There are a variety of sdcards with integrated wifi but this topic will limit itself to the setup and use of the Toshiba
(now Kioxia
) FlashAir 04 64GB brand and model.
The FA may be thought of as 3
(or more
) in 1 device because it includes
1. Storage: essentially a solid state hard drive equivalent which appears as the SDCard drive
a. all storage must be formatted in fat32 or ntsf or extFat
(default
)
b. J720 or MP900 must use FAT32
(or as our good buddy CE Geek pointed out only hpc's with WinCE version 6.0 or higher can use
extFat
)
c. this means the flashair must be reformatted from its default ExtFAt to FAT prior to use for hpc
1. backup all sdcard files first to pc then reformat and copy files back
2. I divided the 64 GB card into 2 partitions of 32GB...
only the first partition with the config files can be accessed by wifi
the J720 and MP900 can view/access both partitions!
(Win 7/8/10 only see the first partition
)
2. Router--yes, the FA operates as a stand alone or extender WiFi router and needs all the following:
a. can be set up as AP or Station mode
Access Point
(AP
) mode can be with or without internet
(passthrough mode
)
default address is192.168.0.1
b. IP address can be assigned by DHCP or set up as static
(recommended
)
c. SSID and Password must be set
d. default security is WPA2
3. Webserver
a. files can be accessed through a browser webpage through ip address or netbios name
b. can be accessed as a mapped network drive on pc or tablet etc
c. "webDAV "mode can allow for both read and write function---default is read only
d. Terminal server option using cgi commands in the browser url
requires a Mastercode and ID name in config file
In order to facilitate an easier understanding and mastering the FlashAir setup I will address the various configuration parameters in sections corresponding to the "sub-systems" listed above.
Below is a typical Station Mode configuration file. It is located in a hidden folder named SD_WLAN on the sdcard drive and can only be viewed by placing the card in an sdcard slot on a PC or HPC, etc. and setting your file explorer to view hidden files, right? It is named CONFIG
(no suffix like the usual .txt
)
ID=FLASH143
APPNAME=flashNet
APPMODE=5
(station =5, Access point =4, etc.
)
APPSSID=your home network SSID
APPNETWORKKEY=your home network password
DHCP_Enabled=NO
(turns off DHCP if using static IP as shown below
)
IP_Address=192.168.1.170
(this is your station IP
)
Subnet_Mask=255.255.255.0
Default_Gateway=192.168.1.1
(home router IP
)
Preferred_DNS_Server=192.168.1.1
UPDIR=/
(optional
)
UPLOAD=1
(allows uploading mode
)
WEBDAV=2
(allows read + write function
)
APPAUTOTIME=0
(time allowed to connect before wifi turns off, 0=no time limit
)
NOISE_CANCEL=2
(reduces range but improves connection in noisy conditions, ie. lots of wifi routers in area
)
here is a minimalist alternative with IP assigned by your router's DHCP:
ID=FLASHAIR
APPNAME=flashaircard
APPSSID=your home network SSID goes here
APPNETWORKKEY=your home network password goes here
APPAUTOTIME=0
APPMODE=5
UPLOAD=1
WEBDAV=2
A deeper dive into the details will follow...stay tuned
Edited by joval 2020-04-01 2:33 PM
