Wireless co-op in my development

rotinom · 04-20-2005

Hey all. I'm not sure which forum I should have put this in, but feel free to move it elsewhere.

I live in a development with 6 buildings, 4 units per building, for a total of 24+ families in the area. I had sort of this crazy thought of getting a commercial internet line (say, a T1 or commercial Cable/DSL line) and then farming the signal out to the individual buildings.

We all pay association dues, so the dues could include internet access for everyone (yay for the information age). I've done research online and read around about different co-ops that have been formed.

The majority of the co-ops I've seen, are dealing with mesh networks where there are many internet lines that people cooperate to share to the world (or a set group of people w/ username/password access).

Now, as I'm writing this down, I'm realizing that it's almost going to be turning into a WISP setup come to think of it. Anyway, the buildings are almost in a line with each other. My gut instinct, is that I should have the main line come into a centralized unit, and then have repeaters & directional antennas to propagate the access.

The other issue is equipment. I'm torn between whether I should have something as simple as a repeater in each building, or whether something more complex is necessary (like a meshcube, modified wrt54g, etc.).

I've read a bunch on the seattle wireless page, and I was just wondering if anyone could suggest additional resources for more research, or if they would have more input on where to go.

Thanks in advance

Thorn · 04-20-2005

Moved to HotSpots.

Yes, you're essentially talking about a mini-WISP. A co-op version is really just a matter of the business plan model, more than anything else.

As for equipment, do the site survey(s) first. They will then dictate what equipment is needed and where it should be located.

rotinom · 04-20-2005

Now, I'm just starting to read about site surveys, so bear with me.

From what I understand, the purpose is to locate sources of interference to the proposed installation. Additionally, it's to determind the final equipment locations prior to actually placing them in that location.

The second part seems like a chicken & egg situation. I can't do a survey w/o hardware to test with. I can't get hardware without knowing what I need. I don't know what I need without performing a survey. (see what I mean)

Would the best strategy be to get some equipment from a vendor that has a liberal return policy, and just work it like that & return what I don't need.

Thanks

wrzwaldo · 04-20-2005

Depending on the size of the install you may be able to get a vendor to assist with the survey or get loaner/rental gear for the survey. Doing the math and bookwork (what it takes to get the signal from point A to point B) will/should give you an idea of what way you need to go as far as hardware is concerned.

theprez98 · 04-20-2005

You could do a basic survey with just one AP. It might take a while (and certainly a second person would help speed things up) but it could be done (and has been done). Plug it in at/near the desired location, get your laptop and NS and start walking. Obviously there are other issues (construction products and other potential sources of interference) but that should get you started.

04-20-2005	#1 (permalink)
rotinom Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 6	Wireless co-op in my development Hey all. I'm not sure which forum I should have put this in, but feel free to move it elsewhere. I live in a development with 6 buildings, 4 units per building, for a total of 24+ families in the area. I had sort of this crazy thought of getting a commercial internet line (say, a T1 or commercial Cable/DSL line) and then farming the signal out to the individual buildings. We all pay association dues, so the dues could include internet access for everyone (yay for the information age). I've done research online and read around about different co-ops that have been formed. The majority of the co-ops I've seen, are dealing with mesh networks where there are many internet lines that people cooperate to share to the world (or a set group of people w/ username/password access). Now, as I'm writing this down, I'm realizing that it's almost going to be turning into a WISP setup come to think of it. Anyway, the buildings are almost in a line with each other. My gut instinct, is that I should have the main line come into a centralized unit, and then have repeaters & directional antennas to propagate the access. The other issue is equipment. I'm torn between whether I should have something as simple as a repeater in each building, or whether something more complex is necessary (like a meshcube, modified wrt54g, etc.). I've read a bunch on the seattle wireless page, and I was just wondering if anyone could suggest additional resources for more research, or if they would have more input on where to go. Thanks in advance

04-20-2005	#2 (permalink)
Thorn Did you do the math? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Villa Straylight Posts: 10,099	Moved to HotSpots. Yes, you're essentially talking about a mini-WISP. A co-op version is really just a matter of the business plan model, more than anything else. As for equipment, do the site survey(s) first. They will then dictate what equipment is needed and where it should be located. __________________ Thorn "I'm The Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I am from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I am the man who is going to save your lives and all 6 billion people on the planet below... You got a problem with that?"

04-20-2005	#4 (permalink)
wrzwaldo I amuse you? Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 9,127	Depending on the size of the install you may be able to get a vendor to assist with the survey or get loaner/rental gear for the survey. Doing the math and bookwork (what it takes to get the signal from point A to point B) will/should give you an idea of what way you need to go as far as hardware is concerned. Last edited by wrzwaldo : 04-20-2005 at 09:44 AM.

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04-20-2005	#3 (permalink)
rotinom Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 6	Now, I'm just starting to read about site surveys, so bear with me. From what I understand, the purpose is to locate sources of interference to the proposed installation. Additionally, it's to determind the final equipment locations prior to actually placing them in that location. The second part seems like a chicken & egg situation. I can't do a survey w/o hardware to test with. I can't get hardware without knowing what I need. I don't know what I need without performing a survey. (see what I mean) Would the best strategy be to get some equipment from a vendor that has a liberal return policy, and just work it like that & return what I don't need. Thanks

04-20-2005	#5 (permalink)
theprez98 SpoonfeederExtraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,622	You could do a basic survey with just one AP. It might take a while (and certainly a second person would help speed things up) but it could be done (and has been done). Plug it in at/near the desired location, get your laptop and NS and start walking. Obviously there are other issues (construction products and other potential sources of interference) but that should get you started.