DIBAL SCALES

WITH ALFA HONEYBEE R36A

WIFI CONFIGURATION MANUAL

 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

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Title WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

Author DIBAL S.A.
Version 1.0
FileName Alfa HoneyBee R36A English Manual.doc

Doc changes

Version Author Date Description

1.0 Dibal S.A. 20/06/2022 First version

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

1. Introduction

A new Wi-Fi module, ALFA HoneyBee R36A, has been added to the 500 and D900 Range scales.

In the scale, a power supply board is installed together with the module, connected to the scale power source.

2. Description of the process

The device that is incorporated in the scale is ALFA HoneyBee R36A, which has different working modes:

• Router mode: The port functions as a WAN port in a typical wired oDSL / PPPoE /Dynamic IP/Static
IP/PPTP/L2TP connection.
• 3G/4G mode: The port can be set as LAN to share Internet via Ethernet connection on desktop or laptop.
• Repeater mode: The port configured as LAN allows you to share the Internet connection via RJ45 cable.
• Wireless Bridge/Repeater: connected to a network created by the Access Point or Router the module
acts as a Bridge. It is used to make wireless to a computer that does not have a wireless card. This is the mode
that we will use for the scales.

The module has two RJ-45 ports and for the scales to have a connection to the module it is necessary to
configure the module so that both ports act as a switch. Besides, both ports are linked with the WLAN (Wireless)
interface.

• LAN Connector – External Ethernet Connector

• LAN/WAN Connector- CPU Ethernet Connector

Therefore, the module must be connected as follows:

LAN-
External Ethernet
connector

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

The USB port is not used in scale application.

Very Important: If the module is configured to connect to an AP (access point), it is strongly recommended not
to connect the scale to the same wired network as AP, as it could cause a network loop!

3. Manual configuration of the device in Client Mode

1. Connect the Wi-Fi module to the 12V power supply of the scale and press the reset button for 15 seconds.
2. Once pressed, wait 60-70 seconds for the device to reset and restart.
3. Connect the PC to the Wi-Fi module Ethernet port (LAN port) and access the IP 192.168.0.254 (default IP)
from the browser (remember the PC should be in the same IP range, 192.168.0.X).
4. Enter username and password to access the device
User: root
Password: (In the first access any password is valid, to add a password you access the following screen:
System -> Administration).

5. Access the Network -> Devices screen to configure the two RJ-45 ports so that they act as a switch and thus
they allow access to the scale by wire in case it is necessary. Click on the “Configure” button of “Bridge device”
line.

Select both ports RJ45.

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

6. Access the Network -> Interfaces screen to modify the LAN IP of the module. It is very important not to
connect the scale to the same wired network as the AP as it may cause a network loop.

In this example IP LAN assigned has been: 192.168.0.252

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

We delete the rest of interfaces and then we press button “Save“. After 70 seconds of waiting, we can use
the new IP in a navigator, to proceed with the rest of steps.

7. Go to Network -> Wireless screen to assign the Wi-Fi network we want to be connected to.
If the desired Wi-Fi network is visible, you must follow the steps of option 7.a, on the other hand, if the Wi-Fi
network is hidden, you must follow the steps of option 7.b.

OPTION 7.a
Press button “Scan” and then press button “Join Network” in the desired network.

Select the check “Delete previous Wireless configuration”, introduce the network password and select LAN
for the firewall zone of the new interface that will be created, and which will be named WWAN.

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

On the next screen you can access to a more advanced configuration of the WIFI network. In this
case it is not necessary to modify anything, so press the "Save" button to finish the configuration
process.

Delete the rest of the networks that appear on the screen and press button “Save and apply”.
After the changes are applied the Network -> Wireless screen should look like this:

Now access again Network -> Interfaces screen and you can see there are two interfaces. Press the "Edit"
button of the new "wwan" interface to modify the protocol to "Static address", select the WIFI network
"wlan0" in Device, enter the same IP address as the LAN IP (in this case 192.168.0.252) and change the
subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. The reason for putting the same wireless IP as the LAN IP is that after
finishing the configuration process and releasing the network cable, it must be possible to continue
communicating with the module via Wi-Fi.

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

OPTION 7.b
When the Wi-Fi network is hidden, you have to configure this network manually: press the "Add" button
and in the "General Setup" subsection of the "Interface configuration" section, select the "Client" mode
and type the SSID of the hidden WIFI network:

In the subsection “Wireless Security” you must select the encryption mode and the password:

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

Delete the rest of the networks that appear on the screen and press button “Save and apply”.
Access the Network -> Interfaces screen and click on the “Add new interface…” button. Enter a name for
the new interface (for example “wwan”), for the protocol select "Static address" and for the device select
“wlan0”.

When you press on the “Create interface” button, another screen is shown in which you have to select the
WIFI network “wlan0” in field Device. In the IP address enter the same address as the LAN (in this case
192.168.0.252) and change the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. The reason for setting the same wireless IP
as the LAN IP is that after finishing the configuration process and releasing the network cable, it must be
possible to continue communicating with the module via Wi-Fi.

After “Save and apply”, access the Network -> Wireless screen again and click on the “Edit” button of the
Wi-Fi network previously created. In the “Network” parameter of the “General Setup” subsection of the
“Interface configuration” section, select the “wwan” interface you have just created.

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

8. Finally, in the same Network -> Interfaces screen, add a third interface by pressing “Add new interface…” button
to relate the previous two interfaces so that the module can work via LAN and WAN simultaneously (bridge
between them).

Name the interface as “Relay” and select for the protocol: “Relay bridge”.

After pressing the “Create interface” button, you can enter IP address which has to be the same IP as the LAN
and WAN IP previously set (192.168.0.252 in this example) and select the two interfaces you want to link.

NOTE: In case you wish the scale to work only via ethernet wire, even keeping the Wi-Fi module installed inside
the scale, then in Network -> Wireless screen, you must disable the previously configured Wi-Fi network by just
pressing the “Disable” button.

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

4. Configuration using a configuration file

It is possible to generate a backup file (Backup) and restore the backup file (Restore) with the configuration of the
WIFI module. For that you must access the System -> Backup/Flash Firmware screen.

4.1 How to create de file

To generate the backup file press “Generate archive” button.

A GZ fila Will be downloaded to your computer automatically.

4.2 How to load the file

The module has two types of restores:

• Delete all the configuration of the WIFI module

• Retrieve module configuration via GZ file

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 WiFi configuration manual (Alfa HoneyBee R36A)

If you want to erase all the configuration, you must press the “Perform reset” button. This action is equivalent to
the reset by pressing the button for 10-15 seconds, externally accessible for that purpose.

If you want to recover a previous configuration, you must press the “Upload archive…” button. A screen is
shown in which you must first select the GZ file you want to use and then validate this file by pressing the
“Upload” button. A second screen is shown, informing about the changes that are going to be made. The
“Continue” button must be pressed to validate the operation.

In both operations it is necessary to refresh the browser page after approx. 70 seconds of waiting to continue
with the configuration.

5. Module factory reset

5.1. Reset while working with the scale

Reset the module by pressing the reset button for about 10-15 seconds and wait for 70 seconds until reset
is fully performed.

5.2. Reset at the scale restart

1. Switch off the balance

2. Turn on the machine by keeping the module's reset button pressed for 25 seconds.
3. Release the reset button.
4. The module reset process will take about 70 seconds
5. The default address to access the module will be 192.168.0.254.

6. Some other aspects to bear in mind

• To be able to access the device if it has the address 192.168.0.254, the PC's network card must have an
address 192.168.0.X where X is a value between 1 and 254.

• If we configure a device and, once finished, we want to configure another one, it is recommended to
clean the PC's ARP cache. To do this, we can open a command window in administrator mode and execute the
command “arp –d”. To make a static entry use the command “arp –s A.B.C.D MM-MM-MM-SS-SS-SS” where
A.B.C.D is the IP address and MM-MM-MM-SS-SS-SS is the physical address (MAC). This would only be
necessary if there are multiple devices with the same IP on the same network.

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