[CUWiN-Dev] CUWiN Implementation Goes International!

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hi all,

I've been building contacts with some folks on the ground in Africa.  One 
of the most promising leads is a group of Peace Corps volunteers working 
in Ghana.  Here's the latest update.  I'm going to invite John to join the 
dev list.  But it looks like the CUWiNware worked really well for him -- 
though note the troubleshooting remarks (could someone with a bit more 
technical knowhow spend a couple minutes getting him feedback).

Ghana is a super-high priority location for OSI, so having them use our 
software is a huge boon for the project,

--Sascha

-- 
Sascha Meinrath
President                 *   Project Coordinator   *   Policy Analyst
Acorn Worker Collective  ***  CU Wireless Network  ***  Free Press
www.acorncollective.com   *   www.cuwireless.net    *   www.freepress.net



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2005 11:31:45 +0000
From: John Atkinson <john_atkinson at hotmail.com>
To: sascha at ucimc.org
Subject: Wireless Ghana Update

Sascha,

A second update as per your request.

On this past Saturday we bridged a connection using the CuWiNware 0.5.4 over a 
distance of about 350 feet.  There were no major problems. On two attempts we 
had an internet connection as soon as the nodes booted.  Both nodes were Dell 
OptiPlex GXa units with the D-Link DWL-G520 cards (Refurbished, Version B1).

The end goal of this first push is to bring internet access to a client machine 
about 1000' away, utilizing a node halfway between the internet source and the 
client.

I have 3 nodes working and I plan on purchasing 3 wire/antenna setups from 
Hyperlink Technologies.  My understanding is that with the 400 series wire the 
signal loss is about 7dB per 100 feet (I haven't confirmed this anywhere 
reputable).  I was going to use 20' lengths for each of the nodes.  With 8dB 
antennas and the 400 series wire my calculations gave me a decent safety 
margin.  Are there any crucial factors I might not be privy too in selecting 
these cable/antenna setups.

---
Our Action Items:
1.  Order wire/antenna from the US.
2.  Find a quality, affordable ISP for future VSAT connections.
3.  Find an economic supplier of used computers.
4.  Publish basic website for project detail, collaborations.

---
Troubleshooting Notes:
1.  The Compaq Deskpro units do not have an option to boot w/o a keyboard.  So, 
if there is no keyboard they hang on startup.  If there is a keyboard it seems 
that 0.5.4 uses the monitor/keyboard as a default console.  I'll either edit 
the source, or, and more likely, use a different motherboard.  But some 
end-users may have neither of theses options.
3.  I have not gotten the console through COM1 successfully with 0.5.4, 
keyboard or no keyboard, no problems with 0.5.3.
2.  Web Interface: even with a floppy disk I don't see any pictures.  It shows 
that they should be there, as if they are referenced in the html/cgi but 
non-existent or residing elsewhere.

---
Hope all is well.  If you have time to comment on the wire/antenna I propose to 
buy that would be greatly appreciated.  I have some other projects in adjacent 
villages that are developing, I'll inform you if/when we get to the point of 
using CUWin technology.

Congratulation on the new benchmark, it seems to work very well from my small 
interaction with it.

Regards,

John Atkinson
Peace Corps Ghana

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