WIRELESS All-In-One Printer under £70

ts_aly2000

I bet typing in that WEP key a dozen times has been driving you mad??.... To anyone reading, the printer makes you scroll through the entire alphabet before getting to the numbers, and you have to do this for every single character beginning at 'a' everytime.

The instructions in the book (page 18) are reasonably accurate. You need DHCP enabled wizzer, and need to make sure your router is giving them out.

DHCP is.... 3>2>(DHCP or Auto)

The 4>(Print Reports) is quite useful too.... to keep track of where you are.

Enable 64bit WEP on your router with the test phrase '3953'. The 1st key is '51770609e1'.

On the Brother try swapping between OPEN WEP, and WEP WEP (encryption). I haven't quite figured this out myself. Everything else on my network is open or WEP, the Brother gives the impression that there's two types. I can tell you one will work and one won't though...

Not only does our quite clear printer have a FTP server in it, it also responds to ICMP pings, so you can ping it across your network.

>PING 192.168.1.5 (for example). The router will tell you what it has assigned things to, something like DHCP Assignments in one of the belkin admin pages.

Just for the moment wizzer forget about connecting it to XP, get it talking to the router first (which it sounds like you're doing). Don't ever connect it via USB or use the option to configure Wireless from the Brother install-software, that wiped mine and I had to start allover again when the other 3 computers had been fine.

Don't worry, you're not alone Certainly the downside of the wireless setup on the printer has to be the method in which you enter the keys, I don't like that at all.

Once you have the printer running though XP will recognise it. Oh tell you another thing, XP will report that the device isn't found yet you can print a test page.......

Unfortunately this isn't like configuring an HP Laserjet 4L where it's straight off away. But saying that, wireless is quite new as a technology for printers. Especially for ones costing £60!!

The range on it is quite good too, in a newbuild house here with metal mesh in every single wall (plaster) and it's holding up better than some of the 54g cards.

You'll get there eventually. DHCP. Oh and you also have to turn the thing physically off by pulling the plug out to force some changes, particularly DHCP. (dunno why..)

wizzer

Thanks TS Aly
I'll digest this lot when I get a chance and will give it a try.

Will let you know how I get on but may not be today.

Wizzer

mallard

Thanks for the post - a bargain! I had been after a wireless printer for a while but the prices were the stumbling block so this is great.

Picked up one at the Willenhall store late yesterday - they still had four left. Also rang Hanley and they had six in stock if anyone is after one.

Thanks also for the 10 quid voucher - even more of a bargain all-in-one

Doddle to set up - connected wirelessly (using wep) to two pcs and a laptop running XP with no problems. Print quality excellent.

Didn't get any hard sell - mainly because the checkout girls were more interested in giving me a free staples card!

Cheers

Mallard

ts_aly2000

Here's some extra info for Windows 98SE (this has kept me going for the last 12 hours, 2 SE reinstalls later...)

Install IMAGING within Windows Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs>Windows Setup. This adds a TWAIN driver to SE. If you don't do this your scanner won't work!!

Recommeded for ALL users that you give your printer a fixed IP address, mine here is 172.19.1.101. If you don't do this then you HAVE to install all of the Windows Family Networking and NetBios tripe. Also if your network moves about as mine does, assigning the printer a changing DHCP address causes other problems; ie. machines joining and leaving the network, printer being switched off etc. Everything gets out of 'sync.

Final recommendation, don't just 'install' the drivers outright. Select "Install MSL-Plus without Powerport." (or whatever it is!). Several screens later you'll have tickboxes to select what to install, ONLY select the printer driver, and the scanner driver. And enter your IP address in explicitly, don't let the install program find the printer. The total install will be about 8Mb which is relatively respectable.

All of this Brother don't tell you. I've found most of this out through trial and error, and several installs of 98SE. Another tip.. Try to get it right first time, as the Brother uninstall software doesn't remove everything... Brother's software is quite content to tell you to remove/install the software over and over, when if it aint gonna work, it aint gonna work!! The problem is somewhere else.

The tips given here will give you a very stable system. You can scanner acquire from within the graphics program you're used to, and any dynamic changes in your network won't affect the printer.

I can see what Brother are trying to do here to give them credit, trying to make wireless available for everyone, unfortunately where fixed devices are concerned in a dynamic environment things aren't that simple. Their drivers are part of the issue TBH. There's also alot Brother simply assume as well.

Get down to Staples now people, £59.99 (with the printable voucher on page 1 of this thread) for a stonking little printer. 2 hours left!!

penyekz

So tempted to go for this... but already have an epson 820 still going strong after 4 years... think i'll hold off until this breaks down.

ukbadger_2

Got mine at 1.45 in Sunderland store , used £10 voucher no problem and it is set up wirelessly now - what a great deal !

Thanks to this site I have got a great laptop (Dell 1300 upgraded to larger screen and better battery) , wireless network router and this printer for my original laptop budget of £500 - if I hadn't logged on here I would have just gone to PC world and paid £499 for a laptop assuming it's a good deal then had to pay out for all the extra's on top.

Has anyone tried to print photo's ??

I bought a kodak photo printer in the sale after easter which may now be made redundant - Guess what it makes on ebay will contribute quite nicely to the cost of this new toy.

madnlooney

well i picked one of these up today with the £10 voucher too, i got it all set up working nicely with WEP encription and mac filtering. got my 2 computers in the house printing to iy. if anyone needs any help with the setup just let me know and if i can ill try help out

WaveyDavey69

Got the last one on the shelf in Banbury at lunchtime and used the £10 voucher too! Bargain! Just had a quick whizz through the manual and my home network i've hidden the SSID - I guess i need to undo that yeah?

don2345

WaveyDavey69 wrote:

Got the last one on the shelf in Banbury at lunchtime and used the £10 voucher too! Bargain! Just had a quick whizz through the manual and my home network i've hidden the SSID - I guess i need to undo that yeah?

No, do not need to undo the SSID. Just manually type in the SSID and the wep (if you have it) and the printer should pick it up. This is what i did.

dvdrobs

Will this machine work without wireless,I may set up wireless in future so want to keep options open.
ukbadger was there any left after yours..