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Surfing without wires: Accessing your PC’s Broadband
Internet connection via Bluetooth Introduction I can’t promise that this is going
to be easy. In fact, I cannot promise that this is going to work. What I can
promise, however, is to make the process as painless as possible- the setup
required to make a Bluetooth network operate in conjunction with your existing
PC infrastructure is not easy. But, do not let this put you off- when you
succeed, the benefits are honestly worthwhile. If you are waiting for the
kettle to boil, check your e-mail. Watching TV and need to know the answer to a
quiz question- the wealth of material on the Internet is available at your
fingertips, without the need to be sitting in front of your computer. Sure, for
some people, this is going to be overkill- yes, a PDA is a useful piece of kit
to have, but, is it really necessary to create a constant connection with your
PC whenever you are within 33 metres of it? Are you [i]really[/i] going to
benefit from being able to transfer documents without the need to HotSync? At
the end of the day, it is a matter of perspective, and choice- some people,
like myself, will appreciate the ability to do such things, whilst others will
see no tangible benefit from it at all. I do not intend to write a piece
convincing people to go down this path- if you are reading this, you probably
either just want to know how to do it (you already think that it is a
worthwhile goal to achieve), or you are tempted, and just want to know how easy
or hard it would be. Or you mistakenly clicked on the link, and just wanted to
read for the ideas and details explained. I will
occasionally introduce DEFINITIONS
explaining some of the terminology I am using, and any abbreviations- that way,
I will not have to keep repeating myself throughout the main body of the text.
If you are computer literate, I apologise for these interruptions- however, I
think that they are essential for the confident users. DEFINITIONS: Bluetooth:
you do not need to know much about how it actually works; simply that it is a
short-range wireless connection protocol, using radio waves to link devices
together. The range is, for the most part, much less than wifi, and thus the
power consumed is less. Other than to note that it is named after a Danish
king, rather than because it turns your dentures blue, I will point out that,
throughout the course of this piece, I will abbreviate on occasions to BT.
Whilst I appreciate that we are talking about Internet connections for part of
this, please do not confuse this with the common (British) abbreviation for
British Telecom, a possible Internet access provider. Equipment Bluetooth-enabled PDA: For
the purposes of this article, it makes absolutely no difference if Bluetooth is
integrated, or is an add-on, via Sony’s BT Memory Stick, or Palm’s SD Card. Bluetooth-enabled PC or laptop: This
requires slightly more elaboration. Some laptops nowadays come with integrated
Bluetooth- having never used one; I can do little but presume they come with
the necessary connection utilities to make all the following work. I have not
heard of a desktop with integrated BT, but, I do not read many computer
magazines or websites, so, I may be completely wrong. However, for PCs and
laptops without integrated Bluetooth, which I am presuming to be in the
majority here, it is possible to add-on Bluetooth, by way of a PC card, or a
dongle. Let’s
get things straight from the beginning- Bluetooth is a standard, but that does
not mean that everything is equal. Bluetooth devices come in classes- the most
common are Class 1 and 2, with Class 2 being the more prevalent. Class 2 has an
effective range of about 10m- you need to be very close to your PC to make it
work. Class 1 has a range of 100m clear line of sight, which, to be fair, does
not equate to anything close to this in the real world. I have a Class 1
device, and can [i]just[/i] connect from the top of a three storey house whilst
sitting on the ground floor. However, Class 1 is certainly more powerful;
noticeably so. Choosing
which class to opt for depends on what you want to achieve- for me, I could see
little point in being able to sit on my bed and check my e-mail, with my PC
being on my desk across the room. That is what a Class 2 dongle would let me
do. I could see far more point in being able to eat my breakfast downstairs,
and catch up on the news- Class 1 for me, then. Note that the following setup
instructions will work whichever Class you opt for- it is simply a
representation of the effective range. In terms of availability, I have only
found one Class 1 dongle, and that is Belkin’s F8T001.
Belkin F8T001 Bluetooth Adapter Belkin F8T001 packaging (Red light: power on) You can buy many Class 2 devices, so I will not attempt to
list them here- however, be aware that, you are not only looking at Class; you
also not to see what protocols are supported. In order to connect to the Internet,
you need LAN. Transferring files requires General Object Exchange (abbreviated
commonly to OBEX) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP), in some circumstances.
Basically, aim to get as many as you can for your money- you may need them one
day, and prices do not seem to depend on supported protocols. From my
experience, the Belkin devices support all you are going to need to do- for
this reason, I would advise using one of those if possible. But, if you do not
have one, and have something else instead, do not let this put you off. It is
merely my recommendation if you are looking to buy. Instructions Okay- I am assuming now that you
have the requisite items, and have installed the supplied software, according
to the instructions (i.e. not plugging the device until after installation):
here we go! It’s probably best that you read this through first, before
attempting anything, so you have an idea of what you are trying to achieve-
unfortunately, the numbers that I give you may not necessarily work for you, so
it does pay to have some idea of where the numbers are coming from- I will
explain where I can! 1.) Linking your PDA and your PC The first step is to create a
“Trusted Devices” connection between your PC and your PDA. To do this, right
click on the Bluetooth symbol in your application area (next to the clock), and
select Setup, then Security:
The software will then scan for any
BT devices in the receiving area: ensure your PDA is switched on, and Bluetooth
is both discoverable and connectable. Follow the on screen procedure to link
the two together- this will involve entering a passcode onto the PC, which then
must be entered onto the PDA- once this is done, the two devices will be
linked, as per the screenshot below (for reference, my T3 is listed as “
Voila! Once you have followed this
procedure, you have successfully linked the two devices. 2.) Allowing Network Access and Information Exchange By default, all services
automatically start when the computer is booted up- I recommend stopping this,
so that only Network Access and Information Exchange automatically begin: a.)
Right-click on the Bluetooth symbol in your application
area b.)
Select Setup c.)
Configuration d.)
On the tabbed structure in the ensuing window, click on
“Local Services”
e.)
Select each of the services in turn, double click them, and
remove the checkmark from “Startup”, with the exceptions of Network Access and
Information Exchange
f.)
Your final screen will be the same as the screenshot under
d.) above 3.) Setting up the PC’s settings for Internet access This is where things start to
become more complex, unfortunately, because a lot depends on the configuration
you already use. If you are not connected to a network, and thus do not have a
router or a server to worry about, there should be considerably fewer issues to
cope with! DEFINITIONS: Primary
Network: this is the connection between your PC and your server / router Bluetooth
Network: this is the connection between your PDA and your computer. Unless you
are connecting via a Network Access Point, which is so outside the scope of
this article as to be unbelievable, you are NOT connecting onto your Primary
Network. This is a vital point to understand- you are creating a network with
your PC, which in turn, connects to your Primary Network. Because the PC is an
overlapping device- it exists in both networks- you are able to share the Internet
connection it possesses. You may benefit from thinking about this in the
following manner:
Server PC
PDA Technically, what you are creating
in these circumstances is an internet- two joined networks. It is for this
reason that I draw your attention to the fussiness of my writing- if I am
referring to “the Internet”, as in, a connection to Usenet, WWW, etc, I use a
capital “I”- if I refer to the connections being setup on your PC structure, I
use a lower-case “i”. Just an aside. Okay- so here are some settings! (If you are NOT part of a Primary
network, you can ignore the section up until SETTINGS.) In corporate environments, and,
indeed, in many homes now, computers are being linked together, to enable easy
sharing of files, and “hot-desking”. Thus, it is necessary to consider how the
basic Bluetooth network structure above can be adapted to work with a Primary
network, already installed. Firstly, though, there is a very important issue to
discuss: default gateways and Bluetooth dongles. Depending on what your IP address
is, you may need to change your router or server in order to use a Bluetooth
dongle. Basically, a Bluetooth dongle requires use of the address 192.168.0.1
to transfer the information to the device- no other address will do. This may
already be in use by your server or router, though, as it is a fairly standard
address for the Primary network default gateway. If this is the case, you will
need to change it, in whatever way your router manufacturer recommends, to
something like 192.168.1.1 instead. (Change the 0 for a 1) This will then free
up the necessary address for the Bluetooth network to use. However, once you
have done this, you will need to change your IP address for the Primary
network, and the default gateway. Worked example: BEFORE CHANGE: IP
address: 192.168.0.7 Subnet
mask: 255.255.255.0 Default
gateway: 192.168.0.1 -The router or server is changed to use 192.168.1.1- AFTER
CHANGE: IP
address: 192.168.1.7 Subnet
mask: 255.255.255.0 Default
gateway: 192.168.1.1 That is all that needs to be done to free up this address-
however, if you are part of a corporate Primary network, you will obviously
have to consult whoever is in charge of the network before you start changing
all the basic settings! SETTINGS: a.)
Open your Control Panel b.)
Select “Network Connections” c.)
If you have installed the Bluetooth software correctly, you
should see a new connection, which will be disabled (unlike the screenshot- mine
is shown as enabled. Also, your broadband connection will be enabled, whereas
mine is disabled. Sorry for any confusion caused by the use of this screenshot)
d.)
Right-click on the Bluetooth connection, and click on
“Properties” e.)
This will open the following screen:
f.)
Highlight “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)”, and then click
“Properties” Check the circle beside “Use the
following IP address” IP address: 192.168.0.1 Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 Default gateway: leave this blank Check the circle beside “Use the following
DNS server addresses” Preferred DNS server: 192.168.0.1 It should look like this:
g.)
Go back to the “Network Connections” screen, and
right-click on your broadband connection h.)
Click “Properties” i.)
Highlight “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)”, and then click “Properties” j.)
Note down all the settings on this screen, as you will need
them later- assuming that your Primary network is working, and that you have
satisfactorily resolved the problem associated with the default gateway
(above), you will not need to change these. If you were to do so, you run the
risk of losing your Internet connection until they are fixed!
k.)
Click “OK” or “Cancel” at the bottom of the box l.)
On the tabs at the top of the new box, select “Advanced” m.) Check the box beside
“Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet
connection” n.)
“Okay” any boxes which may appear, otherwise the connection
will not be shared This should be everything you need to do with regard to
Internet settings on your PC to enable Bluetooth to work. It will be worth
restarting at this point, to ensure that everything is up and working. Setting up you PDA for connection to you new Bluetooth LAN Prefs Connection Name:
Bluetooth (or whatever you want) Connect
to: Local Network Via:
Bluetooth Device: COMPUTER
(or whatever you named your PC when you configured the BT software)
Details Speed:
115,200 bps Flow
Ctl: Automatic
Network Service:
Bluetooth LAN Username:
Blank Password:
Blank Connection:
Bluetooth (same as Connection Name!)
Details Connection
type: PPP Idle
timeout: Never Query
DNS: Unchecked Primary
DNS: 192.168.0.1 Secondary
DNS: Blank IP
Address: Ticked
Script Send:
CLIENT Send:
CLIENT Wait
for: CLIENTSERVER End
Testing a.)
On your desktop, right-click on “My Bluetooth Places”, and
select “Explore” b.)
In the new screen, open the substructure of “My Bluetooth
Places”, and select “My Device”
c.)
Right-click on “Network Access” in the main window, and
select “Status” d.)
Open WebPro, or your choice of browser, and enter a URL (www.clieuk.co.uk/cwmobile.shtml).
Tap on “Connect”, tap on “Change Network”:
e.)
Then select “Bluetooth LAN”, or whatever you called your
Bluetooth network
f.)
You will then connect over the Bluetooth network you have
just set up, which will borrow an Internet connection from the Primary
connection, as you have allowed Connection Sharing g.)
In the “Status” window on your PC, you should see the
connection working
The bit at the end Well, that is all I have to offer on this… It works for me,
and will hopefully work for you too, although, as I said at the beginning, that
is something I cannot promise, I am afraid. If you have any questions,
comments, or additions, they are very welcome- perhaps start a thread in
“Wireless Connectivity” in the forum. Have fun trying to set this up- if you
see it as a chore, then it will be a chore! Trust me, though- the time spent in
getting it right for your particular setup will be repaid when it is working. Good luck! |
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