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Forget the description beneath. Let me ask it in an other way.

I have a ubuntu pc, a wireless router and an android tablet IN THE JUNGLE. No internet what so ever, just a wireless signal from my router.

How can I set this up that I have a permanent link (share) between the pc and tablet. The pc shares to the tablet and the tablet to the pc.

Should I wire the pc to the router on the wan port or the lan port ? ( as mentioned on the net for extending ethernet through an AP on an existing wireless network) Is this just a samba/ssh mather ?

I tried a lot but just couldn't make it work. Pinging works most of the time but every other attemps gives me "host unreacheble".



What follows was the first formulation of the question :

I would like to connect an android phone/tablet to my Ubuntu pc in my car.

Having a spare router I though of making a local wireless network. All the info on the net is about turning the spare router into an access point of a existing Ethernet connection.

In my case the spare router is not connected to the Ethernet wire but directly onto a network port on my pc. In my car I have mobile Ethernet, I have been able to share this connection through the router to broadcast internet to my android phone. I also have a wireless network card ( no master mode possible) to connect my ubuntu pc to wireless networks at work and at home ( car is not moving).

Is there a set-up where you can communicate with a router directly attached to the network card on a Linux pc ?

What it could be used for : sharing music library for xbmc yatse controller in car. This works as a charm at home but not once you're out of range of the wireless network.

Any help would be very appreciated

Thanks in advance.



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It should be easy. If you can do it WITH internet (internet -> wan, router->devices), then do it like that, but remove the internet cable. You will have connections to the router, and connections between devices, but not to the internet, on account of you being in the jungle. –  Nanne Jan 23 '13 at 11:05
It worked indeed but how come that the moment you disconnect the ethernet the response of the xbmc remote for exemple goes really slow ( slow or delayed, couldn't figure that out) ? Does the router has some trouble fetching the ip adresses without the ethernet ? –  Cédric Jan 24 '13 at 11:22
I've been doing a lot of trial and error these days. What works is : router or AP connected to the ubuntu pc without cables, android and pc connected through wifi to router ( local network broadcasted by router, no ethernet connexion), xbmc remote sees xbmc library on pc and responds fast. But I can't share my 3G through the "shared to other computers" network card anymore. –  Cédric Jan 27 '13 at 16:36

3 Answers 3

i dont quite understand what your asking here but you sound like you have an impressive car, let me just list some things i know thats possible and they might help, if not sorry

Android allows you to create your own Wifi. Try downloading and using the app Airdroid, it allows file transfer, masses on information and many others.

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I want my car as my home, you come in and your wireless device picks up the signal. Airdroid has to sync with browser. I have to get in and out of the car so often i do not want to go to my trunk to sync all the time. My car is kind of my office. In short : is there a way to get a very local wireless no-ethernet network (in a car= no wired ethernet) with a wireless router or wireless access point attached to one pc. Hope this makes it a bit more comprehensive . Thanks Cedric –  Cédric Jan 21 '13 at 0:08

You could try not using the router, and instead setup an ad-hoc network on your pc. Here is a link to a how-to: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Adhoc#NetworkManager_Method Then you could connect your android to that ad-hoc network.

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There seems to be an issue with android and ad-hoc networks. It would be nice if it could work that way but is seems it don't. –  Cédric Jan 21 '13 at 0:13

To be honest, I don't think this is a specific Ubuntu question, as much as a "how to configure a Wireless Access Point" question. The answer is unfortunately as specific as the make and model of the hardware you have.

Most wireless APs can also act as routers, and you can access the web configuration to set up the networking information (depending on the model of Wireless AP). There are a number of ways you might want to set up the network, which is not clear from your question. It is also unclear to me what is providing the Internet connection - is it the Android device, or is it a cellular connection provided by the car (awesome if so!), or something else? In most cases, it is best to let the device acting a the Internet gateway to also manage the network in terms of handing out DHCP leases, NAT and routing, if you want to use Internet inside your car. If you don't, then the default gateway becomes irrelevant in your network setup.

Based on what I can understand from your question, you have 3 wireless-enabled devices that you want to connect to the network; the Ubuntu notebook PC, your Android device, and the car's entertainment system itself (which is using XBMC to play media). I would suggest that you have the Wireless AP act as DHCP server, leasing IP addresses to all devices. This solution requires no wires at all (apart from the one running from the car's 12V socket to a transformer that will power the access point). Alternatively, the wireless access point could use an ethernet cable attached to the notebook's wired ethernet, but it's not necessary. The AP then hands out IP addresses to all devices, and you can stream media from your android device to the XBMC controller.

To set it up, you'll need to find out some details about your wireless AP (you can do a google search for the make and model), and access its web administration interface with a browser while it is powered on. Typically you are putting the AP into "DHCP server mode", where you configure the basic network parameters you want (IP address range and subnet, and gateway - only applicable if you have or want Internet access in the car). The other wireless devices will then connect to it just like your Wireless at home.

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I have to be honest my setup is rather confusing . I haven't seen it on the net yet. What i have in my car is 1pc in the trunk running ubuntu with IgO8 (gps software + usb gps receiver), xbmc and firefox. Mobile internet pci card, wireless pci card. I can connect to mobile internet from the pc and share it to my android through the network connection where the router is on ("shared to other computers"). The android tablet should connect to use the mobile internet for gps (waze) and share the music data on the linux. As i do understand from you reply I have to learn more on networking in linux! –  Cédric Jan 21 '13 at 11:27
It's like I can make contact from the ubunut pc to the wireless clients but not the other way round. ( try several routers, so not device related) At home i tried to make the same setup. Xbmc on ubuntu 12.04 controlled by the android remote. I disconected the ethernet cable from the wireless router. I do not lose the connection but the responses on the remote are much slower.If I connect the ethernet cable again it's fast again. I do need some kind of Ethernet to get it run smoothly. –  Cédric Jan 21 '13 at 11:44

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