Tuesdays inaugural informal meet at "The Three Arrows" went off well, socially at least. Five people attended, starting at 8 o'clock and running on until 11.
Attendees
Darren Storer
Harry Moyes
Neil Lathwood
Paul Clegg
Rob Kyle
and four laptops in various flavours and states of repair...
Much talk of a general nature, of not much long term significance, mostly bewailing the hump in Heaton Park, and hatching various nefarious schemes to get a radio link to bend over the hill to link Darren to Shoka (Harry). Current best option is to try bouncing off the BT tower in Heaton Park.
The alternative proposal, of Darren calling on his radio amateur status, and hitting the problem with 400 watts at 2.4 Ghz, incidentally pre-cooking the ducks on Heaton Park lake, is on hold, for the present.
There is real hope of propagation between Darren and Paul, but Rob and Neil are both well out of range and line of sight.
Paul's existing firewall set up raised a few eyebrows. Somehow I guess it will get revised....
Other notable points were Neil coping admirably with a call out from work, via mobile phone due to the complete failure of all WiFi kit to function at all. And, since this was a Windows 2000 box running IIS that had fallen over, managing to retain a dignified silence in the face of the resulting barracking from the Linux lobby ;-).
On the WiFi front, despite being in the field of one of Shoka's 16 db antennas, all laptops having Wifi cards, and Darren having an access point in his pocket (literally, but unfortunately not the power supply :-/) not a single WiFi connection was achieved, nor even a sniff of a connection located with Netstumbler.
Shoka's unreachability seems to be related to the huge bank of chlorophyll that has appeared on the other side of the Middleton road (the trees have come into leaf). The obstinacy of the laptops does not have such a clear cause.
Until proven otherwise I am assigning that to a WiFi hating gremlin living somewhere in the depths of the 'Arrows.
I refuse to accept that it is explained by decreptitude of kit, lack of competence between keyboard and chair, and definitely not due to excessive pop consumption. Honest.
Suggested re-run at the same venue Tuesday 27 May.
Harry's offer to buy extended 'til then, on the grounds of poor take up at this event.
Cheers Harry Moyes
Posted by harry at May 8, 2003 12:16 AMGood summary H, although you didn't mention the bit when I savaged your home made pigtail and pulled the SMA off (blush - sorry).
One conclusion that was reached after the meeting was that the group should provide some "preferred configurations", whether they are Linux router based or hardware APs with some sort of AAA (access, authentication and accounting) server. These configurations would be used as reference material in the form of worked examples. Paul and myself like the idea of a hardware AP + AAA server solution. If I can master the new version of Nocat Splash (http://nocat.net/) I will produce a worked example of a hardware AP solution.
Regards
D
Posted by: darren at May 11, 2003 07:39 PMHmm Yes well I guess you were mortified enough at the time Darren, public humiliation seemed superfluous.
In revenge I've hacked the end off your pigtail as well, while I was fixing mine.
Puting an SMA on it is a pig of a job, the Co-ax is not really compatible with the SMA's I've got. I've had to cut out several wires from the core, and reduce the diameter of the insulation to get it to fit into the SMA body, but the result seems stable and tidy. It passes my DC testing, but what its done to the characteristic impedance is anybody's guess.
I've tested the crimping of the core as best I dare, and it stood a reasonable pull, but if you do assemble it into one of the Solwise SMA to N-type converters I have, I'd think twice (and again) before trying to get it out again.
Want me to post it, or are you likely to be passing?
Posted by: Harry Moyes at May 12, 2003 12:22 AMWhich "Three Arrows" pub?
I have a background in packet radio so I am interested
Posted by: Bryan Dalton G7RVL at May 14, 2003 10:34 PMThe meeting hasn't been finalised yet, you should check out the discussion on the mailing list to find out the time and date.
Three Arrows pub is
just below the arrow.
Posted by: Rob at May 14, 2003 11:55 PMHi
I am in Prestwich, my laptop is connecting to something called Manchester @ 1 - 2 mbps. Does anyone know what I can do to get access to the internet as my laptop only seems to send packets and not receive??
Thanks all.
G
Posted by: Gavin V at October 31, 2003 02:44 PM