Independent Node

Hi All
Thanks to every one that has helped me learn the do and don't s of wifi.

I had a visit from an inspector today and it looks like I have everything set up well within the rules. I thought I would try to start a new forum topic on the subject of complying with the ACMA rules. There has been a lot of high power equipment for sale on ebay and I believe a lot of it is non compliant. I also think it is important for every one to be aware of what they can and cant do.

Any comments and information would be welcome and may help every one keep within the law

Thanks
Darren

Hi all
Just a quick update on Mt Barker. We have got a link up with a pair of xr9 cards (thanks Don) replacing the sr9’s and giving us a better link and less drop outs. Don has a 2nd link up to another point on Mt barker using 2 900 MHz Ubiquity Rockets. That link is about 90 deg off line to me and just over the other side of a hill and I can get a link back to that with the xr9 as well.

After 2.5 years of flawless operation using OpenWRT flashed Mitsubishi R100 boards (aka Asus WL500G) the Athelstone access point was upgraded in July 2009 to an all Mikrotik Routerboard affair. The upgrade plan was as follows:

• Keep current backbone antenna, replace backbone radio with a new Mikrotik Routerboard RB433AH and a new 5GHz card, a Mikrotik R5H (old card - still works perfectly, R5H is just better)
• Upgrade Valley View side of the backbone with a new, better, wireless card
• Replace omni radio with a dedicated Mikrotik Routerboard RB411A and a new Ubiquiti XR2 card (old card SR2 - a bit flakey)
• Extend the mast with a 1.5 meter "omni-extension"
• Replace cheap and nasty omni with a proper Superpass 8dBi omni antenna mounted at the very top of the new omni extension
• Move backbone antenna as high as possible on the original mast
• Refresh main guy wires, turnbuckles and wire grips
• New Cat5e cabling throughout with passive PoE (old system - dedicated 5V wiring)
• New high performance LMR100 pigtails for all cards
• New LMR195 short run coax cabling for all antennas
• All new DIY battery backed 24V power system, individual circuits and Cat5e runs for each board
• New weatherproof enclosures for both boards
• Weatherproof screw-on/screw-off RJ45 feedthrough for easy removal of RB433AH enclosure

Hi all
Just wondering what is the best way to edit the router board log in page? I have edited it in an html editor add a text editor both. Every time I have killed the log on link. I was just adding some txt below the log in window to let visitors know I am running a private Air-stream access point with a mail to link to me and a link to www.air-stream.org.au. The page works on my computer or laptop as a local page but not when I place it on the router. I place the original page back and it work.
Using a rd433 Router os 3.25

Over the past week, Air-Stream-CLG (Colonel Light Gardens) has undergone several upgrades to improve its throughput to the rest of the network and also its local coverage area.

Upgrades included:
-Switching from a Mitsubishi R100 to a Routerboard RB433
-Switching from a Minitar MNWAPB to a R52H 350mw minipci card to drive the ~8db homebrew 2.4ghz omni
-Extra height on the omni to improve coverage (800mm was added to the mast as that was the only pipe I had available.)
-Switching from an old AT PSU to a Jaycar 24v 1.5A plugpack to power the RB433 over PoE.

Had a few blackouts today, lost the 364 day uptime on the Air-Stream-CLG Minitar :(
Not happy, Jan!

Still, pretty impressive not to have any blackouts or power interruptions in 364 days (my A-S gear isn't on a UPS).

So I've been thinking about what services I need to put up on my node(s).
You know there is the now old saying, "Content is King", there are references
on wikipedia, that describes what this means. In a nutshell its, people come back
to you web site if there is interesting or relevant content.
There is also the community factor to, maybe its not just the content but the
community that contributes the content.

Anyhow, so I've been scribbling down ideas for services to put up on the
server attached to the node. Obviously a web server, Jabber, VoIP ... erm ...

What else do folks use on their nodes and use from other peoples nodes?

Brain dump follows...

So over the last couple of weekends I've been tinkering with my node(s) after finally getting some phat coax sorted for the minitar APs that Rob give to use on the slotted wave guides. Along with a much shorter mast I'll be putting up something this weekend after taking it all down after the big winds!

Also in the last week I noticed a car load of bloke with laptops and small antenna driving around my block slowly. There was also a lot of DHCP traffic and lots of ICMP action against the node. So this is either good or not. Haven't decided, so I've dropped my node of my internet gateway/VPN end point in the mean time. I'm going to change the way it all connects anyway, so its pre-empted the decision about how I want to set it all up.

Which leads me to spending a bit of time scouring the net to see whats current after being quite a bit pre-occupied with other issues over the winter. This always happens. Spring is way more productive as I get to spend some quality time making in the shed =)

I won't be running a mini conf at LCA09. Didn't have the bandwidth to get a proposal together. So will probably be attending as a regular punter. Which will mean that I get to play with actual tech and watch whats going on rather than running about like a nutter organising stuff like I did this year. This year I setup much of the network and helped organise the Access Points and it was a long hard slog. Lots of cool stuff to see and do, but I missed out on a lot that went on. I didn't get to see any keynotes, and only a handful of talks. Not to worry, next year should be pretty amazing.

Some of Winters distractions involve selling my car, large work load, getting another, large work load, the new one being off the road in need of repairs, being a radio op at ROSA, illness, large work load, illness, car problems, too cold to work in the shed... you know, the usual winter fun. Not to mention it was too cold to work in the shed!

Projects ahead for the next couple of months; put up mast on the car port, setup AS-MtB-node1, AS-MtB-node6, AS-MtB-node11, with the slotted wave guides, dig real foundations, put up a propper tower, move nodes to new tower, setup nodes at a friends place, get my 2M gear moved to the shed and get that setup on the tower, build better power supplies, get permanent power to the shed, insulate the shed, move the rack to the shed, get the UPS repaired and running again ...

Are there ever enough hours in a day? That reminds me, need to finish of the podcast stuff and get that up now that the replacement cabls for my headphones came in today and ... erm ... stickers that right, got to get those stickers sorted... but wait theres more my file server went pop recently after a power up/down/up/down/up thing last week and need to build that up in a more redundant way. Also would like to setup something with the WIA guys that stream the news and work on something podcasty/streaming related... folks keep asking me about video of AS meetings etc, so video is something I'm going to have to have a look at soon too.

That will do for now. 73's

I have a small quantity of chimney antenna mounts. These are all 'as new' condition. Very quick and easy to setup. No drilling required. Best and easiest way of mounting an antenna on older style houses.

I have used one of these at a setup for the last two years supporting a 3m tall mast with a 15dB antenna. It has proved to be strong enough to survive through the storms in winter.

Each kit comes with:
antenna Bracket
wire strap
wire clamp
x2 I-bolts
x2 U-bolts
x6 nuts
x6 washers

$15 each (normally around $33 at Bunnings)

Pickup from Seaton or DryCreek (depending what time/day)
Delivery *may* be available for little to no extra charge depending on your location and amount purchased

Well I've got my node up and running. Testing out a few things, and need to find a more permanent way to get power and ethernet mounted ...

Any folks in Mount Barker interested?