About

Hi. My name is Robin Newman, and I enjoy using my Raspberry Pi(s). This is a blog which will have occasional articles and comments added to it. I hope some readers may find it useful! My background is that I am a retired Head of IT who used to work at a local school.
I enjoy all things Pi and have also previously worked quite a bit with Lego Mindstorms models, some of which are documented at http://r.newman.ch/lego

I am eagerly awaiting the release of the new Mindstorms ev3 kit in the Autumn

38 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hi. I really enjoyed my brief visit on your site and I’ll be sure to be back for more.
    Can I contact your through your email?

    Please email me back.

    Thanks!
    Kevin
    kevincollins1012 gmail.com

    Reply ↓

  2. Hey Robin, I just stumbled across this and it looks pretty amazing. I teach middle school (grades 7-9) Computer Science, and I would love to introduce Sonic Pi along with my Minecraft coding lessons. Could you contact me via email, and would you be willing to have a dialog about how you did this? Thanks!

    Reply ↓

      • Now I don’t have internet in my RPi 3….at least I have an image I saved using dd but it sucks that after so many days I haven’t been able to do this. Ironically in windows this is so easy.

      • Tried it again after copying back a fresh install image on the SD card to make sure I was doing the process from scratch and now the computer receiving the ethernet connection recognizes the Rpi connection but there’s something that now is not letting me get internet connection in the raspberry pi. Basically the Rpi and the computer have established a connection but the rpi isn’t connected to the internet itself.

      • update: with ifconfig and ipaddress commands the wlan0 interface is showing 192.168.2.98 instead of 192.168.1.98. I checked all the files edited in the tutorial and I didn’t find anywhere where it is specified a xxx.xxx.2.98 instead of xxx.xxx.1.98 I feel like I’m missing only one little thing to fix this but can’t find it! Also the route command is giving something different:

        Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
        default 192.168.0.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 wlan0
        default 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 303 0 0 wlan0
        192.168.0.0 * 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 wlan0
        192.168.1.1 * 255.255.255.255 UH 303 0 0 wlan0
        192.168.2.0 * 255.255.255.0 U 202 0 0 eth0
        192.168.2.0 * 255.255.255.0 U 303 0 0 wlan0

        I copied this by hand but double checked it just in case.

        I would reaaaally appreciate any recommendation, this is the closest I’ve come to achieving this.

      • Sorry you are having so much trouble Jorge. I haven’t tried the system on the latest Pixel distro but I’ll take a look later today and get back to you. <<– Sorry this was rubbish!!! I HAVE tried the system on the latest Pixel distro. Are you using the latest version of this project which is specifically for the Pixel distribution and is listed here https://rbnrpi.wordpress.com/project-list/wifi-to-ethernet-adapter-for-an-ethernet-ready-tv-new-version/
        I have just worked through this on a RPi3 with the latest distro and it worked OK. In fact I am writing this on my MacBook connected to the RPi3 ethernet port and from there to the internet.

        192.168.2.98 is definitely not right for the Wireless IP.
        Do you have the dhcpcd.conf file correct? it should show

        interface wlan0
        static ip_address=192.168.1.98/24
        static routers=192.168.1.1
        static domain_name_servers=192.168.1.1

        #following lines are added added
        interface eth0
        static ip_address=192.168.2.1/24
        static routers= 192.168.2.0
        static_domain_name_servers=192.168.2.1

        at the end. Do you have the /24 correct?

        I did find a couple of minor errors in the project text which I have corrected, but I don’t think they would have affected things.
        You can download the files you need from the ntvr.zip link at the end of the article. I have also added a tweak to the raspi-config setting the option wait for a network connection. Let me know how you get on.

        I AM DOING FURTHER WORK ON THIS TODAY AND HAVE NOW GOT THE DHCP SERVER STARTING MORE RELIABLY. DETAILS WILL BE PUBLISHED LATER TONIGHT OR TOMORROW.

      • Thank you so much for answering. I think that to make sure I’m going to make a full fresh install and do your tutorial again. I used the files that you provided and copied them after backing them up as you instructed in the tutorial. I did use the tutorial for the latest version. Also I remember you wrote something about possibly the router not getting the message of using the static IP(something like that, dont remember well). Let me do everything from scratch and I’ll tell you how it went! Thanks!

      • Thanks again for the help, I tried it again with a fresh install and I get the same problem. There is a connection established but no internet access in the Pi nor through the ethernet connected computer. Here are some issues and questions I still have that might be the problem:

        ————————————————————————–
        The interfaces file originally is different from the one in the tutorial only in that it has a line that says “iface lo inet loopback”. Also some differences(between parenthesis) that I think are typos like:

        # Include files from /(((etcv)))/network/interfaces.d:
        Source-directory /(((wetc)))/network/interfaces.d

        ————————————————————————–
        Regarding the iptables: i’m not clear if I must use the “sudo iptables-save > /etc/iptables” command only if I create my own iptables or if I must use it regardless of copying or creating.

        ————————————————————————–
        Also I think the wpa_supplicant file is already set up if you set the wifi connection, so I shouldn’t need to make a different one right? When I open it it already has the SSID and password. The first three lines are in different order though:

        ctrl_interface
        update_config
        country

        INSTEAD OF:

        country
        ctrl_interface
        update_config

        I doubt the order makes a difference but just in case

        The country in the wpa_supplicant file is GB and I’m not in GB but I really doubt that could be a problem.

        —————————————————————————
        Right now I noticed the zip file at the end of the tutorial is named different and I used the old one so I guess I’ll try this all over again with that version of the zip file

        —————————————————————————
        I don’t remember doing the raspi-config part. Is that an edit?

      • You should use the new ntvr2.zip files. The main file that has changes is rc.local You can use the iptables file. You don’t need to make your own, although you can do so if you want using the two scripts provided. The wpa_supplicant that you have set up with your WiFi should be OK. Yes maybe better not to use GB but your country id as you are not in the UK.Yes you are right there are some typos in the interfaces file, but if you have a new distribution just leave the original file alone. You don’t alter it at all. I have corrected them in the article. The raspi_config bit is a new addition. What do you get when you type
        ip address

        This should show the ip addresses set up.Try pinging your main router ping 192.168.1.1 (I assume that is where it is). If that works try pinging an address like bbc.co.uk eg ping bbc.co.uk These should both work if the wireless lan is connected properly.
        systemctl status isc-dhcp-server
        will tell you if the dhcp server is running (should say active running)

  5. Jorge, thank you for the video. It highlighted one or two problems which I hope we can sort out.
    First the interfaces file. I think this is my fault. It is correct to say you should retain the distribution version and NOT change it, but the one I put up in the article had some errors in it.

    The correct version is below between the ###########
    ##########################################################
    # interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)

    # Please note that this file is written to be used with dhcpd
    # For static IO, consult /etc/dhcpcd.conf and ‘man dhcpcd.conf’

    # Include files from /etc/network/interfaces.d:
    Source-directory /etc/network/interfaces.d

    auto lo
    iface lo inet loopback

    iface eth0 inet manual

    allow-hotplug wlan0
    iface wlan0 inet manual
    wpa-conf /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

    allow-hotplug wlan1
    iface wlan1 inet manual
    wpa-conf /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

    #####################################################

    Notice that the line you commented out iface lo net loopback SHOULD be present

    Secondly you do NOT need to use the iptables-save script unless you want to make your own.
    However you DO need to copy the iptabes file into the etc folder using
    sudo cp iptables /etc/iptables
    If you do this do NOT do
    sudo iptables-save > /etc/iptables as this will wipe out the file you have just copied.

    I think your wpa_supplicant.conf file should be OK as it isalready set up with your ssid and password.

    I think these two alterations may get you going.
    I also notice that the laptop you are testing looks like it is trying to connect to the network via wireless (the symbol top right on the screen). It should be connecting via the hard wired ethernet cable connected to your raspberry pi, which then connects to your main network by wireless.

    Try the command ip address in the raspberry pi when you have made these changes and restarted it. it should show the network addresses 192.168.1.898 for wlan0 and 192.168.2.1 for eth0. Your loptop should be allocated address 192.168.2.10 by the raspberry pi dhcp server.

    Hope this gets you going.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi, I did it again with a fresh install and the last specifications you gave me. It still has the same problem: a connection is established between de Rpi and the computer but then the connection to the internet is lost. Seems like now the problem is between my house’s router and the Rpi wlan regardless of the routing I’m trying to the other computer. I recorded everything again but showing the ipaddress commands and other stats.

      Reply ↓

      • Hi Jorge
        Sorry to take some time before I was able to look at your video. Things look a lot more encouraging. Most of what you showed me seems OK and it looks as if your windows PC is connecting to the Raspberry Pi OK> The problme is that the pi is not connecting to your router. The clue may be that you sowed an address 192.168.0.1 which I suspect may be your router address, whereas the instructions I give in the article assume that your main local network is 192.168.1.xx NOT 192.168.0.xx I suspect your router is on 192.168.0.1 and not 192.168.1.1 If this is the case you will either need to reset the network that your rotuer sets up (which you should be able to do in teh router confiuration) or if you don;t want to do this then adjust some of the addresses in the article. Basically all address of the form 192.168.1.zz will have to be changed to 192.168.0.zz where zz remains the same as specified at each stage in the article. The wifi setup which is coded in the dhcpcd.conf file specifies 192.168.1.98 for the wlan0 interface. This cannot connect to your router if it is on 192.168.0.1. You would need to change it to 192.168.0.98. Unfortunately you would also have to make your own iptables file using the instructions in the original article as addresses in this would change also.
        The first thin you have to ascertain is what the network is that your router sets up. You should be able to find the address of a computer which is connected to that OK. if it is 192.168.1.xx then all is well. if it is NOT then you will have to adjust the addresses used.

      • Robin, thanks so much for taking the time, even if it works or not you have been very helpful and I’ve learned a lot through the process too. I know the videos were long so really, thanks! Will try this now, I’m already trying to change the router’s IP, lets see how that goes.

  6. Thank you for a great tut. I’m so close to getting this right but I feel like I’m hung up on one little thing. When I plug in the ethernet, I lose internet connectivity from wlan0. I have to change some addresses from what you’re using, and I feel like I’m missing something somewhere. If I needed a 10.1.1.110/8 address for eth0, a 10.1.1.30/8 address for the wlan0 and my wifi router is 10.1.0.1, do you have any suggestions about what I need to change and what I don’t?

    I’m going around in circles at this point.
    Best,
    Robbie

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Robbie
      I don’t think the addresses you have specified work. The Wi-Fi address should be on the same network as your router. thus 10.1.0.30 NOT 10.1.1.30 The eth0 addresss is on a separate subnet. The project creates a router between the wifi address (which should be on the same address as your main router) and the ethernet net (which in the example was on 192.168.2.1). the proejct is NOT a bridge connecting addresses on the same subnet as your main router. It is more akin to your internet facing address eg 81.158.141.20 (supplied by your ISP) and your internal local net (generated by your router and its built in dhcp server), in your case on 10.1.0.1

      Reply ↓

      • I got you. Thanks for a great write up and a quick answer. Yeah, I have a strangely large subnet at the house to mimic what we have at work so that I can test things here before trying them there to work out kinks. Bridging is really what I want but I don’t think I’ll get it with the RPI anytime soon.

  7. Robin,
    your wifi to ethernet post is the best, maybe only, I could find on this subject for jessie raspbian…Thanks!

    WiFi to ethernet adapter for an ethernet-ready TV NEW VERSION

    I do have an additional requirement that keeps me from using it as is. My Rpi will be in my trailer attached to an external antenna on top. Thus the wifi ip will not be static but changing as I connect to different hotspots in my travels.

    It’s easy enough to to remove the static settings from dhcpcd.conf and dynamically change to any ssid (I have that working), but I am unsure how to get the iptable set up since the IP address will not be consttant as in your configuration. Do you have any idea of how to do this or can you point me toward some other resources that will help me?

    Thx!! David

    Reply ↓

  8. Hi Robin,
    Thank you for posting your projects!

    I followed your updated guide on the RPi wifi bridge and though I have it working, I had to do a little end around I’m hoping you can explain to me.

    The issue is I have to manually set the DNS server setting on the system connecting to the ethernet cable coming from the Pi running the bridge or it will not connect to the internet. It does connect to my internal network without manual settings. Said another way, the Pi running the bridge is serving up the proper ip address (in my case 10.0.2.10), the right subnet mask, and forwarding traffic, but it is providing the wrong DNS.

    I’m running the bridge on a standard Pi with Jessie Lite 4-10-17. As you can see my network is set up using 10.0.1.# as the range so I edited all the scripts you provided. I also am running a Pi-Hole DNS server which has a static IP on my network. I have that ip set in my router’s DNS settings which is an Apple Airport Extreme.

    I’m testing the system with a RPi2 as the client attached to the ethernet cable. The bridge is serving:
    – ip: 10.0.2.10
    – subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
    – DNS: 10.0.1.1 which is the ip of my router

    Here are my settings from /etc/dhcpcd.conf

    interface wlan0
    static ip_address=10.0.1.199/24
    static routers=10.0.1.1
    static domain_name_servers=10.0.1.27

    interface eth0
    static ip_address=10.0.2.1/24
    static routers= 10.0.2.0
    static_domain_name_servers=10.0.2.1

    I’ve tried multiple different static DNS settings on wlan0 resulting in no internet connection on the pi running the bridge. I’ve tried multiple different static DNS settings on eth0 and all result in 10.0.1.1 as the served up DNS.

    Sorry if this is a silly question…but what am I doing wrong?

    Thanks in advance for any response.

    Cheers,

    Pete

    Reply ↓

    • Dear Pete
      Apologies for taking so long to reply to you. I have only now had time to take a detailed look at this. I installed pi_hole as a dns-server as per your set up, and like you I found that even though I specified the address (in my case 192.168.1.210) for this server, the WiFi dhcp served up 192.168.1.1 to the wireless client I connected to the bridge. Much head scratching followed, but eventually I found that the problem was in the config file for the isc-dhcp-server which is located at /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf.
      I changed the entry near the top to read option domain-name_servers 192.168.1.210; instead of the previous 192.168.1.1 and then restarted the server using
      sudo systemctl restart isc-dhcp-server

      I think in your case you would put in the address 10.0.1.27 here.

      Also I noticed that in the /etc/dhcpcd.conf file, I specified an entry static_domain_name_servers=192.168.2.1 for the dns for the eth0 interface (This is the last line in the configuration file. This I think was also wrong and I changed to to 192.168.1.210 which in your case would be 10.0.1.27.

      Try these two changes and let me know how you get on. I had not previously considered that the dns server might be located elsewhere than that served by the router.
      If it works for you, I will add something about this to the write up.
      Best wishes.
      Robin

      Reply ↓

  10. I would also like to say thanks for the fine Wifi to TV article and the source of files. I used it to get my pi2 going. I am sure having all the files helped with my poor typing.
    I did have a problem, I think, with the line in the dhcpcd.conf file for some reason it didn’t like the space after the =
    static routers= 192.168.2.0
    Or perhaps restarting has solved the issue. In any case thanks

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  11. Thank you for writing about the WiFi to ethernet adapter. I’m working with a new install of raspbian-stretch and have followed your guide, but ran into two issues:
    1). when running `$ sudo apt-get install isc-dhcp-server` I get the following error:
    Generating /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server…
    Job for isc-dhcp-server.service failed because the control process exited with error code.
    See “systemctl status isc-dhcp-server.service” and “journalctl -xe” for details.
    invoke-rc.d: initscript isc-dhcp-server, action “start” failed.
    isc-dhcp-server.service – LSB: DHCP server
    Loaded: loaded (/etc/init.d/isc-dhcp-server; generated; vendor preset: enabled)
    Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Fri 2018-02-23 15:01:08 UTC; 57ms ago
    Docs: man:systemd-sysv-generator(8)
    Process: 1320 ExecStart=/etc/init.d/isc-dhcp-server start (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)

    2). The other (minor) issue is that when running `$ sudo raspi-config` there is a miss-match between the options you describe and the options available where your article notes “Select number 4 and choose the option to wait for anetwork connection to be established” <- this options does not exist in that menu.

    Again, thank you for the detailed guide. If I figure out the solution to these I'll add a new comment here.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Matthew. Thank you for your comments. I think you can ignore the problems with the isc-dhcp-server install. It is trying to start with default config files and until you have continued and set up the confifguration files detailed in the article it will not start properly. Despite the errors it has installed. IT just can;t start with the default configuration.
      Secondly you are right about the raspi-config changes. The app has changed since the article was written and looking at the latest version, you now want to select no 3 Boot options and from the sub menu select B2 wait for Network at Boot, followed by “Yes”. Let me know how you get on.

      Reply ↓

  12. Hi, I do not know, if this is stil up to date, but I just followed your tutorial on how to share raspberrys wifi over ethernet.

    At the end it worked perfectly but only after typed the interface in /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server.
    (sudo nano /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server)

    Maybe this is a hint you could add on your tutorial so it will help others.

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  13. I came across your site via Youtube – and really love what you are doing!

    I recently downloaded Sonic Pi and am currently playing with it – and your site has really inspired me!

    Wonderful stuff, Robin!

    Reply ↓

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