From eric at christensenplace.us Thu Jun 9 10:32:44 2016 From: eric at christensenplace.us (Eric Christensen) Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2016 10:32:44 -0400 Subject: [CALV-MESH] I propose a test... Message-ID: <2a1a537c-b5de-f2a5-0c85-c4c4bd412d35@christensenplace.us> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA512 I'm proposing a test of mesh. I have my 2.4GHz node up and working with the latest (v3.1.0) firmware. I know Karl had talked about setting up his system on the North Beach boardwalk to test along the Bay. What I'd like to do is setup my station with the 14dB patch antenna and point it north and then maybe go up to Franklin Manor (ANAR County) and shoot back south. It's been years since I messed with microwave paths over water and never at such low heights and power. I can model the paths but I prefer to get outside and try it. Maybe we can all meet up on the chat server that's on the mesh nodes, now, and chat as a way to test the system. I can also build some server stuff at home for us to play with. Maybe even an Internet connection (still trying to figure out how to do a WAN connection instead of a LAN connection on these Ubiquiti devices). I did a quick model from the end of the pier in NB and that seems to be a pretty decent location. Anyone know any other places to try? 73, Eric WG3K -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2 iQEcBAEBCgAGBQJXWX4FAAoJED4nr8JXHVrF1loH/iTXuDa5c2QjU4FS3pXpdd0Z VrAhIVWyQnDs8T07g8n68tWPLXuIgrCd8JSU5G8KuzC1CfuZ7nXuLZE0KAsKejft 6GKngfP23VyIHkhylIQOdHSdMg3/xaDle0yCWekF3f3Kd3QdBnIFk+xHRSLUzS9Y +08yuTxe5cGz6NMfz8WLCmAGObM8QG2GOTH70B2f27AjEUe6szWBD2qqvbC34NHQ TRg5hlcb3LuUVbTLnoSOBXKl6YeBIuU1EisGj6l7MSNyRoZ8YhK3MbaXAJj9g5lN 5copHVYIHuEa6PKEVtG10APKncqD8SLFT+R+93Y8IanZHMZ6Rk2LxasvOGsLqJo= =lzrX -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- From eric at christensenplace.us Thu Jun 9 11:55:07 2016 From: eric at christensenplace.us (Eric Christensen) Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2016 11:55:07 -0400 Subject: [CALV-MESH] Mesh Working Group site back operational Message-ID: <37a2efdb-2e65-9f31-b0b2-a987a9722d4d@christensenplace.us> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA512 I finally had time to troubleshoot the MediaWiki instance we're using on the Mesh WG site[0] and fixed the connection to the backend database. With that fix, the site is back up and operational. I also went ahead and secured it with TLS so I would highly recommend anyone that has an account over there to reset their passwords. Sorry for the downtime. [0] https://mesh.k3cal.org 73, Eric WG3K -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2 iQEcBAEBCgAGBQJXWZFLAAoJED4nr8JXHVrFQ4kH/j9pMz+T39ErKbkXUWuPN1VR kEgp0dmEapz0+Q8gF/zSyItSowcNbfXZzhyjSLm7Qr3b8utOQurfz8mOQYCxTT41 mUBS5+jn9MIXwmZlFto7VaN5wJF9kiWRmeO8WBOAIj4Y6n9xmL+Fc/gv8c4RKKs8 wR/y8zqlylFAahFG8SEUvdL5QCvjon8JBEEjcvrpPY7fs+g+rHwnqNaIliSiXJUY 6p5dzDPyzAvWo0gP4Ki8PUCLgwbEkSKa5f5nmUy1YbjxgQ9hd+5spxn7uIImo7xZ +s5H3wl9TPujgefLqDsrBVSeGS101cfbfQJWkHSpL4/j8UIMycItXkXfxfxC2To= =P685 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- From wa4prr at comcast.net Thu Jun 9 12:13:42 2016 From: wa4prr at comcast.net (WA4PRR) Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2016 12:13:42 -0400 Subject: [CALV-MESH] Mesh Antennas Message-ID: <7692AC2D-1187-4AB1-816F-F750B73DC1B1@comcast.net> Do you know anyone who would like a couple of parabolic square reflector dishes? I have three and only need one. $25,00 each. I'll need to setup my two nodes before I can participate. 73; Ron / WA4PRR - Sent from my iPad From karl_g_long at hotmail.com Sat Jun 11 19:23:22 2016 From: karl_g_long at hotmail.com (Karl Long) Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2016 17:23:22 -0600 Subject: [CALV-MESH] Test Results In-Reply-To: <37a2efdb-2e65-9f31-b0b2-a987a9722d4d@christensenplace.us> References: <37a2efdb-2e65-9f31-b0b2-a987a9722d4d@christensenplace.us> Message-ID: Last Saturday, 6/3, I went to Dunkirk Park. I set up two nodes (WRT54GS and GL) with batteries and tripods. Both nodes were set to minimum power 1dBm (1.3 milliwatts). I put one node on top of my car and walked away from it with my other node. Signal strength is what is shown when you do a WiFi scan. I am not sure, but I believe it is dBm. Minimum receive is about -92 dBm. Percent connectivity is shown in "mesh status." Except where noted, all test cases showed 100%. I measured the distance using a stride that has consistently given me about two feet per stride. All measurements given are based on this measurement. When in doubt, I walked it off again. Part One - both nodes have stock antennae (two each)s. Separation Signal Percent Notes Distance (ft) Strength Connectivity 14 - 44 46 - 44 68 - 61 2 120 - 69 200 - 71 300 - 69 1, 3 510 - 82 94 % 650 - 80 90 % 1 Discussion As expected, signal strength fell with distance, except in the two cases marked "Note 1." In both of these cases the line of sight (in particular, the first Fresnel zone) was significantly better than the previous location. I was surprise to see that two nodes with minimum power and stock antennae still had 90 % connectivity at 650'. I would like to have tested longer distances to see how far I could go with this configuration, and with high power (19 dBM = 79 mW). Extrapolation suggests that high power, stock antennae would be usable to at least a mile. Part Two - Stock antenna at the car, a custom antenna at the other end, both node at minimum power. All tests conducted at 650'. Antenna dB compared to stock antennae estimated from these test results. Antenna Signal Strength dB Notes Stock antennae (two) - 80 0 reference 10 element collinear - 73 1 - 7 2 Small Horn (can) - 73 5 - 7 Large Horn (can) - 66 14 3 Part Three - Both nodes have custom antennae and low power at 650'. Antenna Antenna Signal Strength Notes Small Horn Large Horn -61 2 Collinear Large Horn -65 3 Discussion Note 2 - Results in part two suggest that the collinear and small horn are both about 7dBref, while Part tree suggests that the small horn is 4dB better than the collinear. I found the collinear, while omnidirectional horizontally, was hard to peak vertically. Note 3 - It is hard to tell because of the line of sight issues, but the Large Horn antenna at 650' seems to compare to somewhere between 100' and 250' with stock antennae only. I would like to do those measurements again with better line of sight. From eric at christensenplace.us Sat Jun 11 19:34:47 2016 From: eric at christensenplace.us (Eric Christensen) Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2016 19:34:47 -0400 Subject: [CALV-MESH] Test Results In-Reply-To: References: <37a2efdb-2e65-9f31-b0b2-a987a9722d4d@christensenplace.us> Message-ID: <100f5c29-54a2-13fd-b096-41f93dbdcbd0@christensenplace.us> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA512 On 06/11/2016 07:23 PM, Karl Long wrote: > Last Saturday, 6/3, I went to Dunkirk Park. I set up two nodes > (WRT54GS and GL) with batteries and tripods. Both nodes were set to > minimum power 1dBm (1.3 milliwatts). I put one node on top of my > car and walked away from it with my other node. This is a great experiment. Want to go out to the pier in North Beach and see if we can connect up between there and the boardwalk in Chesapeake Beach? I've got one station up and I'm working on a second. I do need to figure out how to do POE from a 12V battery... 73, Eric WG3K -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2 iQEcBAEBCgAGBQJXXKARAAoJED4nr8JXHVrF/U4IALY+s/wqyCe/SIdsr1pBTE7T +ox9OGR/ZMaupfavVsMgGK+CqldSqbOtpNilgL4FS1smJx95QiCSzZcjcq5PWKky eMnBMI00lA6izR0juV098d2clAa6dNhi+XBEMabJw1noq7/2NCYDb/Cj+XAabQ1E cF+ajxhTzzyoPfEXoqX2HYboXtAr0qIbzn3R9ogX7XdYzwZ5DYJRVEPIdjYysmc8 jP6EK67xFUM2RIWxGqNktb2EFfVeGG6+Zax/xC7eJYoQeKQdoaP5G/UYt2H3CZJ3 Jly7MupDJMeANphoXORjj/dK4BM438wCdh7vVfATsTj5Ly7Uw6DWL5ufmpK+kUI= =tyKQ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----