Cheap Arduino to LAN / WiFi / 3G / 3.5G / 4G connection

The official Arduino WiFi shield is an easy but expensive option to get your Arduino on the wireless network.

But there is a cheaper nasty way that actually offers you lots more options.

A bunch of hackers have started re-engineering commercial Wifi-routers opening them up and updating the firmware to allow them to easily connect to the Wifi-routers with break-out boards like Arduino’s. The TP-Link TL-WR703N is a great example of a cheap travelers router that can connect to WiFi and includes a USB port.

Because the little router has an on-board USB port you can connect it to the internet with a 3G-USB stick. This also gives you the option to upgrade the connection to a 4G version in the future.

For more details on how to update the firmware on the  TL-WR703N have a look at http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wr703n

The little router can also be used to turn USB devices into Wireless USB devices. Here is an example of a Wireless UP! 3D Printer being converted into a wireless 3D Printer.

Here are a few more links on how to connect and Arduino with this little router:

• http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-set-up-OpenWRT-on-a-pocket-router-WR703N/
  
• http://blog.nemik.net/2011/12/arduino-openwrt-art/
• http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/12/11/how-to-give-your-arduino-ethernet-shield-wireless-capability/