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nada · 05-29-2002

I'm in NYC for the week for work. I'm from Colorado, and I have to say the density of AP's here is amazing. I was in San Jose the week before, and DC two weeks before that, and I tend to stumble whenever I can - not often due to work obligations. Right now, I'm on the 30th floor of a hotel in Times Square with an omni dangling out my window, and I have multiple AP's to choose from. There's about a 70% (wep) to 30% (non wep) ratio in Times Square. I wish I had remembered my digital camera...I could have a shot of the omni out the window in the foreground, with the Empire state building two blocks away in the background. I might have to go buy a disposable just for this occasion. : )

The trick is slipping the omni through the crack in the window - the hotel window will only swing open a couple of inches. I thought I almost lost the antenna at one point : )

On the taxi ride over from LGA I threw the mag mount omni on the roof of the cab. The cabbie gave me the same look my wife does when I use the mag mount. He didn't seem suspicious, just thought I was odd. My wife gave up on trying to figure out what my war room full of electronics equipment was a long time ago, so she doesn't bother asking questions anymore - she works in "IT" also, but does it as a 9-5 thing. She gave up after I built my Tempest contraption a couple of years ago...

Anyway, great site and great fun as a hobby. I have to carry several laptops for work, generally 3, each with a gig of RAM due to the systems I work with. I also have a SPARC tadpole I sometimes carry, has anyone tried running the WEP crack tools on Solaris? They also supply me with a couple of extra swappable HD's - which I insisted that I "needed" - so, I can setup a linux box (WEP cracker) running on one machine with Win2K on the other for netstumbler and then network them via the nic's and a Samba mount - and not have to worry about screwing up my work stuff, because it's on a separate HD. I also have a 4 port KVM and 6 port router/switch with a digital projector which altogether just makes for a killer setup in the hotel room. Picture the computer screens all being projected on the wall of the hotel room with Star Wars Episode II playing in one corner. I know, I know this is probably complete overkill for stumbling...but it sure is FUN. And the maids in the morning must think I'm ubercool : )

By the way, I have also never had a problem war walking with my laptop in my laptop case and the mag mount poking out of the accessory pocket. I generally walk through the airport with just the sniffer passively monitoring to see what I pick up. Just make sure your power management settings, allow the laptop to stay on when the case is closed.

My next toy is a small yagi or patch, as the limitations of the omni after finding a suitable AP, are becoming apparent. Anyone have a reccomendation for a portable universal directional to use after selecting an AP to target? I'd like to be able to carry it in a wardrobe bag, something around this size.

Anyway, I've babbled enough. Thought I'd let others know how I spend my time with this hobby. Thanks for the advice anyone has given me in the past - the wireless side of all this is still somewhat new to me.

cheers

Incidentally, airport security is a bitch with all of this equipment, especially going to DC...I'm sure others out there can relate.

05-29-2002	#15 (permalink)
nada Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 6	In NYC for the week - my setup I'm in NYC for the week for work. I'm from Colorado, and I have to say the density of AP's here is amazing. I was in San Jose the week before, and DC two weeks before that, and I tend to stumble whenever I can - not often due to work obligations. Right now, I'm on the 30th floor of a hotel in Times Square with an omni dangling out my window, and I have multiple AP's to choose from. There's about a 70% (wep) to 30% (non wep) ratio in Times Square. I wish I had remembered my digital camera...I could have a shot of the omni out the window in the foreground, with the Empire state building two blocks away in the background. I might have to go buy a disposable just for this occasion. : ) The trick is slipping the omni through the crack in the window - the hotel window will only swing open a couple of inches. I thought I almost lost the antenna at one point : ) On the taxi ride over from LGA I threw the mag mount omni on the roof of the cab. The cabbie gave me the same look my wife does when I use the mag mount. He didn't seem suspicious, just thought I was odd. My wife gave up on trying to figure out what my war room full of electronics equipment was a long time ago, so she doesn't bother asking questions anymore - she works in "IT" also, but does it as a 9-5 thing. She gave up after I built my Tempest contraption a couple of years ago... Anyway, great site and great fun as a hobby. I have to carry several laptops for work, generally 3, each with a gig of RAM due to the systems I work with. I also have a SPARC tadpole I sometimes carry, has anyone tried running the WEP crack tools on Solaris? They also supply me with a couple of extra swappable HD's - which I insisted that I "needed" - so, I can setup a linux box (WEP cracker) running on one machine with Win2K on the other for netstumbler and then network them via the nic's and a Samba mount - and not have to worry about screwing up my work stuff, because it's on a separate HD. I also have a 4 port KVM and 6 port router/switch with a digital projector which altogether just makes for a killer setup in the hotel room. Picture the computer screens all being projected on the wall of the hotel room with Star Wars Episode II playing in one corner. I know, I know this is probably complete overkill for stumbling...but it sure is FUN. And the maids in the morning must think I'm ubercool : ) By the way, I have also never had a problem war walking with my laptop in my laptop case and the mag mount poking out of the accessory pocket. I generally walk through the airport with just the sniffer passively monitoring to see what I pick up. Just make sure your power management settings, allow the laptop to stay on when the case is closed. My next toy is a small yagi or patch, as the limitations of the omni after finding a suitable AP, are becoming apparent. Anyone have a reccomendation for a portable universal directional to use after selecting an AP to target? I'd like to be able to carry it in a wardrobe bag, something around this size. Anyway, I've babbled enough. Thought I'd let others know how I spend my time with this hobby. Thanks for the advice anyone has given me in the past - the wireless side of all this is still somewhat new to me. cheers Incidentally, airport security is a bitch with all of this equipment, especially going to DC...I'm sure others out there can relate.