Wifi connection for CVP405?

[cashman]

Hi, I purchased my 405 recently and since I'm new to all of these (CVP and piano playing) I feel like that I'm at the beginning of a very exciting journey. My problem is about connecting my 405 to internet.

Since my ADSL modem is very far to where my 405 sits, the only feasible option for me is to connect wireless. As to my understanding I have to use either a Wifi ethernet bridge or a USB Wifi card. Since the hardware options depicted in the Yamaha manual is very limited, old and nearly impossible to find, I'd like to find out your experiences and and opinions on this to create a possible solution to this issue. What other options or products can be used for connection? (Linksys, D-Link ....etc.)

Regards.

[eightyeightkeys]

Hi! We just purchased a CVP409 a few weeks ago. I,too, was faced with the same dilemma of how to connect to the Internet. We have our home computers and Xbox 360 connected wirelessly to the Internet through our Linksys router. I contacted Yamaha about a wireless USB adaptor, and they gave me 2 options. I went with the Planex USB adaptor and ordered it through amazon. It works perfectly! It is a Planex GW-US54GXS. All I had to do was plug it into the USB port on the CVP, follow the instructions in the CVP manual (enetering the WEP security code and a few other settings...) and we can now access IDC on the piano. So far we have only downloaded one karaoke song, but I love having the option of obtaining other "fun" stuff from the site. If you need more info, just let me know!

[cashman]

Thanks for the info eightyeightkeys. I was about to get a 407/409 actually but since I reached my financial limits, I had to go with 405 but pleased with it nevertheless. :)

Could you clarify whether the WEP encryption is the only option in Planex GW-US54GXS? Since WEP is a very soft encryption WPA or WPA2 is the only way for me actually. Not that anything will happen to CVP because of WEP but since it affects the whloe network, I have to consider the security issues of other clients on my home LAN. (I had 1 PC, 2 laptpops, and 1 PS3 on it.)

[Chuy]

From what i've seen, WEP is the only option for the CVP. And yes, WEP is very weak and can be easily hacked. What i did in my case is to enable mac security on my router to allow only my wireless devices.

Kind Regards.

[eightyeightkeys]

Yes, I believe only WEP encryption can be used. I have read elsewhere that WPA does not work with the CVP. Is there any way you can run an ethernet cord to your CVP? Best of luck to you!

[chubbnig]

I posted this reply originally for the CVP307 but it works for any Clavinova that can support a USB connection(s). There is an excellent product that provides a very secure alternative to WEP and Wi-Fi. That product is PowerLan from Dlink or LinkSys. See my response on the CVP300 forum for more details.

Nigel Chubb
CVP-307

[motjebben]

Another possibility, though it is not necessarily easy, can be to use a wireless router that supports vlan and multiple SSID's (I believe the Linksys WRT54G can do this with dd-wrt firmware).

Then you can set up one SSID to use WEP, and keep it segregated to your internet connection via a vlan. That way you do NOT compromise the remainder of your network, if WEP is broken. You can even rate-limit the WEP connection to internet, such that if it is broken, a hacker would not benefit much from the lower speed.

And, you can also use your mac address filtering too.

-Mike

[cashman]

Hi,
Recently I'm somewhat busy with job / family issues so I did not have time to implement the ideas you presented, but it created new avenues for me to think on nevertheless.

So I'd like to thank everyone who took their time to comment solutions to the issue. :)

Regards.

[sbrbot]

From what i've seen, WEP is the only option for the CVP. And yes, WEP is very weak and can be easily hacked. What i did in my case is to enable mac security on my router to allow only my wireless devices.
Kind Regards.
Yes, WEP encription is very weak (could be cracked in few minutes). MAC filtering is not big help because WEP cracker can see what MAC addresses are connected to your router and use one of them during crack procedure. So do not cound on MAC filtering as big help in protection. The only protection with WEP protection is to use flat rate :-).

[begginer]

Check out some threads on this group around Feb. 08. I had the WEP / WPA problem. As my work laptop wasn't allowed to use WEP my home network was WPA only. Hence I went for the Ethernet Bridge / Gaming Adaptor route below (which also works for Xbox). Gaming adaptors like the Belking I use seem to be getting harder to find. I bought replacement off ebay.

Regards,
Begginer

From my limited experience (see later thread), the pros and cons of the two methods are:

USB Adapter - likely to be newer technology, so you get G, G+MIMO, N which increase in range and bandwidth. USB being all pervasive these days there is a greater range of makes and models on the market. Therefore also probably slightly cheaper. Disadvantage as you see on these various noticeboards is that unlike your PC, it's tricky to update the Clavinova with the latest drivers and there's no CD drive to put in the CD you normally get with these sorts of things, so you're actually limited to a very small range of makes and models the clavinova supports. If you have one of the required models then it's probably just plug n play, i.e. plug it in and it works. Another disadvantage (only slight) is that you have to configure the Wireless network settings in the setup page of the Clavinova. BUT the biggest problem to me was that the Clavinova didn't support WPA security settings, only WEP, which made it incompatible with my work laptop which needed WPA not WEP (WEP is the older less secure protocol).

Gaming adapters aka ethernet bridges. The advantage includes that the Clavinova thinks its on a normal ethernet LAN so doesn't need the wireless network settings configured (only the LAN settings which must be done anyway). The clavinova doesn't know its on a wireless network, so its WEP limitation doesn't apply (you are only limited by what the ethernet bridge can do - typically both). A disadvantage is that you need to configure the ethernet bridge using a computer (plug it in and set up the wireless network settings) before you can use it - but this is relatively straight forward. Once configured, you just plug it into the Ethernet socket and you're away. You can move it to any ethernet device (including your games console, hence the name) which instantly becomes wireless. There tend to be less of these around so may be harder to get, slightly more expensive, and older technology (I could only find a G model - but I was particularly after a Belkin). The unit itself is a bit bigger than the USB adapter which is like a big memory stick, however, the ethernet bridge can sit underneath the Clavinova almost out of sight whilst the USB is put into the socket on top of the Clavinova, and I think I read somewhere it must be taken out to close the lid, whilst the ethernet adaptor can stay plugged in.

I went for the Ethernet Bridge because of the security settings problem and that despite being less models on the market it was actually easier to find than the limited range of USB adapters the Clavinova would support, and the price delta was pretty small.

Hope that helps.

Begginer

[Chuy]

Execellent piece of information.

I did something similar. In my case I obtained a second Linksys router and configured it in bridge mode. A bit too technical for some but a challenge for those that want to "get their hands dirty".

Here is a link that explains how to do it.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_Bridge

[churchkeys]

I can honestly say that I am COMPLETELY frustrated with the internet connection situation. I purchased a cvp403 in Aug 2009 and have yet to connect. I have been back & forth to various stores buying cables, connections etc..I had a workman come to my home who deals with Yamaha products. My router is on lower level of my home and cvp403 is on upper level. It would be possible to run the line from the router but I would have a line going across my room due to location. He told me that wireless is not reliable, but I thought I would try since I am missing out on a huge feature of my cvp403. In the manual on page 172 is says to use "wireless game adaptor" but in the left margin it states that "a USB wireless LAN adaptor also can be used" Guess what? Went to the store again and purchased USB wireless LAN adaptor and it didn't work. After loading software, setting up lap top etc... DIDN'T WORK! Sent email inquiry to Yamaha instrument support and was told I must use "wireless game adaptor" and they sent me a list of "compatible" items....sure wish the manual said that. Needless to say I am now in the market for a wireless game adaptor. I almost wish I had my plain, old acoustic piano back....:mad: :confused:

[begginer]

USB adapters are limited to a very small range of models that Yamaha can probably tell you or you can find in other posts. Fine if you can get one. (Why were you installing s/w on the laptop).

Wireless Gaming Adapters are a different type of device, and whilst I haven't checked, almost any one should work because the Clavinova can't tell what device it's using, it just thinks its using Ethernet (The Gaming Adapter plugs into the Ethernet socket). The gaming adapter pretends to be the Ethernet connection, and switches it to your Wireless network, hence why the same device could be plugged into any Ethernet device like your XBox.

My suggestion - if you can buy a Belkin F5D7330 (bought my last one cheap off ebay), I know it works (its what I'm using). The tricky bit is setting it up which you do with it plugged into a computer. Follow the instructions that come with it, but for info. I found it more reliable to use the slightly longer method of connecting to the F5D... using a browser, not using the software on the disk! Its all in the instructions.

Once configured, a light comes on to tell you it is connected to the Wi-LAN. So when you take it off the computer and plug it in the Clavinova, you will again see if it connects back up to the Wi-LAN by whether the light comes back on. If it does, you are connected to the Wi-LAN and any remaining problems are elsewhere. If it doesn't then your Wi-LAN signal may not be strong enough. Plugged into something portable like a laptop you could probably find out where in you house it can or can't see enough signal.

Hope that helps.

Begginer