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Hello neighbors (or those just passing by). This page outlines the wireless internet "node" that I have setup for public use at 9626 20th Ave NE.
HistoryMy day job is working as a programmer/network admin for Smooth Corporation, which owns iFLOOR.com and many other flooring and home improvement websites. As a result of my job, and of just being interested in computers from an early age, I have lots of computers and stuff in my (oops, our) house. This includes a 384k SDSL hight speed internet line and my own webserver (which this site and some others) live on.
Then, one day while browsing around the internet I came upon SeattleWireless.net which is a group of people trying to create a free public wireless network in Seattle. There are actually many other cities with similar groups of people trying to create public wireless networks. At this point in time, the Seattle group is a long way from getting the whole city wired up. For now there are many people volunteering their time, expertise and equipment to provide the beginnings of the network. I'm one of those people. In order to do anything worth while for the community I needed to put up an "external" antenna so my wireless signal could be picked up from more than 50 ft from my house. That antenna went up a short time ago and can be seen on top of my chimney. Initial testing (walking around the neighborhood with my laptop), reveiled that a signal could be picked up in about a 1 block radius now.
How So, how do you get "online" through my wireless connection? First you need to make sure you are close enough to my chimney to get a signal. The signal will go through trees and walls, but these do affect the signal. Line of site is best and will go farther. If you let me know I can come over with my laptop and see if I we get a signal in your home before you buy anything.
Next you need a wireless network card (802.11b). Lots of companies make these, Lucent, Linksys, etc. I have an Orinoco Silver PCMCIA card. Some places to get one: Once you have that, plug it into your laptop or desktop (desktops might need additional adapter cards) and if you can get a signal from my network things should set themselves up automatically.
WhySo, why am I "giving" away internet access to all my neighbors? Because I know how painful internet access with a modem is and how much of a pain it is to deal with Qwest or AT&T in getting a high speed internet connection. I have negotiated all of these pitfalls and an more than happy to share my resources with my neighbors (and anyone who happens to drive by and need an internet connection).
TermsMy day job involves doing lots of technical computer type stuff all day long. I'm willing to help point you in the general direction in getting setup with wireless stuff, but I can't be a technical support person for everyone. (Just so you know, I hate Microsoft Windows).I have a firewall setup that protects my network and the public wireless network. This firewall also limits what can be done from the wireless network. You can do email, web browsing, ssh, telnet ftp and other basic stuff, but no P2P, Kaza, Napster, etc. (if you don't know what these are don't worry).
FAQIs it really free? - Yes, it's totally free (other than the network card you need to purchase). But if you want to pitch in to cover network and equipment costs, please feel free to do so.Is it legal? Does my ISP allow this? - Yes. My ISP is Speakeasy and I found this quote online: "Speakeasy's CEO has gone on the record in support of broadband sharing via wireless, basically saying 'you pay us for the bits you use and are welcome to do whatever you like with them.'" If I use wireless for my Internet access, do I still need my dialup account? - Maybe. While you can use my wireless setup for basic internet access, at the moment, I can't provide email accounts for everyone (unless you want @chriskate.net accounts). So, if you still want to use your "earthlink.net", or "att.net" or "aol.com" etc, email address, you still need to pay for the dialup account and email box. An alternative is to use a free web based email account like yahoo or hotmail for your email. What about AOL? - You can access AOL via a web browser over the wireless setup, but you still need to pay AOL for your account, basically the same answer as the above question. What happens if we move? - Well, if Kate, Arla and I move, the whole thing does go away, but at the moment we plan on staying here at 9626 for quite a while. What if you already have wireless equipment? - Some people in the neightborhood might already have a wireless base station (I think I scanned a Linksys system somewhere just north of me). In that case let me know and there are ways we can link the two systems together and expand the range of our community wireless system, all using 1 internet connection. What if I'm too far away but am really interested in doing the wireless thing? - Expanding the wireless network is pretty easy and "relatively" inexpensive, especially if the cost can be split between several families.
Next StepsIf you are interested in all of this or have any questions please drop me an email and we can go from there.
Chris
Design your own Neighborhood wireless setupFor those of you who have come upon this page looking for more information here are some links that might help: The antenna I have: Hyperlink TechYou need low loss cable: Cable Assemblies And a "pigtail": Radio Pigtails READ THIS SITE!!! GREAT INFO!!!: UltraMesh.com |
A while back I purchased a wireless base station so I could roam around our house with my laptop and still be connected to the internet through the DSL line. I could venture about 50 ft from our house before the wireless connection went away.