After several days of fustration, I finally got the Vera to hook up to my wireless net using 128-bit WEP (13-char psw). The trick was one I encountered over a year ago in OpenWRT and had forgotten the workaround until yesterday. When you enter the password, prefix it with “s:” (without the quotes). The prefix tells the wireless setup script that the password is a text string. Otherwise, you need to enter the HEX equivalent (26 digits) of the password.
Now, don’t you all jump on me for using WEP. I have old wireless gear in my house that doesn’t support WPA. Also, I live in a sparse neighborhood and if someone want to park out in the street in front of my house and probe my net, they are welcome to do so. I will probably notice eventually. I also use MAC filtering as a further deterrent.
Hope this helps someone else who wants to do this.