, downloaded the manual and started to read it and I have a question regarding going wireless; we have a Linksys WGA11B Wireless-B Game Adapter laying around not being used, it's technically a wireless bridge, I should be able to use this to connect my stoker to my wireless network, correct? Is there anyone out there using this device successfully with their Stoker?

Thanks in advance, can't wait to get the new toy.
 
That should work. It's a slow one but should be plenty fast enough for this application. You'll have to hook it directly to your computer to set it up first. I'm not familiar with that model, but they all work pretty much the same. You log in, either with software provided or through IE and an IP address, (having the guide is handy), go into setup, choose you target network, give it he security information, assuming you've setup security on your wireless network, (hope you did), and then you're ready to go. If you need more help, I'll look up the guide on the net and help you.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ken Brown:
That should work. It's a slow one but should be plenty fast enough for this application. You'll have to hook it directly to your computer to set it up first. I'm not familiar with that model, but they all work pretty much the same. You log in, either with software provided or through IE and an IP address, (having the guide is handy), go into setup, choose you target network, give it he security information, assuming you've setup security on your wireless network, (hope you did), and then you're ready to go. If you need more help, I'll look up the guide on the net and help you. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Sounds about right.

I have heard of people using the wireless gaming adapters successfully with their Stokers. Wireless just isn't my thing.
 
We still have the guide so that will be helpful.

Matt, I use mac filtering on my wireless network, that should work fine with this unit, right?
 
You'll have to add the mac address of Wireless game adapter for sure, and you might have to add the mac address of the stoker, this could be a little tricky, I don't remember any documentation on the mac address coming with the Stoker but it has one. There is a work around if you have trouble finding the address. If so, let me know. I can help.
 
I just checked mine. My bridge takes on the mac address of the attached device, which in your case would be the Stoker. Meaning you might have to only add the mac address of the stoker. If you set up the Stoker using DHCP, which is the default, your router should show the MAC address in the client table after it's connected. Otherwise, you might have to go to plan B. (DOS commands)
 
I'll take down my MAC filtering, let her connect to the network, pull the MAC from my DHCP table and then enter the MAC to my allowed address' and re-enable MAC filtering.

Second question, there are two wireless networks that I can access from my backyard (there is no security on these networks). Any idea how I get this device to only connect to my network and not the others? May be a question for Linksys . . .

This is going to be pretty cool; I'm going to setup port forwarding so I can use this from outside my network. Any suggestions on using this with my SmartPhone/Treo650-P? I can also use logmein.com to access a network computer and then access the stoker ip/web interface, however, I'd rather connect directly. Don't know if it matters or not but I'm using OperaMini on my Treo. Any feedback regarding pitfalls or tips or gotchas here would be greatly appreciated.
 
I don't know about your Linksys game adapter specifically, but in my home network the router does not broadcast its SSID. So every device that can connect with it has been set up with the SSID to connect to. I'd think you should be able to set up your adapter to connect only to your own router, in the same manner; that is, connect only with your router (via its SSID) and ignore the others.
 
If you want to identify which of those wireless networks is your, just change your SID. Once you can distinguish your network, tell the gaming adapter which one to hook up to. With most you can even setup to hook up securely.

Now for your idea of using it outside your network, two words. Good luck. Since most routers use the port 80 (http) interface to access their product, accessing any device on port 80 within your network from outside your network becomes problematic. The first thing your router does when it sees a port 80 request coming from outside the network is to block it. You can forward most other ports but 80 is difficult at best. Some of your higher end router can handle it by changing their internal port to say 8080. I've tried it with lower end LinkSys, netgear, Belkin, and a few others. I have given up BTW. What I did was write an application that will send me reports on a regular basis as to the status of all my probes. On a long cook, I'll set it up for 30 minutes, on shorter cooks, I'll get a text message every 15 minutes. I'm not saying don't try it, I'm saying don't be too surprised if that doesn't work.

I also tried half heartedly at doing a remote telnet as well, not very reliable. I found it easier to setup a remote desktop and follow it like that, but that requires a full blown computer.

Good luck.
 
I broadcast my SSID. I'm pretty sure the game adapter has a web interface and I can probably specify which network I want it to connect to . . . now that I think about it I'm pretty sure this is how we set it up to work with the Xbox 360 it was connected to.

Ken, I appreciate the heads-up on what I may have facing me. If worst comes to worst and I want to be able to monitor from a wireless device outside my network I'll just use logmein.com to log onto one of the home computers to run a remote desktop session.

One non-wireless network question; I keep reading about "stokerlog." What exactly is stokerlog? From what I gather it's a 3rd party application written and maintained by a guy named Amir. What does this application do, should I get it and lastly if I should get it, how do I go about this.

Thanks for all the assistance. Oh by the way, I ordered last night and it's scheduled for delivery tomorrow, pretty quick shipping! Now I've got to smoke something this weekend . . . maybe ribs.
 
How do you know it is set for shipping tomorrow? I ordered one over the weekend and have not received any kind of email verification that my order was received. Voice mails have not been returned, and emails ignored. I read that this is common with the stoker folks, so I expected it. Just curious how you got an update. Thanks.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">How do you know it is set for shipping tomorrow? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I received an email from them this afternoon saying my order had shipped. The email also contained a UPS tracking number which when I tracked it the UPS website said it was scheduled for delivery tomorrow.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LarryR:

One non-wireless network question; I keep reading about "stokerlog." What exactly is stokerlog? From what I gather it's a 3rd party application written and maintained by a guy named Amir. What does this application do, should I get it and lastly if I should get it, how do I go about this.
. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

StokerLog is an application/program that communicates with the Stoker device. It does it using both http and telnet. With the program, you can control the stoker like the http interface, but you can also track the progress of the cook. It keeps real time graphs of the temps and the fan so you have a birds eye view of the entire cook. It also has a keep warm feature, and e-mail/text alerts as to problems that might occur with your cook, such as fire out, high temp alarm, and food ready. Should you get it? Absolutly!!!

I also have an application that takes a different approach. Mine alerts you via e-mail or text message about the current status of all your temp probes on a regular basis. I'm prone to start a cook and after it has stabilized, I go fishing or golfing. So, if a problem arises, I can drop what I'm doing and head home or call my wife and have to deal with it. In either case I always know what's going on. Mine also has a ramp feature, which will re-set the target temp based on time or temp.

Both of these apps are free to download. Amir was having some problem with his site, so check out his post and see if it's up again. Mine is located at http://www.krownsoft.com/Stoker/timers.zip , both of these apps require MS .net 2.0 to be installed. It'll also take care of that for you. You can check out the readme for my program at http://www.krownsoft.com/Stoker/readme.html

good luck
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LarryR:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">How do you know it is set for shipping tomorrow? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I received an email from them this afternoon saying my order had shipped. The email also contained a UPS tracking number which when I tracked it the UPS website said it was scheduled for delivery tomorrow. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the info. I guess they havent got around to mine. I'll keep bugging them. All I want to know is that they received the order. I can wait two weeks, but I would hate to find out that it didnt go through and waste that time.
 
Ken, thanks for the info. One more question; so does your program and Stokerlog work with what comes with the Stoker or are these in-place of what comes with the Stoker?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LarryR:
Ken, thanks for the info. One more question; so does your program and Stokerlog work with what comes with the Stoker or are these in-place of what comes with the Stoker? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
My program replaces the web interface completely with one exception. That is, associating a probe with the blower must still be done with the stoker web interface. But once there, you can use stokerlog all the time as it both programs the stoker and monitors it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LarryR:
Ken, thanks for the info. One more question; so does your program and Stokerlog work with what comes with the Stoker or are these in-place of what comes with the Stoker? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No software comes with the Stoker except for the build in web interface. These 3rd party programs just make life a little easier. In fact, my program has a web browser build in so you don't need to even open IE. And it runs fine along side of the StokerLog.
 
Amir and Ken, very interesting, thank you for the information and access to your programs. I'm looking forward to working with them. My stoker arrived a few minutes ago so it looks like I'll be playing with the wireless setup tonight and doing some ribs tomorrow. So obviously you guys are programmers, what type of technology do you guys work with/produce/maintain (in the real world)? As for me I've been involved in technology for 18 years now, I'm currently serving as a Regional Sales Manager for an Enterprise Information and Document Management software company. Not quite ECM but very similar. Our expertise is in business process automation; everything from automating invoice processing using imaging (OCR) and work flow, to distributing/bursting large financial reports electronically from ERP systems. Fun stuff!

Again, thanks for making this technology available.
 
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