How can I create a soft access point using LM006 USB WiFi under Win CE 6/7?

Technical Support
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#1

How can I create a soft access point or Wi-Fi ad hoc network using the LM006 USB WiFi adapter in Windows CE? This seems to be possible because it is listed as a feature, but I can’t find any information on how to change the driver settings. Is there a documentation of the registry settings the driver is using?

We develop a mobile measurement device based on the T20 / VFxx modules. Right now we use the WC-201 from Redpine Signals connected via SPI with our own driver. I’m evaluating other options.

#3

Sorry, as of now we do not have access point mode working on LM006, but ad-hoc mode works on WinCE6 & 7.

#4

Unfortunately access point support was actually removed by Microsoft from Windows CE 6 on. So there is no official support any longer.

Alternative solutions could be:

  • Use Ad-Hoc mode
  • Use a smart WiFi module that supports access point mode and run a wifi stack. Depending on your use case, this could be a solution. Most such modules require AT Commands communication between WinCE and the module, so it will not be stright forewart TCP/IP communication. One example of such a module is the Redpine RS9113. We have not tested yet these devices yet on our side.
#5

Thanks for the quick answer!

#6

Thanks Samuel! We actually are using a RS9113 based solution, the WC-201 module which has its own TCP/IP stack. This has some advantages and several drawbacks, as we can’t use the Windows TCP/IP stack - which you had pointed out as well. If anyone is interested, I can share some experience with running the WC-201 and its performance.

#7

@MessagePump, it would be interesting if you could share some of your experiences with the Redpine Modules on Windows embedded compact.

#8

@MessagePump, I am also very interested to hear about your experience using WC-201 and its performance. We’re interested in using this module to eliminate 3rd party WiFi access points in our solution.

#9

Sorry for the delay in my answer. The WC-201 is deprecated and the RS9113 based modules should be used. We are using the WC-201 in one product in soft access point mode, where up 4 clients can connect to it. We operate it via the SPI interface. We used the built in TCP stack.
The module performed ok for our purposes. Redpine’s documentation is good and their support was helpful. We had to frame our packets within our protocol, because the TCP stack of the module would sometimes add bytes to the data stream. The provided sample code was not very clean and we ended up having to write our own drivers.
Do you have any specific questions on it?

#10

Can you suggest how to create a ad-hoc network on Wince6 with VF50 & LM816?

#11

Dear @Mania,

We replied here : https://www.toradex.com/community/questions/40668/how-to-setup-ad-hoc-network-in-wince60-on-a-vf50-m.html?smartspace=wince for the same question.