Notworking

For a while now I've been using a second wifi router as a network switch and access point in my living room, to connect my Mini and Wintendo via ethernet, and to give a bit more wifi goodness to my various mobile devices.

This wasn't especially ideal though, as my primary wifi router was only maybe 12 feet away, and so it wasn't really adding much to my wifi coverage.

With this in mind, I decided to move the router to my craft room, which is a bit further away and on the other side of some walls.

This did, however, leave me without a hard wired connection for my Mini and Wintendo. Or at least it would, if I didn't have an 8 port switch just kicking around collecting dust.

I quickly rediscovered why this 8 port switch was just kicking around collecting dust: when I powered it on, the power LED just blinked and the ports remained lifeless.

I looked up this symptom online, and everything I read said "oh that means the power supply is shite" and despite knowing that power supplies are quite often shite, I somehow didn't believe that was the issue.

Luckily it was easy enough to test: it just needed 12v 1a on a standard sized barrel jack, and I happened to have an extra wall wart kicking around. I plugged it in, and the switch came to life.

But for some reason I was convinced that it still might not be the power supply that was to blame, and so I double checked by switching back to the other power supply, and indeed it just blinked the power LED. Switching to the other supply again resulted in a fully functional switch.

Ok, I guess this wall wart is shite. Problem solved.