Introduction: Cheap and Easy Arduino Wi-Fi Hack
About: I am a hippie at heart , just got back into electronics after about 30 years away from it, by playing with an Arduino .
I was sitting around and messing with my Arduino UNO and an ENC28J60 Ethernet module, and thought to myself it would be cool to have a Wi-Fi shield, when I realized I did not have to buy a shield as I had the components and all I had to do was hook them up together ( pure intense light bulb moment!!).
When I travel carry a small Wi-Fi router to use in hotel rooms (TP-Link TL-WR702N) which is a 150Mbps access point, I remembered that it could be configured as a client among other modes it has.
I reconfigured it as a client and assigned an IP number checked I could access it over my home Wi-Fi network , by plugging into a desktop’s LAN port, also checked that it had access to the internet .
I then plugged the TP-Link TL-WR702N into the ENC28J60 Ethernet module and the UNO and ran the etherShield web switch example which came with the etherShield library and it worked. The router runs of 5 volts via a mini USB connector which works out well with the Arduino.
I live in mainland China and this whole experiment cost me about US$20 for the ENC28J60 Ethernet module and the wireless router, I checked up on the local prices for an Arduino Wi-Fi shield and it was between US$45 to US$80.
Once I figure out what my final project will be I might splurge and buy a real Wi-Fi shield for it, till then this serves my purpose albeit a bit messy with the wires.
Any and all feedback is appreciated, I will try and answer any questions if any.
When I travel carry a small Wi-Fi router to use in hotel rooms (TP-Link TL-WR702N) which is a 150Mbps access point, I remembered that it could be configured as a client among other modes it has.
I reconfigured it as a client and assigned an IP number checked I could access it over my home Wi-Fi network , by plugging into a desktop’s LAN port, also checked that it had access to the internet .
I then plugged the TP-Link TL-WR702N into the ENC28J60 Ethernet module and the UNO and ran the etherShield web switch example which came with the etherShield library and it worked. The router runs of 5 volts via a mini USB connector which works out well with the Arduino.
I live in mainland China and this whole experiment cost me about US$20 for the ENC28J60 Ethernet module and the wireless router, I checked up on the local prices for an Arduino Wi-Fi shield and it was between US$45 to US$80.
Once I figure out what my final project will be I might splurge and buy a real Wi-Fi shield for it, till then this serves my purpose albeit a bit messy with the wires.
Any and all feedback is appreciated, I will try and answer any questions if any.