User's Manual

APR650 User Manual
17/11/20 Page 45 of 54
8.6.3.4 WLAN
The WLAN function of the APR650 requires basic knowledge about networks and
WLAN. It is recommended to let an IT specialist configure the required settings.
The WLAN settings available on the device itself are only
basic ones. Showing all possible settings would make the
menu too complex, hence the advanced settings are only
software configurable – e.g. via AgriLink.
But usually it is not required to modify these settings again
and again – an initial configuration is normally enough if the
IT infrastructure remains the same.
WLAN is not activated per factory default settings. Before it can be used, it has to be switched
on. There are two possible operating modes available, ‘Station’ and ‘Access Point’.
Station:
This operating mode for WLAN is probably the most common scenario.
There is an existing WLAN infrastructure containing a wireless Access
Point and the reader should join it.
The Access Point has an SSID (Service Set IDentifier) which makes it
discoverable and connectable – one could also call it ‘network name’. The
SSID has to be configured correctly via software (like AgriLink), it has to
match with the SSID used by the Access Point.
Usually WLAN connections use security mechanisms like ‘authentica-
tion’. The APR650s WLAN module supports ‘no authentication’ or
‘WPA2’. Authentication methods different from WPA2 (like WEP or WPA)
turned out to be insecure and hence are not supported.
If WPA2 is selected as authentication method, the ‘passphrase’ config-
ured for the Access Point has to match with the one set for the APR650.
Please note that the passphrase is also case-sensitive!
The easiest way for allowing the APR650 to join the Access Point is to let
the Access Point work as a DHCP server. This means that IP addresses
are assigned automatically.
If all those settings are configured correctly, the APR650 should be able
to join the Access Point.
Access Point:
When the APR650 is configured to ‘Access Point’ it will not try to join an-
other Access Point but it will create an own one. This is comparable with
the ‘mobile hotspot’ function on smartphones even though the APR650
has no internet access, of course.