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
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