USB Wireless Dongle to Ethernet. Is it possible?

Hi,

I have a USB Wireless Dongle (a Netgear WNDA3100) that I would somehow like to connect to my Humax Foxsat HDR satellite box. The Humax has a USB socket and an ethernet RJ45 socket. It did not recognise the dongle in the USB socket, so that leaves the ethernet.

Is there a converter/adaptor of some description that I can use to attach the dongle to the ethernet socket? The dongle requires power from whatever it connects to, so I don't know whether a straight USB to ethernet converter will work. Anyone got any ideas?

BTW, I have tried using a Homeplug, but without any joy as the bandwidth was intolerably slow. I do have a spare Netgear DG834G wireless router with DGTeam firmware on it. Could that be used as some sort of wireless bridge if there is no usb-to-ethernet solution for the dongle?

Your best bet is using the dg834 as a wireless bridge. Im not sure the exact details with the dgteam firmware but im pretty sure it should work.

My folks use homeplug for their foxsat PVR and have no issues. The homeplugs need to be in their own socket not on an extension lead.

Wireless bridging can be a pain, there would appear to be no consistent standard.

What does the manual say about the Humax ethernet and usb sockets? They may be reserved for future use which may mean you are on a hiding to nothing.

The usb in particular may only support a limited functionality.

Fully functional ethernet port for on line services ie BBC iplayer etc. The usb is for backup and other stuff from memory.

I'm looking to use it for iPlayer. I did get it sort of working with a Homeplug, but the bandwidth was lousy. This was on it's own plug socket, not an extension lead, so I think the electricity circuit may not be on the same loop as the Homeplug for my router. That is why I am looking at wireless.

I had a feeling that the USB socket would just be for backup.

I may just buy a cheap USB to ethernet converter for a couple of quid and see if it works, but I am sceptical to say the least. I was just hoping someone had encountered a similar situation previously and resolved it somehow.

You are probably right.

I have a USB to Ethernet cable that someone once sent me by mistake !
The USB end is the flat male sort, so it wouldn't be quite what you need.
But presumably what you want is possible.
Regards,
Martin

I will state this:

The USB to ethernet will NOT work for you, i.e. it will not bridge the wireless dongle onto an ethernet network. USB devices require a CPU to run the drivers i.e. USB devices are pretty dumb.

Wireless Ethernet bridge is the device you are looking for.

Wrong cable, that cable is for adding an Ethernet port to a computer that only has USB ports, and is still reliant on drivers in the computers operating system.