Disklavier

Well after trying about everything in the book to increase my Mark IV's wifi to the PRC-100 range I finally decided to try a wifi repeater.  Boy did that do the trick.

Before I would easily drop my wifi connection when I was within 5 feet of my piano.  I live in a condo and have many wifi networks in range and my Mark IV to the PRC-100's wifi link quality suffered due to network interference from the number of wireless networks in my area.  I initially used a wifi analyzer to determine the least congested wifi channel and I then set the piano's wifi to this channel.  I did see some improvement --i t wasn't perfect but at least I could lay the PRC-100 on the piano bench and still maintain a connection--as long as I had the PRC-100's wifi compact flash card pointed towards the I/O Center in the piano.  Otherwise the PRC-100 would drop the signal and I would have to reconnect.  It was frustrating, since if the phone rang, I would have to reconnect to establish a connection before pausing or adjusting the piano's volume.  

I wanted a better solution and now I've found one that increased the range and connection reliability dramatically.  I can now easily control the piano anywhere in my condo without loosing connectivity -- something I was never able to reliably do before more than a few feet from my piano.

MY SOLUTION: 
I purchased a wifi repeater.  The one i chose is the smallest wifi repeater I have ever used before.  It's a NETGEAR WiFi Booster for Mobile (WN1000RP) and the entire device just plugs directly into a wall power outlet.  It's very small and measures 2.64 x 2.17 x 1.34 inches on each side, or about the size of an AC Adapter that used to power an answering machine or some other low voltage device.

Anyway, once I correctly configured, the repeater will relay traffic to the Disklavier's internal DKV123456 wifi network.  The repeater actually creates a second new extended, more powerful network that I named "MyPianoNet" which can be actually be secured with 128bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption keys.  (The repeater actually supports more secure encryption methods, however the PRC-100 does not support them. )  

I then manually created a new network connection on the PRC-100 that pointed to the new "MyPianoNet" network and entered the HEXidecimal 128bit WEP Access keys that I used to setup the repeater.  I kept the original DKV123456 network entry in the PRC-100 for backup.  

I then exited out of the network setup utility and then selected the new "MyPianoNet" in the drop down box and in the PRC-100's Network Connection window and clicked on the "Connect" button.  It quickly connected to this new secured network and launched the piano interface.  It seems to connect faster than before and the screens may even refresh faster due to better throughputs on a higher quality link.

I would create a more detailed step by step instructions if someone is really interested.  You will need a computer or laptop with wireless wifi capability initially to configure and setup the repeater.  (Unfortunately the built in Opera browser on the PRC-100 isn't robust enough or optimized to support all of the web features needed complete this task.)  I used my android phone and iPad to configure mine.

For those who are less technically inclined or don't have access to wifi enabled computer I might even be talked into offering you a pre-configured repeater with your Disklavier's ID, Network Name and WEP Access Keys.

I purchased the repeater at my local MicroCenter store for $59 plus tax but I noticed that Amazon had it for $39.99 plus tax with free shipping if you are a Prime member.

I'm not saying that this is the best or only wifi repeater that will work for this application in your environment nor that these are the best prices or only retailers for this device.  However it is just the one I used and the device I am currently testing with my Mark IV in the somewhat wifi congested environment.

-Ken

Athomik,

Thanks for the information.  Yes, I still have the original Yamaha branded 802.11b wifi cards.  I looked up the card you suggested (Ambicon WL1100C-CF WiFi card) and found only one vendor offering them on Amazon in the USA. They were selling a used card for $79.00 USD plus shipping.   

Amazon's website also suggested WL54-CF 802.11g Wireless CompactFlash Card.  This card 802.11g is a more recent version of the older 802.11b card offered and would allow better range, but in the reviews someone tried to use it on a 5500 Sharp Zaurus and could not get them to work.  I'm not sure it would work or be a direct plug and play replacement and compatible with the current drivers on the PRC-100.  I see that there are several vendors selling this version in both new, used and even refurbished.  I picked up a refurbished version of this card for testing purposes for $10.99 USD plus shipping.  I don't expect it to work in the PRC-100, but I might be surprised--since most cards are backwards compatible.

In the meantime, the wifi repeater solution gives me fantastic range with my original Yamaha cards and now I'm even able to control the piano from outside** my condo.  Plus with the wifi repeater setup I'm able to implement wifi secured network on the extended network -- which is great for me living in "the wifi jungle" as my condominium complex seems to be.

**FYI: I don't recommend using the PRC-100 outside your home since may be more prone to getting damaged if dropped or lost.  Last month I checked the replacement cost of a PRC-100 from Yamaha and now I am taking much, much, MUCH better care of mine.  In fact if there were a fire (God forbid) it would be one of the first items that I would grab... that and the most recent backup of my piano's media.

-Ken