[Cu-wireless] Local node in west Champaign?

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hi Andor,

On Wed, 3 Mar 2004, Andor J Kiss wrote:

>     I saw your article/interview in The Paper and I'd like some more
> information.  I live at 1805 Southwood Drive in Champaign, and was wondering
> is there a wireless node in my area; or can I start one?  What is the cost
> for a node if one does not exist?

Great!  It would be awesome to have folks over in Champaign setting up
nodes.  Currently there aren't any in your area, but indeed, you could
easily start up a wireless cloud.  In terms of costs, it depends on if you
want to buy a premade system or build your own.  The nodes we've built run
about $500 and basically you just have to put it on your roof and plug it
in.  The $500 just covers the cost of the hardware (we don't charge for
labor).  If you build your own, it's quite a bit cheaper -- you can use
pretty much any old computer (486 or better) with a CD-ROM drive.  Then
you just install a wireless card, download burn our software to a CD-ROM,
and put up an antenna.  We're still working on coming up with directions,
and will probably be selling compatible wireless cards, outdoor antennas,
etc. for folks who are DIY.

Mainly, feel free to use the wireless list as a resource for getting
started.  There's a lot of folks with a lot of knowledge on the list who'd
be more than happy to give pointers, refer you to the appropriate
information, etc.

Within the next several weeks we're hoping that we'll get some directions
online for folks to see, so stay tuned.

Let me know how you'd like to proceed,

--Sascha


-- 
Sascha Meinrath
Project Manager & President      *      Project Manager
Acorn Active Media Foundation   ***     Eggplant Active Media
www.acornactivemedia.com         *      www.eggplantmedia.com