[Mesh] 5 ghz rooftop node in west oakland

[Max B]

Awesome!

On Mon 06 Jan 2014 12:32:54 PM PST, Pete Forsyth wrote:
> Yesterday, Marc, myself, and my new roommate Cameron successfully installed
> a NanoBridge at my apartment (phorzaith), and connected it to his node
> (Adeline Livelabs, described below) -- 0.57 km, line of sight down Adeline
> St. So far we are using the Ubiquiti firmware. I have downloaded files from
> his network, with a maximum throughput of 5.5 MB/sec -- nearly twice the
> download speed, and about 7 times the upload speed, I can achieve through
> my DSL Internet connection. This is the mesh's first 5GHz connection, and
> we expect it to be robust and persistent!
>
> Process:
>
> First, we went on my roof to see if we had line of sight from up there, but
> found that several slightly taller houses on my side of the street would be
> in the way. There are also limited opportunities for easy installation up
> there. However, we did note a few other potential targets for future nodes
> I could connect to: the California Hotel (being used as a halfway house),
> and the bodega on 34th and Adeline which has a nice tall tower that might
> be useful for getting across the MacArthur freeway. I can also see several
> neighbors' houses who might be friendly to the People's Open network.
>
> So we went back to the initial idea (picture attached), a dish above my
> front door. This has several advantages over the rooftop: it goes in front
> of the taller buildings (providing line-of-sight down the street), and is
> easier to access for installation and maintenance. We tested by attaching
> the NanoBridge to an 8' length of 2x3 lumber. Using the Ubiquiti firmware
> (and also the router's built-in indicator lights), we tested several
> antenna angles, and discovered that it was more forgiving than expected --
> we were able to achieve a reasonable connection (2 MB/s) with as much as
> about a 25° angle (not tested thoroughly). Perhaps the signal does zigzag
> bounces off the fronts of houses along the street?
>
> We then made a more permanent installation, using a 10" and 7" length of
> 2x4 scrap lumber to attach to the wood side of the house. The NanoBridge is
> designed to allow easy vertical adjustment; if we find we need horizontal
> adjustment it will be easy to accomplish with shims. The installation is
> higher than the test, which has the advantages of fewer potential
> interfering objects, and also more difficult to access for any curiosity-
> or theft-motivated passersby. We also turned the router so its lights face
> the house and taped over them, so as to attract less attention to it. The
> cost was essentially no more than the NanoBridge; all other materials were
> stuff we had lying around (and very inexpensive if we did have to buy,
> under $10.)
>
> Bill of Materials:
>
> * One NanoBridge
> * One 7" length of scrap 2x4 lumber
> * One 10" length of scrap 2x4 lumber
> * One basic bookshelf bracket, 6" by 8"
> * 12 foot Cat 5e cable (standard; to be replaced with outdoor-grade cable
> ASAP)
> * One Power-over-Ethernet injector
>
> To do:
>
> * Make installation more permanent/less hackery (better cable, run the
> cable less conspicuously, paint the wood)
> * Design and implement network infrastructure (public/private); share
> network with neighbors
> * ???
> * MESH THE PLA.NET
>
> -Pete
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 31, 2013 at 7:27 PM, Marc <marcjc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Pete and myself Installed a nanostation m5 on a 20 foot aluminum flagpole
>> in west oakland. The node is about 14 feet above the roof of a two-story
>> building. The total cost of this install ran to about $145 including all
>> materials.
>>
>> Bill of Materials:
>>
>> * One nanostation m5 loco
>> * One 4 foot wood beam of 3.5" by 3.5"
>> * Three 5" by 1/4" bolts
>> * Three 5/8" washers for bolts (optional)
>> * Three 1/2" washers for bolts (optional)
>> * Two 5" hose clamps
>> * 30+ feet of outdoor shielded ethernet cable
>> * Two shielded/groundable ethernet plugs
>> * A bunch of zip ties
>>
>> The optional washers make it easier to tighten and untighten the bolts
>> (otherwise they dig into the wood).
>>
>> Material sources:
>>
>> * Nanostation from Amazon
>> * Flag pole from habor freight
>> * Everything else from home depot
>>
>> -
>> marc/juul
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>
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