WorldRecordWIFILink {http://users.bigpond.com/robertlodders/wifi_wr.jpg Melbourne Wirless World Record} ---- Please add you interest, ideas and capabilities below for a MW attempt at a world record wifi link. TonyLangdon (VK3JED) can provide * 12V 55Ah SLA battery * 150W 240V AC inverter * P2 266 laptop running Fedora Core 3, capable of running off battery above * P3 1GHz laptop running Windows XP Pro * HF and UHF CB for liaison * HF/VHF/UHF amateur gear for liaison * VHF "sniffer" for direction finding * Magnetic compass * Transport for up to 4 people and some gear (except large antennas) from western suburbs AdrianLodders: * 400VA UPS * 1x 24Dbi ex galaxy, 1x (I think 15 or 18dbi) modded hills * 8 slot 180 degree waveguide * 3x CB radios (1 uniden and 2 generic) * A good few meters of CFD200 MikeCampion (node hkf) * P4 laptop runing fedore core 3, hostap, kismet and 12v adapter * Veritech 200mw pcmcia wireless card and pigtails * LMR 400 cable * UHF hand held cb's * GPS * 4wd and trailer Jamie Moir from Techtopia * Senao NL2511 CD Plus EXT2 200mW cards * Pigtails * 1, perhaps 2, 1.2m diameter/28dBi grids for 2.4GHz, but may need a freight account. HoracePinker * 2.8 metre sat dish (aluminium mesh type, formerly c band i belive) mounting bracket is damaged at the moment ,wont take much to fix, and it doesnt have a mast/stand.(but it is portable if youre willing to wait 30 mins to assemble and dissasemble) It also would need a feed. * 200mW veritech card plus one pigtail (poor quality but does the job * If I am Present I can bring a laptop with hostap/kismet runing of cdrom * 150mW Powerinverter and extension lead to power laptop etc from 12v battery. David Smith * 2.4 GHz amateur SSB gear to help with dish alignment * (possibly) amateur microwave portable dish setups (TBC) CRC * 900W 240v generator. * Lots of 2 way equipment for co-ordination. DanFlett * 3 x 15 metre lengths of LMR400 * Pigtails * 2 x 25dB Hills grid parabolic antennas Peter [melb_ap] * 1 x 1.8 Mtr Solid Dish with stand (easy to transport) * ready made & tested cantennas for feeds if required * 1 x longreach amp for rx gain if required * 3kva Generator * 200w 12v pure sine wave inverter * gps & mag compass * 2.5Mtr grid pack dish antenna (ex commercial) need a feed & to make a mount , it comes in two halves and can easily be transported in a 6x4 trailer. iViLe * A welder? * Arms and legs? * Conifer feeds David Nuttall * 5 KVA Generator * Various Inverters, storage batteries * Spectrum Analyzer * Antenna Sweep Gear * Various antenna mounting hardware, clamps, brackets, etc. * Multitude of RF cables and bits * Star pickets, driver and remover * Steel wire tensioner and various fencing tools * Landcruiser and off-road trailer Shaun (NodeIZA) * 1 x 24dBi Gain HyperLink HG2424G Directional Antenna * 1 x Seano SL-2511CD PLUS EXT2 Wireless Card * Some pigtails for the above * 1 x 300w Generic Modified Sine Wave Inverter * Laptop with Windows XP/98/Auditor ---- Issues that need resolving. * Method of stabilising/mounting dishes on a mountain top, ie in windy conditions * Site survey of both ends * Is timing easily adjustable for such long hops, or will we need preconfigured scripts on both laptops at either end. ** Timing is going to be severely broken over a 200km link, and unless the hostap drivers have had adjustable timing added since I last looked at them, I don't think the Senao cards are going to work at this distance. Atheros cards might be the way to go - fully adjustable ack timing, aswell as power (1 -> 60mW+, not like the Senaos where it's all or nothing). * Dry run over a shortish hop to check equipment and setup will be needed prior to the attempt. * Also I believe that people in the US had to send a sequence of sentences to and from each other as well as having an independent person on each end verify that it was correct. ** Use something that doesn't rely on 2-way handshakes - UDP talk client or similar? * Need map of path, so local site surveys and confirmation can take place (make sure path is not over local ridge at one end or the other). * Check with parks victoria for any permit requirements * Setup web page on project and include space for sponsors * 2 amps and licenced amateur radio operators if all else fails ---- Suggestions for things to do with the link once it's up - for publicity purposes. * Videoconference * Run a webserver at each end with an embedded webcam window * VoIP phone call with hardware handsets plugged into the laptops * Stream an MP3 file or a porno * Unreal, Battlefield, Counterstrike, et al... * Get an additional link from Mt.Macedon to a mw site and then have live updates onto the internet as it is happening. include things like live video streaming or web cam. * Keep it up for 12 or 24 hour period. Test these things out on the dry run first ---- * Which team are you on? Team A (Camels Hump) ++++ Adrian Lodders Tony Langdon (Preferred site, most convenient, local knowledge) Peter [melb_ap] ++++ Team B (Mt Buffalo) ++++ Tony Langdon (Can go here if too many people at Camels Hump and not enough here) Mike Campion David Nuttall ++++ Stage 1 local metro equipment testing discussion. ++++ 5/8/05 Peter [melb_ap] Myself and John [bigjohn] have done some initial testing of a 1.8mtr solid dish to see what comparitive results could be derived on wlan and 2.4gig. We compared the side by side received signal from node HKR between a hills vagi (which is rated at 16.5Dbi) to the dish using a veritech card and netstumbler. The feed we used on the dish is a cantenna made from a corinthian tin. (netstumbler link to follow) The test put the dish at about 15db better than the vagi in netstumbler Making it approximately 31db at 2.4 gig. Comparitivly with the same cantenna on a 65cm offset dish in previous tests showed about 28-29 db gain. I dont know if the feed is quite right for the dish, but this was just a rough test that i'd been planning anyway and thought i'd share. Futher from this I want to see what the real world diversity capabilities are of the veritech card. ++++ Requirements Discussions Antenna Discussions ++++ - what feed design we could use - what dish we'd use and where we could source a pair from Peter [melb_ap] 17-8-05 - from 12/8/05 mw meeting DN [ratbaggy], MC [mjc], Peter [melb_ap] ; regarding the feed, we resolved to start testing commercialy made units to attempt to bypass the r&d required to make an effienct unit but this will take some time to work out and is vitially important to get right. Peter [melb_ap] 17-8-05 - from 12/8/05 mw meeting DN [ratbaggy], MC [mjc], Peter [melb_ap] ; for dishes , david mentioned melbourne satellites had a special on 2.5 ish mtr solid dishs for $150 as a possibility (But i think we'll need much bigger for a legal eirp record with diversity) dna 19-8-05 Thinking about the beamwidth of the transmitting antenna. At the distance we are talking about an antena with a beam width of 7 degrees covers something like 25 Km. # convert degrees to mils (7* 6400 / 360 ) = 124.444 # 1 mil subtends 1 metre at 1 Km, so at 200 Km 1 mil subtends 200 metres and 124.444 mils subtends 24.888 Km( 124.444 * 200 / 1000 ) Even with a narrow beamwidth transmitting antenna you are painting a really really big target at that distance. That means the aiming of the transmitting antenna is not so critical, but it also means your available energy is spread out a lot more. I'm thinking you want to have a second transmitting antenna to switch to once you have done the initial allignment that has as narrow a beamwidth as possibe to maximize the energy available at the other end. Peter [melb_ap] 17-8-05 Not sure quite how your formula works, whats the 6400 for ? Regarding transmit , yes i agree it's pretty pointless covering a large area. Ideally we need an antenna with a very narrow beam width , but moderate gain , so we can still use enough power to light up the antenna adequately. This'll probably come down to testing. dna 20-8-05 I'm converting from degrees into Mils. there are 6400 Mils in a circle, so divide degrees by 360 ( dimensionless) and multiply by 6400 gives the angle in Mils. I'm converting to Mils because it's easy to extrapolate an angle to how long it is on the ground at any distance. 1 Mil is 1 metre at 1000 metres so 124 Mils is 124 metres at 1000 metres and 24800 metres at 200 km. So, the question is what sort of antenna gived a very narrow beamwidth? I'm thinking it is probably a yagi with lots and lots of elements or maybe even a phased array of such yagis. ++++ Equipment Discussion ++++ - what equipment and methods we could use for initial lineup - what levels should we start at (ie should we start with maximum power & work down to at least allow for a progression down to a long diversified link (obviously the hardest to acheive) Peter [melb_ap] 17-8-05 - from 12/8/05 mw meeting DN [ratbaggy], MC [mjc], Peter [melb_ap] ; as for equipment , an fm carrier on 2.4 Ghz run by a licenced ham was agreed upon by us with a spec analyser on the other end as one of the easiest methods. Also start with high power and wind it down to the minimum to see what margins we have and if we can do it with ism band eirp limits, or if not how much extra gain will be required to make it (is it practical). ++++ Site Suitability Surveys ++++ - what locations for inital trial runs - how practical are the sites for access - do we have to lug 100kg of equipment up a hill - time of year - ie the USA tests were done across the desert to get the dryest air possible. Peter [melb_ap] 17-8-05 - from 12/8/05 mw meeting DN [ratbaggy], MC [mjc], Peter [melb_ap] ; Mike did a visit to camels hump at mount macedon and reported that there is a 10 Minute walk to the top with rocky terrain finishing the trip. Is this correct for this site Tony ? Mike [node hkf] 18-8-05 Concerns with the lack of open space and access at camels hump site for the size of the equipment we would end up needing. Also lack of LOS at ground level in the mt buffalo direction. ++++ ---- Google Earth KMZ file showing Camels Hump and Mt Buffalo locations (http://users.bigpond.net.au/flett/WiFiAttempt/MelbWirelessWiFiRecordAttempt.kmz MelbWirelessWiFiRecordAttempt.kmz) ---- {http://users.bigpond.net.au/dwsmith/path.jpg Path plot} ----