Cisco – PoE switch to power Cisco Aironet 1200 access points

You can get multiport PoE injectors, e.g. this one:

http://www.midspans.com/pages/15w/POE370U_15.4W_8-16-24-port_midspan.php

(no idea if it's good or bad, first one I found with 16 ports).

The continuous blinking lights, although undocumented, were caused by the Aironet not being able to reach the WLC (wireless lan controller). Long story short, it was in LWAPP mode, also known as lightweight mode where it connects to a controller. The key is to get it back into "autonomous mode" (to use as a standalone WAP) via a change in firmware with tftp (see below).

The next issue is that the Cisco pinout for RJ45 to DB9 is incorrect - pin 6 and 3 need to be swapped on the RJ45 to get the communication working.

Lastly, I used the following steps to change the firmware:

Here is the tftp server I used on a windows box - http://tftpd32.jounin.net/

Follow these steps to revert from LWAPP mode to autonomous mode by loading a Cisco IOS release using a TFTP server:

1. The static IP address of the PC on which your TFTP server software runs should be between 10.0.0.2 and 10.0.0.30.
2. Make sure that the PC contains the access point image file (such as c1200-k9w7-tar.122-15.JA.tar for a 1200 series access point) in the TFTP server folder and that the TFTP server is activated.
3. Set the timeout value on the TFTP server to 30 seconds.
4. On the PC where the TFTP server is located, disable any software firewall products (such as Windows firewall, ZoneAlarm firewall, McAffee firewall, or others), and ensure all Windows files are visible. From Windows Explorer, click Tools > Folder Options > View; then uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types check box.
5. Rename the access point image file in the TFTP server folder to c1200-k9w7-tar.default for a 1200 series access point, c1130-k9w7-tar.default for an 1130 series access point, c1240-k9w7-tar.default for a 1240 series access point, and c1250-k9w7-tar.default for a 1250 series access point.
6. Connect the PC to the access point using a Category 5 (CAT5) Ethernet cable.
7. Disconnect power from the access point.
8. Press and hold MODE while you reconnect power to the access point.
9. Hold the MODE button until the status LED turns red (approximately 20 to 30 seconds) and then release.
10. 10 Wait until the access point reboots, as indicated by all LEDs turning green followed by the Status LED blinking green.
11. After the access point reboots, reconfigure it using the GUI or the CLI.