starting a public AP?

mikeymustang · 01-11-2003

Anyone intentionally start there AP for the benifit of letting people access their connection>?....I want to do this.....I am a RF Tech ...and i want to put the hole AP on my roof with a very short run of cable to the GAIN antenna..........anyone know the legallities of this>?...i know about fcc rules and max gain with antenna gain.....will My ISP freak>?...giving all my neighbors free cable access?......probally they will not even know..........now i was wondering if i could braodcast a "Home page"....then link from there to the net....or could i at least leave them some kinda message to send me e-mail ...say hello....stuff like that.......I figure it this way..........they can use my cable hook up...i pay for 24/7 bandwidth...... any ideas or sugestions?

thanks

Mike

hratch · 01-11-2003

you need to search for the captive portal thread.

jizquierdo · 01-11-2003

i wish you were my neighbor....

db8tr · 01-11-2003

A good close look at your ISP's TOS will let you know about the legality in that regard. A lot of the larger ISPs have made it against the TOS, but some smaller ones are actually encouraging it. I know there is a list of wireless sharing-friendly ISPs at the eff.org site, if you were to search there you could probably find it. I looked at it a couple of weeks ago.

Thorn · 01-12-2003

Mike,
Assuming that your ISP's TOS allows you to proceed, then you have two obstacles to overcome: The physical set-up and the software. Since you're an RF tech the physical should not prove too hard for you. Here are a couple of ideas for you:
http://forums.netstumbler.com/showth...&threadid=3406
http://forums.netstumbler.com/showth...&threadid=4876

DIY PoE: http://www.nycwireless.net/articles/poe/
PoE kits: http://www.demarctech.com/products/POE/poe-main.html

As to the software, you will need a portal of some type. Nocat
http://nocat.net allows for a redirect/info page/ signup, etc. It's for Linux, is open source and free. Other packages exist, ranging from to cheap to expensive. A couple of examples are MikroTik and DeMarcTech. Do to the fact that the software is in fact a router, 99% of the solutions are *nix based. Some, such as the DemarcTech unit are a combined hardware/softare unit. Take hratch's advice, and read the captive portal thread. http://forums.netstumbler.com/showth...threadid=5028.

mikeymustang · 01-12-2003

WOW thanks :

Lots of ideas in thoes threads... i sux at Linux...not shure on the software end?.........i would like to limit the connection to HTTP only..(port80)...to keep hacking at a minimum......is there anything windows base ...something for maybe windows 2000?.........I think ill run it covert at first.........i think as long as i dont draw too much attention I wont ask my ISP...(easier to get forgiveness then permission).......also can I do this maybe with a client like a wusb11.....u was going to run usb up the 40Ft crank up tower!

thanks

Mike

Acheron · 01-12-2003

Try Dolphin by Reefedge. You will need a 486 Pentium or higher w/ 64M ram, 128M of HD space, and 2 NICs. I'm testing it right now and limited the BW to 256kbps and only ports 80 & 443 out.

sparafina · 01-12-2003

FYI:

from the ARRL (http://www.arrl.org/hsmm/)

"Unleash the power of 802.11b. Get an Amateur Radio Technician License with a straight forward written test from the "technician" question pool. There is no Morse code required to work 802.11b under the FCC Amateur Radio rules. Then run up to 100 watts LEGALLY on your AP using any antenna you would prefer. "

renderman · 01-12-2003

100 WATTS!

All the more reason to get my license.

So much for having children.

sparafina · 01-12-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by renderman
100 WATTS!

All the more reason to get my license.

So much for having children.

Remember that this is for amateur use only, no business use. Until relatively recently, even ordering a pizza was considered business use. I'm not sure what this means for working 802.11b.

db8tr · 01-12-2003

Quote:

Originally posted by sparafina
Remember that this is for amateur use only, no business use. Until relatively recently, even ordering a pizza was considered business use. I'm not sure what this means for working 802.11b.

Your callsign would have to be transmitted every 10 minutes, no encryption could be used and it could not be used for business purposes. While ordering a pizza for yourself is now deemed OK, that would include a ban on : VPNing into a company network (obviously), checking e-mail that had to do with your business, checking stock quotes etc... Now, whether this is enforceable or not is another question. Also a good question is where are you going to get that kind of power? Homebrewing in the microwave spectrum is no small matter. An EIRP of greater than four watts might be interesting for experimentation, but is not going to be practical for real-life usage within government regs.

db8tr · 01-12-2003

See http://www.qsl.net/ke5fx/#uwave for an example of the complexities involving homebrewing at microwave frequencies. BTW... this guy is putting ethernet over a 10GHz link.

mikeymustang · 01-13-2003

I am a Ham ....been one for 25 years extra class LOL man 100 Watts can be dangerious!!!

Mike

sparafina · 01-13-2003

I don't think that its practical for the average hobbyist to transmit at 100w. I think the program is great because it encourages folks to get some theory and practice instead of just pulling antenna plans of the 'net and hooking stuff up to amps.

01-11-2003	#1 (permalink)
mikeymustang Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 49	starting a public AP? Anyone intentionally start there AP for the benifit of letting people access their connection>?....I want to do this.....I am a RF Tech ...and i want to put the hole AP on my roof with a very short run of cable to the GAIN antenna..........anyone know the legallities of this>?...i know about fcc rules and max gain with antenna gain.....will My ISP freak>?...giving all my neighbors free cable access?......probally they will not even know..........now i was wondering if i could braodcast a "Home page"....then link from there to the net....or could i at least leave them some kinda message to send me e-mail ...say hello....stuff like that.......I figure it this way..........they can use my cable hook up...i pay for 24/7 bandwidth...... any ideas or sugestions? thanks Mike

01-11-2003	#4 (permalink)
db8tr Wireless Widget Whacker Join Date: May 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 145	A good close look at your ISP's TOS will let you know about the legality in that regard. A lot of the larger ISPs have made it against the TOS, but some smaller ones are actually encouraging it. I know there is a list of wireless sharing-friendly ISPs at the eff.org site, if you were to search there you could probably find it. I looked at it a couple of weeks ago. __________________ -Db8tr

01-12-2003	#5 (permalink)
Thorn Did you do the math? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Villa Straylight Posts: 10,008	Mike, Assuming that your ISP's TOS allows you to proceed, then you have two obstacles to overcome: The physical set-up and the software. Since you're an RF tech the physical should not prove too hard for you. Here are a couple of ideas for you: http://forums.netstumbler.com/showth...&threadid=3406 http://forums.netstumbler.com/showth...&threadid=4876 DIY PoE: http://www.nycwireless.net/articles/poe/ PoE kits: http://www.demarctech.com/products/POE/poe-main.html As to the software, you will need a portal of some type. Nocat http://nocat.net allows for a redirect/info page/ signup, etc. It's for Linux, is open source and free. Other packages exist, ranging from to cheap to expensive. A couple of examples are MikroTik and DeMarcTech. Do to the fact that the software is in fact a router, 99% of the solutions are nix based. Some, such as the DemarcTech unit are a combined hardware/softare unit. Take hratch's* advice, and read the captive portal thread. http://forums.netstumbler.com/showth...threadid=5028. __________________ Thorn Sex and Violence. You can't enjoy one, if you don't survive the other. (And that works both ways...)

01-12-2003	#7 (permalink)
Acheron Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2	starting a public AP Try Dolphin by Reefedge. You will need a 486 Pentium or higher w/ 64M ram, 128M of HD space, and 2 NICs. I'm testing it right now and limited the BW to 256kbps and only ports 80 & 443 out.

01-12-2003	#12 (permalink)
db8tr Wireless Widget Whacker Join Date: May 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 145	See http://www.qsl.net/ke5fx/#uwave for an example of the complexities involving homebrewing at microwave frequencies. BTW... this guy is putting ethernet over a 10GHz link. __________________ -Db8tr

01-11-2003	#2 (permalink)
hratch Roadie Stumbler Join Date: May 2002 Location: On the Move... Posts: 308	you need to search for the captive portal thread.

01-11-2003	#3 (permalink)
jizquierdo Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 14	i wish you were my neighbor....

01-12-2003	#6 (permalink)
mikeymustang Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 49	WOW thanks : Lots of ideas in thoes threads... i sux at Linux...not shure on the software end?.........i would like to limit the connection to HTTP only..(port80)...to keep hacking at a minimum......is there anything windows base ...something for maybe windows 2000?.........I think ill run it covert at first.........i think as long as i dont draw too much attention I wont ask my ISP...(easier to get forgiveness then permission).......also can I do this maybe with a client like a wusb11.....u was going to run usb up the 40Ft crank up tower! thanks Mike

01-12-2003	#8 (permalink)
sparafina Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Julie Speed Posts: 1,430	FYI: from the ARRL (http://www.arrl.org/hsmm/) "Unleash the power of 802.11b. Get an Amateur Radio Technician License with a straight forward written test from the "technician" question pool. There is no Morse code required to work 802.11b under the FCC Amateur Radio rules. Then run up to 100 watts LEGALLY on your AP using any antenna you would prefer. "

01-12-2003	#9 (permalink)
renderman Drunken Stumbler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Anywhere but Utah Posts: 1,794	100 WATTS! All the more reason to get my license. So much for having children.

01-13-2003	#13 (permalink)
mikeymustang Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 49	I am a Ham ....been one for 25 years extra class LOL man 100 Watts can be dangerious!!! Mike

01-13-2003	#14 (permalink)
sparafina Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Julie Speed Posts: 1,430	I don't think that its practical for the average hobbyist to transmit at 100w. I think the program is great because it encourages folks to get some theory and practice instead of just pulling antenna plans of the 'net and hooking stuff up to amps.

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