Ricochet Modems == Wireless LAN?

dpease writes: "Metricom, purveyor of Ricochet wireless networking, died today. I understand that, sans infrastructure, a Ricochet wireless modem can call another Ricochet modem, and that modem-to-modem range is nearly a mile. Is the hardware this company leaves behind a viable solution for a really cool, really cheap wireless LAN?"

Comments

Re:What about FCC licensing?

[AaronBaker2000]

Actually, the modems operate on a 900mhz digital spread spectrum. There are even some models of AT&T cordless phones that can cause the ricochet to fail entirely.

It should be noted that Ricochet poll-tops communicate with each other at 2.3ghz which is the spectrum that metricom owns the rights to.

Re:People are already doing it!

[Wog]

From what I've read and *seen*, these work much like landline modems. They even accept AT commands! Just tell one to "dial" the serial number of another one. If it's within, say, a mile of yours, a "ring" will happen on the other end. Of course, to prevent breakins, just have the recieving device set up with authentication. Just like you would running a dial-up server at home.

I believe I also read that these modems encrypt data locally, and transmit on a given frequency for only a very short burst at a time. (This allows them to avoid hefty FCC charges!) If you've got concerns about eavesdropping, then add your own encryption before data is sent.

growing momentum of a collapsing economy

[dAzED1]

from the Website it looks like they tried to stay afloat, but died anyway. They filed chapter 11 (which doesn't always mean the company dies) a month ago. In so doing, "the Company sought to restructure its operations and debt obligations while maintaining the operation of its wireless network and continuing to provide services and access." Oh well, guess it took them a month to figure out they couldn't, cause on August 8 they'll be gone. Wonder how much the tech behind the modems will go for at the auction? Not much atm, since no one has any money. I'm not looking forward to my eventual lowering of salary due to there being more and more techies available. We're not the rare commodity we used to be!

Re:Nice idea.

[Anonymous Coward]

If I remember correctly there was an article (can't seem to find it) on ticalc.org on how you could hookup one of these modems to a TI-85, then using another one hooked up to a computer you could execute telnet commands and such from a client on the TI. So, while it may not be 802.11 compliant it may be feasible to build a wireless LAN around it.

*sigh*

[faenix]

Man, I'm frustrated .. I read the article the other day about Ricochet and that they intended to let go of their staff and turn off their network, and I called up my provider, WWC (Wireless Web Connect) and asked what was going on, and if my service would be impacted.. I was immediately assured that Ricochet had only announced Chapter 11 Bankrupcy and that this was only for financial reasons and it would not impact my service at all. I pointed them at the article on slashdot, and was assured that it was just a rumor. So now, I call them up again and all I can get is a recorded message saying that they have filed legal action to force Ricochet to keep their network online and provide users with at least 30 days notice. Additionally, they say that although Ricochet intends to keep their service online until the date in the future, degredation of service will happen between now and then. (Case and point, it took me 30 minutes to get connected.. I kept getting No Dial Tone, even though I have green flashy lights indicated signal). WWC has a lot of sales speak about remaining committed and blah blah blah. They'll stop billing us if Ricochet's network should happen to go dead. How great of them. They also claim that they're working with AT&T on their Wireless Data Service .. A new CDPD modem will be needed, and their trying to get existing Ricochet customers a $$ break. .....I guess I need to get a new ISP Account .. and back to 33.6 I go.. :( :( :(

won't work with new hardware

[jchristopher]

In the recent article about Ricochet's bankruptcy, there was a comment (can't find it now, sorry) which basically stated that in the newest versions of the modems, Ricochet had done something on their end to disable peer-to-peer.

I'm sure someone can elaborate... but I believe that it basically said it will work with the older 28.8 modems, but not the new 128 capable ones.

What about the infrastructure equipment?

[xee]

Will their "hubs" (or whatever they use) be liquidated and turned into cash, or will the stuff all be left on the light-poles? Can people go and grab those things now, and reverse-engineer them, and build a new ricochet network, guerilla-style? Heh, if they were in my area, i'd be seriously looking into cherry-picker-truck rentals. :)

Re:Nice idea.

[jpmkm]

I'm not sure why that was funny; this can actually be done. All you need is a Graph Link(the real one, not the cheap black one) and a couple Ricochet modems. The Graph Link converts the TI proprietary protocol to standard RS232, so you could use any type of modem. You hook one of the modems up to the calc through the Graph Link and the other to some computer, and you should be able to log in to the computer using a terminal emulator program for the calculator. I've never been able to do this, simply because I don't have a real Graph Link, but I'd imagine it would be pretty cool.

Homebrew 6 Watt, 900 MHz wireless data amplifier

[Anonymous Coward]

Here is a schematic for a 6 watt, 900 MHz bi-directional wireless data amplifier this would be perfect for old Ricochet hardware. All the parts are quite easy to find also.