[Mesh] Meeting Minutes 6/20

Reposted here for posterity: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/20_June_2013 June 20th Meeting Minutes = Attendees = * Chris J, Jenny, Max, Juul, Miguel, Eddan.com, Sam = Action Items = * Decide on name (some suggested options further down in the notes) * Research 501(c)x statuses: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Tax_Structure_Research * Put together a brochure / pamphlet * Website (contingent on name) * Splash page design * Glossary of terms (eg Fresnal zone, Hidden Node problem, etc) on the wiki - MaxB began: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Terms = Misc Notes = * Community wireless vs. Municipal (gov run) or Corporate (eg Google Wifi) * Hidden Node Problem: ** Request-to-Send and Clear-to-Send ** TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_division_multiple_access *** Someone at Noisebridge has worked on this, could maybe help port from FreeBSD to Linux? =Checking out the hardware!= ** Don't power them up without the antennas!! ** Need adapters for the external antennas to bullets ** AirGrids can only run on 5.2V max, meant to run off USB ** NanoBridges and AirGrids are 5GHz and will serve as the rooftop backbone of the mesh. ** PicoStations are the street-level routers = Crowdfunding Campaign = * Raised over $1600 in one week! Awesome! * Legal structure of accepting donations ** Very good accounting * Should investigate 501(c)4 ** Talk to folks at the SELC, recommended 501(c)7 * Talking to Noisebridge and SchoolFactory in the next week or two about umbrella-ing under their 501(c)3 = Survey Responses = * FILL IN * 2/3 like the current logo = Name Suggestions = * Mycelium * Wicelium * Sudo Mesh * Meta Mesh * Root Net * Super Web * The Trunk * Hive 10 * Orga Net * Open and Notorious * Sudo Net * Oakland Wireless Network (OWN) * Oakland Community-Organized Resilient Network (OCORN) * Oakland Community Network = Marketing Discussion = * Sudo meant to reflect empowerment to fix it or make it yourself ** Include a brief definition of SUDO at the bottom of marketing materials * 'FREE WIFI' sign and/or stickers for the mesh * Adopt-A-Picostation * Collate accessories for mounting and running a node and link to online marketplaces on the site = Folks to reach out to = * Internet Archive and Brewster * Kapor Foundation = Report Backs = * Still need to make a protocol decision * Inventory Tracking! Mycelia Zero should be completed by next week: Decentralized network of tools/objects, projects and people/skills - Access control (choose to share) ** Need a weather-resistant sticker or tagging system - RFIDs? ** MyAssetTag.com - aluminum matte tags - available very tiny (0.25" x 1") in batches of 100 for $32 ** 'Property Of' stamps / tattoos to discourage theft * OpenOakland feedback: ** Someone has a roof in the hills with a view of the airport (and thus LOL) = Outreach Strategy = * Origin of the outdoor mesh could be LOL/SOL/Cycles Bikery * Would be easier to connect W Oakland * We could split the hardware 50/50 between West and East Oakland, then run a campaign to reach across the divides in Oakland to connect the two meshes! * Reach up to Richmond to Internet Archive's awesome node! = Mounting Solutions = * Flower pots! (with plants that won't obstruct!) * Birdhouses * On the eve of the rooftop outside would be ideal * Flags (American or Pirate version) = Firmware = * Directing network traffic is the major technical challenge * Encourage participants to use BitTorrent clients that support uTP (microtorrent protocol) * Should have two options: 1. People replace their existing access point (which they donate to us) with a PicoStation 2. People keep their existing access point and add the PicoStation to their setup, which runs off their router ** Folks can also host a rooftop node * Focus on aesthetic unobstrusiveness * Set up a way to split the network into several access points: back channel (for the mesh nodes to connect to eachother), open channel (for public connecting) and private channel (for folks in house/etc, more bandwidth, can be secured with password, etc) * Things to add to the firmware: ** Privoxy! Non-caching web proxy for block "obnoxious internet junk" ** Ghostery (protect from tracking) ** Adblock (allow for easy opt-in) * Put passwords on the PoE adapters and let people maintain their own node's level of privacy, upgrades, etc = Useful Anecdotes = * Internet Archive has created a super node up in Richmond (~15km from here) * Chris has used a dish and 4ft antenna like ours and with line of sight reached up to 2 miles * Chris has created a router with an xbee radio (cheaper, takes less power) hooked up to the serial port to take in different kinds of sensor data ** Air quality egg ** Router w/ xbee unit for additional cost = Needs = * Antennas towers ** Telescoping flagpoles! (suggested by Seattle Meshnet) - up to 20ft, available Harbor Freight for $50 * Wooden blocks with hinges to direct the Picos * Ubiquiti sector antennas as major backbone points (2 x 2 x) - up to 40 subscribers, with dishes pointing the signal outward in all directions = Research Assignment = Homework Assignment: Research a Mesh Project that has succeeded or failed * Week 1: Marc * Week 2: Jenny * Week 3: Chris * August: Eddan = Web Resources = * RadioLabs (antennas and such): http://www.radiolabs.com/ * CeroWRT - solving the issue of bufferbloat in OpenWRT: http://www.bufferbloat.net/projects/cerowrt * BISmark (detect ISP issues and home traffic): http://projectbismark.net/ * MyAssetTag.com (for tagging outdoor routers with barcodes): http://myassettag.com Oh yeah, we're checking out hardware for testing here: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Checkouts ~mesh the planet!~ Jenny http://jennyryan.net http://thepyre.org http://thevirtualcampfire.org http://technomadic.tumblr.com `~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` "Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories." -Laurie Anderson "Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it." -Hannah Arendt "To define is to kill. To suggest is to create." -Stéphane Mallarmé ~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`