| Hawking HWPS12UG Wireless G Print Server - 2 USB/1 Parallel Ports, 802.11g |
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Model: HWPS12UG
Brand: Hawking Technology
Manufacturer: Hawking Technology
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 16
Platforms: Windows
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Connect your USB and parallel printers to your existing wireless 802.11b or 802.11g network
The Hawking HWPS12UG combined with the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) lets you easily connect to any printer and print documents by specifying the print server's IP address
Through its enhanced functionality, the HWPS12UG can support up to three printers at one time
You can send a print job to a printer in another country just as easily as sending a print job to your home or office printer
Simply print an original document through the HWPS12UG's IPP capabilities and send it from one office to another. |
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| Description: |
| Connect up to 3 Printers to your wireless LAN with Hawking Technologies HWPS12UG Print Server!The Hawking HWPS12UG 2 USB + 1 Parallel port 10/100 Wireless Print Server is a powerful and convenient tool to connect your USB and parallel printers to your existing wireless 802.11b or 802.11g network. Through its enhanced functionality, the HWPS12UG can support up to three printers at one time (2 USB + 1 Parallel).The Hawking HWPS12UG combined with the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) lets you easily connect to any printer and print documents by specifying the print server's IP address. With IPP technology, printing over a WAN or the Internet becomes much easier. You can send a print job to a printer in another country just as easily as sending a print job to your home or office printer. IPP eliminates the need for fax communications between offices. Simply print an original document through the HWPS12UG's IPP capabilities and send it from one office to another. The print quality from IPP printing is equal to that of a document printed from your local office. With the HWPS12UG, your printers become a fully functional networked print station. |
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| User Reviews (16 total): |
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works with assistance, May 9, 2007
By user (Anchorage, AK)
Didn't work as described in instructions. After speaking to tech support for about 5 minutes was printing. Had to configure the port with the IP address of the printer. Now it works flawlessly. An adendum should be included in the instructions or on a website to describe how to configure the port for printing.
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5 stars for linux users, September 14, 2006
By user (Connecticut USA)
Yep, it's unlikely windows users will consider this product a winner, but for penguinistas saying "hasta la vista" to the stuff from Redmond , this wireless print server is the way to go. Out of the box things are not promising, Hawking decided not to supply mine with an antennae. Could have sent it back but solved the problem with an expensive but stonking big linksys 7dBi mast that seems to work fine.
The quick install guide states categorically that you can configure it by connecting it via ethernet cable to your network. The only way I could talk to it was by connecting directly from pc to the unit - even then the only way the pc would see it is by rebooting the pc while the unit was connected and powered up.
Next problem for dedicated windows users is the winders setup wizard is quite broken. Even the latest versions and the lastest firmware do not help. If you want to setup standard MS printing, I forsee serious cogitations on the horizon! The Hawking websight is excellent and locating support downloads simple. The regular print server manager manager works fine and one just has to figure how to manually configure the thing without having ones trembling paw guided by the "wizard". It detected my lexmark e232 immediatly and ipp printing was quickly enabled. For linux you really only have to access the unit to fiddle with the wep and set a static ip address. All you need to know about ipp setup is in the quick guide and it's so simple to configure it makes you wonder why anyone bothers with anything else. The unit comes with IPP switched on by default so once you have an ip you are ready to do wireless printing in linux. In KDE Print choose an lpd queue - that's right skip the ipp queues! Works great with Mepis.
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Not compatible with many printers, April 14, 2006
By user (Eden Prairie, MN USA)
I bought this device and there is nothing in the documentation or easily available on the web site that tells the customer that only certain printers are supported. After trying to make the device work for several hours, I sent an email to tech support who sent back an incompatible list of printers. Most of Multi-function All-in-one printers will not work at all. On top of that, just about all the top brands have printers that do not work. This includes HP, Epson, Canon, Dell, Okidata, etc. While I can understand compatibility issues - these should be explained in detail up front on the web site and on the packaging. Do not buy this device until you can assure yourself that your printers will work.
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Wireless range a little lacking, March 25, 2006
By user (California, USA)
This hardware seemed ideal for me since I have three printers: an HP LJ1100 using the parallel port, and two USB-connected dye sublimation printers used for photo printing. Also it can use the internet printing protocol, useful since I mostly run my computer on Debian Linux. I had no trouble setting the device up to work under both Windows 2kPro and Linux, using the ipp printing protocol (with CUPS on the Linux side). Perhaps the docs could stand some improvement, but as long as you don't expect spoon feeding and are prepared to think a little, they are quite adequate to set the server up. You should set the printserver up with a static IP address so your printer configurations stay the same.
The main problem I have with the unit is range (unlike a previous reviewer). My wireless router is downstairs in my house, where the TV cable connnection comes in. My desktop computer is in a room directly above the router, and I've had no connection issues such as dropped packets (my router is a Netgear 802.11g), either with Windows 2000 or Linux. The idea of getting the printserver was to move three (two of them bulky) printers off my desk and into the walk-in closet across the hall. This places one more sheetrock covered wall between the router and the printserver. I had all kind of issues with printing (incomplete pages, printer errors) until I placed the printserver in the doorway so that the wall is no longer in the way. Now I can ping it and reliably get no dropped packets, although occasionally a page will come out incomplete (could be the CUPS driver's fault).
I still have a little experimenting to do - perhaps there is somewhere I can locate the printserver so it is out of the way and still catches all the packets, but at least it works. Or I could spend another $30 for a supplementary antenna. And I still need to work with the smallest printer (a HiTi 630PL) which hasn't worked properly through the server. But it only has a small footprint so that it isn't a pressing problem.
So overall I'm a happy camper - I can print, and I have more room on my desk to put stuff.
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Do not buy this product! Try this one instead: Apple's Airport Extreme, January 1, 2006
By user (New York, NY)
I gave the HWPS12UG hours and hours (actually days) of my time over the past year trying to make it work. I called their tech support several times. It seems they have just one guy working there because I always got him and he was always condescending though he couldn't figure out how to make the thing work. They exchanged the old one, sent me a new one and still couldn't make it work. My father figured out how to install it by playing with IP addresses etc. but when I tried to add a new printer, it threw everything off again.
I finally switched to Apple's AirportExtreme and had my windows computers and iMac's printing to an old Ethernet printer and a new USB printer in seconds using Apple's free bonjour software. I can't believe I wasted so much of my time being frustrated with this Hawkings product that simply is not ready for primetime!
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Not quite ready yet, December 14, 2005
By user (Miami, florida)
The documentation,setup and networking was simple and "straight forward" and worked ok incuding the WEP configuration but the firmware had to be upgraded to 1.35 in order for the device to recognize the USB laser printer attached(samsung ml-1702). The Device reboots slowly and none at all when the printers are attached. I find that if I make any changes to the device before rebooting it, I need to remove all printers then reboot and after it comes back on attach them. for this reason i give it a low rating as in the case of a power cut you would have to reset it this way, which would remove it from working seamlessly in an environment, unless it was attached to a UPS. If this is corrected then it maybe worth the high cost. Good attempt but at a high cost to consumers. Not for the inexperienced.
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I'm sure it works great--IF you get it to work at all, April 4, 2005
By user (New Rochelle, NY United States)
Like others here, I found the device relatively unconfigurable. After spending two hours trying to get it to join my WEP encrypted 802.11g network and print I gave up. Went to CompUSA, bought a Linksys single USB printer version, plugged it in and within five minutes was printing. As a consultant, charging a customer for three hours of work when it takes 5 minutes, does not make you look competant.
I used the software that came with it, then downloaded all the latest drivers, and firmware, reset the box to default over and over. Iturned off WEP encryptionto isolate whehter it was an encryption imcompatibility--no help. Tech support is 9-5 M-F so I was outside of any live help. Nothing worked EXACTLY as it was supposed to. This is just a badly designed or flawed product. Maybe some of them out there are better behaved--in which case we are looking at a poor Q&A production value. EIther way it is a crap shoot. The unit got tossed in a box because it was beyond the return policy limit. Maybe one desperate day I'll pull it out and try to get it to work--when I have a feww hours to waste.
It would have been nice cause I see the possibiilty of a second USB/wireless printer right next to the existing one within a year.
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Too risky - do not buy this product, January 14, 2005
By user (Philadelphia)
I spent over 4 hours trying to install this product, to no avail. I am knowledgable about networking (an amateur, but I know what I am doing) and simply could not get this to work. The documentation, which you WILL need, is insufficient and the setup is extremely complicated. If you download the most recent firmware and admin software from Hawking's site, you will get a wizard which seems very good. According to the wizard, everything was fine. The only problem is that my printer, a Konica Minolta PagePro 1350W, would not print a page, period. I wonder if the printer is simply incompatible.
Bottom line is that this product is not ready for prime time. PC World magazine rated this print server as an Editor's Choice, which is why I bought it. DO NOT BE FOOLED. You are rolling the dice here. Some people have been able to get it to work, and I imagine it's a real boon for them (it would have been for me), but you are taking a risk. So please be aware of that before you buy this product. If you are a pro with lots of time on your hands (which I imagine the people at PC Magazine are), maybe you should give this a shot but otherwise it's too big a risk of wasting your time. I suspect there is a reason this print server is so much cheaper than those of the competition (I got mine for around $90, a lot of comparable ones are $140 or so).
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Device is great, documentation needs improvement, November 15, 2004
By user (Fort Collins, CO USA)
As with some of the other reviewers, I felt the documentation needed some improvement. I have encryption enabled on my network, so I had to use a hard wire to configure the device. Run the wizard to store the 128-bit encryption key (you need to make sure you select the HEX 26 digit mode in the drop down), select a name and print queue, and select either DHCP or a static IP address. I suggest a static IP address to make configuring a printer port easier (see below). It looks like the default for the device is 192.168.1.185, but I had to look in the router DHCP table to find that. Now the device is ready for connecting wirelessly.
One area missing from the documemtation is that the Print Queue Name used by your printer setup and the Hawking device need to be the same. When adding a new printer in Windows, you first select that you are adding a Local Printer (do not automatically detect). Then Create a new port. In the Type of port drop down you should see PrintServer Network Port (the Hawking software adds this port). Select this port and click Next. You will get a Port Name dialog box. Click Create and type in the PrintServer name and IP address. This would be the name you called your PrintServer while running the wizard. I suggested during setup to use a static IP address so you can just enter that number here. Click OK and your PrintServer should show up in the list. Highlight it and the Port and IP Address fields will fill in. Select the first Print Port (LPT1) and then enter the SAME QUEUE NAME that you used during configuration of the PrintServer with the wizard. I used PS1, PS2, and PS3 and entered the PS1 name in the spot next to LPT1. Click OK and then select the printer you are connecting, and finish out the Add Printer dialog.
One additional item you need to do is to go into Printers and Faxes, right click on the printer you just added and select Properties. Click on the Ports tab. Highlight the printer you just added and select Configure Port. In the Select Protocol dialog, I selected AUTO, and set the Queue Name to the same as done during the PrintServer wizard configuration and during the Add Printer/Add Port. In my case this was PS1. That was the last trick and all worked great after that. It takes me about 3 minutes to configure another wireless notebook to print through the Hawking device, and it works great. Hope these instructions help, and wish they had been in the manual to start.
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Unusable device, November 14, 2004
By user (Washington, DC)
After much work using every routing device in the house, DCHP server and simple router. I was finally reduced to using a sniffer to at least discover that the system uses the default IP address of 192.168.1.250. Thinking the worst part was behind me and actually doing a little dance, I then spent about 3 hours trying to set up the wireless network and correct IP addresses. The system simply would not respond forcing me to perform a hard reset countless times. After a firmware upgrade and another round of fruitless web setup. I finally gave up. I never got the software from the CD to even identify the device. All in all the worst experience I have ever had with a piece of computer hardware. And for someone who actually does this for a living that's saying something.
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get the linsys unless you enjoy frustration, October 1, 2004
By user (New York, NY USA)
didn't see my parallel port, software wouldn't allow a key for 128 bit encryption, all in all a bust
try the linksys--no knowledge necessary, wizard does it all
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Not compatible with multi-function printers., August 22, 2004
By user
According to the documentation, this device is not compatible with multi-function printers.
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Excellent product, August 5, 2004
By user (NJ)
I had this product up and running in less time than it took to open the package. You do need a wired network and an extra ethernet cable (which does not come with the product) to program the device. The manual was brief but sufficient. If you set up your own wireless network, as I did, you'll be able to use this product.
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Response to previous reviewer, June 11, 2004
By user
This isn't really a review, but a response to the previous reviewer. While it doesn't make sense to you to need a wired LAN connection to configure a wireless device, it does to me. It's using the same approach that WAPs use. You have to configure the device before you can use it, and it's probably cheaper to implement a wired LAN (since it is, after all, a LAN device) than to incorporate either a USB or parallel interface.Thanks for the information regarding the lack of decent documentation. I'm still considering this device, primarily because it supports 3 printers, but will be more cautious and (hopefully) prepared if I do get it.
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Bad installion docs, but works after you figure it out., June 2, 2004
By user (Tulsa, OK USA)
The device supports a good range of network and printing protocols: TCP/IP, Appletalk, Netware, Unix LPR, Windows print client, Internet Printing Protocol (which means you can print to a URL from your network or even the Internet). I have XP and Win 98 clients on wireless-G network with Linksys transcievers on the PC's and a Linksys wireless gateway/router. So far, I can't complain about the device, but there are a few reasons I can only give it 3 stars.The installation booklet omits some critical information most import of which is the fact that you *MUST* have a wired TCP/IP connection to the device to configure it. If you don't have wired TCP/IP, you cannot configure or use this device. The stupidity of requiring a wired network to configure a wireless network device should be apparent. Much better it would have been to run setup through a USB or serial port. I was able to configure the device with a TCP/IP crossover cable from the one PC I have with a TCP/IP interface. The installation booklet is essentially trash. On the included CD is a fairly large pdf document which, if you care to read through it, gives a more complete (and correct) discription of the installation and requirements. However, it still ASSUMES you have a reasonable amount of familiarity with TCP/IP networking and routing requirements. It also assumes you know a few things about wireless networking AND your particular wireless network. Some things get some explanation; some things don't. If you don't have a pretty good working knowledge of these networking things, this might not be the device for you. I would say success at correctly setting things up will demand a fairly high computer geek factor. One thing to remember: In order to reset the device back to factory defaults (so you can start over and try again), you must press and HOLD the reset button for about 5 seconds until the power light flashes rapidly. The docs don't tell you this. The installation docs contain no help or trouble shooting info. None. Zip. Nada. Also note that the Hawking web site is completely barren of any of this info too. A morning email to the Hawking tech support received a very brief reply of limited usefulness that afternoon. In summary: The device is certainly a capable printer server. The docs and technical support need to be much better. I am at a loss to explain why a wired network must be present to configure a device for a wireless network.
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