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FXC [1] is my [2] node, situated on the north side of the hill on
Eastfield Road in Croydon South - One of the Mt. Dandenong foot-hills.
Check it out in LocFinder [3].
At my roof's apex, I have excellent coverage to the east, mainly
between approximately 50 degrees and 130 degrees from north. Having
said that, though, I'm planning on going higher eventually..
It's been pointed out to me that I also have coverage over a section
of train line between the Ringwood East and Croydon train stations (on
the Lilydale line). If you're desperate, this will mean some people
may be able to get a wireless connection for a few seconds as they
pass on the train
-------------------------
I CURRENTLY HAVE:
* A 7.5M RUN OF RG-213/U [4] - suitable for the necessary cable
length, with N-connectors [5] nicely terminated. I still have another
43m of this left if I need more I may still invest in some LMR-400
[6] anyway, though, since this run incurs just over 3dB attenuation.
* AN ALLOY GL2422VP [7] 802.11B+ [8] PCI [9] CARD - 22Mbps is fun,
and it seems using PBCC [10] really does extend the range of 11Mbps
links. I've been beta testing Linux drivers for Alloy since this card
uses the Texas Instruments ACX100 chip (obviously).
* A SUPERPASS 8DBI [11] OMNI-DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA [12] - I will use
this for general access to FXC [13].
* A PIGTAIL [14] (oink) - I got an RP-SMA [15] to Male N-connector
[16] pigtail [17] from Vak [18].
-------------------------
I NEED...
* A MAST [19]! - I have trees to the east I need to clear. I'm told
Radio Parts [20] have a good Hills [21] 6m telescopic mast [22], so
I'll probably look at getting that.
* AN APPROPRIATE ACCESS POINT [23] - I'm looking for something with
at decent output, and perhaps does the draft specification of 802.11g
[24] (like 54g [25] gear). I should probably wait a while first,
though, but I doubt I will!
* TIME AND MONEY - Hopefully someone takes notice of my junk [26] I'm
trying to get rid of to solve the latter problem. The former problem
should solve itself soon.
-------------------------
THE PLAN
When I've acquired an access point [27], and the mast [28], I will
hook it up to the omni [29] on the roof and start properly testing my
hotspot. I'm probably going to have to ditch the omni [30] eventually
and go to someone like a panel antenna [31] due to the limited
vertical beamwidth (I'm on a steep hill . We'll see, though.
This access point [32] will initially be used for people linking to
me, to begin with, however later on people who are more serious about
their connections will be wanting point to point [33] links. Hopefully
they will help me pay for the setup cost this end.
In future, if I finally get off my arse and get my amateur radio
ticket, I will hopefully try to build up the funds for some sort of
tri-truss or box-truss tower, which would have space (and strength to
take the wind loading) for more antennae than a meer mast [34] has. If
I plan well, a modest tower should let me reach above my neighbours to
the west, and quite possibily over to many nodes in the south.
The house is 'well connected', with a now unused 10-pair multicore
from Telstra [35] (think: ISDN [36], xDSL [37], etc), several Optus
[38] phone lines [39], and both Optus [40] and Telstra [41] CATV [42]
cables, and excellent north-bound LoS [43] for satellite reception. My
point? FXC [44] is available for any sort of shortcuts [45]. I believe
there would need to be several shortcut gateways across Melbourne to
keep traffic and latency low, and redundancy high. If Internet Access
Internet access [46] becomes a possibility on MW [47], then FXC [48]
could also play host to one of the routes to the net [49].
-------------------------
I\'M CURRENTLY LOOKING AT CONNECTING TO...
* NODEBJD [50] overflow: auto; border: 1px solid; padding: 3px;">
_Mon, 3 Mar 2003_: D-Link [56] have failed to release their
802.11g-draft [57] gear so far, so I'm having a re-think about holding
out for the G [58]'s.. Last weekend I was hoping to run cat-5e and
power to the top of my pantry cupboard, however Victoria's fine
tradition of squeezing a plethora of seasons into one day put things
on ice, so to speak (yes, har har - sorry). You have to admire this
state's ability to change so rapidly between blue skies, rain, and
hail, all within the one day. Did I hear it was snowing on the alps..?
_Wed, 26 Feb 2003_: Damn! Due to people dropping out of my TIB [59]
bulk offer for Hills [60] 25dBi parabolic grid antennas [61], I've had
to forego my own order for one of these to save money. Hopefully I'll
be able to do another bulk offer, and then finally get my hands on one
of these beasties. Fortunately, it seems, my plans to see if I could
link with GHO [62] using the 25dBi antenna would have been delayed
anyway, since it appears GHO [63] isn't going to be up by the end of
this month.
More delays, more delays -- It seems that D-Link [64] are also
plotting against me! Their announcement [65] telling Australia that
they are going to release 802.11g-draft [66] gear this month still has
not come to pass. Like Saddam [67], I suppose, they have until the end
of this week to act, or the world will be disappointed! Well okay,
I'll be disappointed - Nobody else seems to care much about 802.11g
[68]! *sob sob*
I guess I could go and grab a mast [69] while I'm waiting. I'm
planning to mount a 6-metre mast [70] just below my roof's apex,
running the feed line [71] conveniently down to the top of my pantry.
In one corner on the top shelf I'll install a pair of RJ45\'s [72] and
run one or two Cat-5e [73] lines down to my patch rack in my "server
farm [74] room" (I love calling it that!). Oh yeah, and I'll install a
power point and a bit of extra ventilation in there too. There's
enough room on a small shelf in the top of the pantry for me to put a
handful of access points along with a power board and my old 300VA
Sola [75] 310 UPS [76]. With a new battery, that thing would run
access points [77] for yonks!
_Mon, 27 Jan 2003_: Found a pole! Well okay, two poles. One is just
an old broom handle (1.3m tall), the other is a length of 20mm
box-steel (2.5m). For now, I'm going to use the broom handle, since
the steel requires extra reinforcing I can't be bothered with right
now. I added bits so that the broom handle can be added to the
triangle-thingy when it's been secured on the roof. All seemed fairly
secure, even in the gusty wind, but I think I still will make a few
more modifications. Unfortunately my workstation I tested from is on
the bottom story of this two-story house. Running the cable out of the
window and up onto the roof didn't allow me to place the
triangle-thingy very high on the roof.
Omni [78] electrical-taped to the broom handle, and cable in place, I
went climbing on the roof. I could see only one SSID [79], "belmer",
and although it had disappeared from site-survey within half an hour,
it was originally reported with pretty decent signal strength. I ran
out of day-light, so I'll do a proper test after I've modified the
triangle-thingy and am able to test along with BJD [80] (3 mins walk
from here).
_Sun, 26 Jan 2003_: Designed and built a temporary mounting triangle
thingy for an antenna on my roof. I needed something that could be
light (to carry or hoist up onto a roof) but also could hold ballast
(such as a sandbags, or bricks). It needed to be robust enough to cope
with a 2m pole in moderate wind, and be easy to transport if other
people wanted to use it. It doesn't scratch metal roofs, and has a
wide enough footing to distribute weight well. Since my roof is
pitched at 30?, I decided on something along the lines of two
right-angled triangle frames joined together, and a pole attached on
the vertical side.
I had some scrap wood left over from cutting down an Ikea \'Sten\'
shelving unit [81], so I needed to calculate how long each triangle's
sides needed to be cut to. That stuff I knew I'd never use at school
(I think they call it 'maths') turned out to be handy in the end -- A
few far-side calendar pages of SOHCAHTOAs and unknown value solving
later, and it was all worked out. I will use this triangle thingy on
my roof for more MW [82] tests soon, when I can find a good pole and
some easy to carry ballast...
_Wed, 22 Jan 2003_: Tested everything with the newly re-terminated
cable. All looks well for initial tests with BJD [83]/BJE [84], and
possibly FKU [85].. While I'm waiting, I really should build a
temporary mount for the antenna so I can plonk it on the roof, running
the cable out a window.
_Tue, 21 Jan 2003_: Finally cut off about 7.5 meters of my RG-213/U
[86], and reterminated the cut end with a female N-connector [87]
(after finally finding a good quality one at Just Communications [88]
in Ringwood). Now I finally have a Male-N [89] to Female-N [90] cable.
Yes, it's awkward, but it's good enough for now. I thought I ordered a
pigtail [91] with a Female-N connector [92] on the end, but I probably
forgot at the time..
_Sun, 19 Jan 2003_: Tested my omni [93] with the Alloy GL2422VP [94],
the pigtail [95] from Vak [96]. Despite being awkwardly crammed behind
my computer, it worked happily.
_Fri, 17 Jan 2003_: Finally received my RP-SMA [97] to Male-N [98]
pigtail [99] from Vak [100] (through TIB [101]). It worked out cheaper
than me making one.
_Mon, 4 Nov 2002_: Received my SuperPass 8dBi [102] omni antenna
[103] (from TIB [104]).
_Fri, 20 Sep 2003_: Initial test, using Alloy GL2422VP [105] card and
a (borrowed) D-Link [106] card of some description, with default
antennae. 11Mbps maintained for ~250 meters, line of sight, using PBCC
[107] (802.11b+ [108])
_Wed, 18 Sep 2002_: Received my Alloy GL2422VP [109] (from TIB
[110]).
Links:
------
[1] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeFXC
[2] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?SimonButcher
[3] http://melbournewireless.org.au/maps/view.php?id=FXC
[4] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?RG-213
[5] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NConnector
[6] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?LMR-400
[7]
http://melbournewireless.org.au/HTTP://WWW.ALLOY.COM.AU/PRODUCTS/GL2422VP.HTM
[8] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11B-PLUS
[9] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?PCI
[10] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?PBCC
[11]
http://melbournewireless.org.au/HTTP://WWW.SUPERPASS.COM/SPDG16O.HTML
[12] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?OMNIANTENNA
[13] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeFXC
[14] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?PIGTAIL
[15] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?RPSMAConnector
[16] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NConnector
[17] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Pigtail
[18] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?VaskosTsiatis
[19] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?MAST
[20] http://www.radioparts.com.au/
[21] http://www.hillsantenna.com.au/
[22]
http://www.customer-self-service.com/radioparts/ProdView.aspx?popup=1&Product=00902456
[23] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?ACCESSPOINT
[24] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11g
[25] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?54g
[26] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?SimonButcherTrade
[27] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?AccessPoint
[28] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Mast
[29] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?OmniAntenna
[30] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?OmniAntenna
[31] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?PanelAntenna
[32] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?AccessPoint
[33] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?PointToPoint
[34] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Mast
[35] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Telstra
[36] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?ISDN
[37] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?ADSLModem
[38] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Optus
[39] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?PSTN
[40] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Optus
[41] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Telstra
[42] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?CATV
[43] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?LoS
[44] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeFXC
[45] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?SmallWorldTheory
[46] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?FAQ
[47] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?MelbWireless
[48] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeFXC
[49] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Internet
[50] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NODEBJD
[51] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NODEBJE
[52] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?SimonButcher
[53] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11g
[54] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?OFDM
[55] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeGHO
[56] http://www.dlink.com.au/
[57] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11g
[58] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11g
[59] http://melbournewireless.org.au/members/tib
[60] http://www.hillsantenna.com.au/
[61] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?ParabolicAntenna
[62] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeGHO
[63] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeGHO
[64] http://www.dlink.com.au/
[65] http://www.dlink.com.au/corporate/press/releases/pr140103.htm
[66] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11g
[67] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2790831.stm
[68] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11g
[69] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Mast
[70] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Mast
[71] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?FeedLine
[72] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?RJ45Connector
[73] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Cat-5e
[74] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?ServerFarm
[75] http://www.solaaust.com.au/
[76] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?UPS
[77] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?AccessPoint
[78] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?OmniAntenna
[79] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?SSID
[80] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeBJD
[81]
http://www.ikea.com.au/prod_template4.asp?product_id=15772&se_id=37&page_id=97293300251009&Cat=13&Scat=54
[82] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?MelbWireless
[83] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeBJD
[84] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeBJE
[85] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NodeFKU
[86] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?RG-213
[87] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NConnector
[88] http://www.justcoms.com.au/
[89] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NConnector
[90] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NConnector
[91] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Pigtail
[92] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NConnector
[93] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?OmniAntenna
[94] http://www.alloy.com.au/products/GL2422VP.htm
[95] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Pigtail
[96] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?VaskosTsiatis
[97] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?RPSMAConnector
[98] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?NConnector
[99] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?Pigtail
[100] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?VaskosTsiatis
[101] http://melbournewireless.org.au/members/tib/
[102] http://www.superpass.com/SPDG16O.html
[103] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?OmniAntenna
[104] http://melbournewireless.org.au/members/tib/
[105] http://www.alloy.com.au/products/GL2422VP.htm
[106] http://www.dlink.com.au/
[107] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?PBCC
[108] http://melbournewireless.org.au/?802.11b-plus
[109] http://www.alloy.com.au/products/GL2422VP.htm
[110] http://melbournewireless.org.au/tib/
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