Slashdot Mirror


Open Node In A Bag

adelayde writes "You're a wireless network engineer and you work on the run. You need a kit that gives you flexibily yet is light and portable. Style is also important to you. This article (mirrored here) describes just the kit you need, based on modifying the Apple AirPort base station with suggestions for a range of handy antenna attachments and includes component part numbers and prices as well as a complete set of range test results. Just the Jobs for the wireless engineer on the go." Update: 04/08 00:06 GMT by T : Here's another mirror, thanks to the story submitter ;)

95 comments

  1. so then the doctor says by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    go visit goatse.cx for all your fruity needs!!!!

    1. Re:so then the doctor says by Mr.+Nigger · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      osm writes:

      The Final RMS Solution

      RMS is a plague upon the linux-using community. his ancient ideals have proved dangerous to our cause. Yet, RMS ignores our pleas to quietly step aside and let a more palatable individual take up the cause.

      Only the harshest of measures will be successful in relieving us of this hemorrhoidal tissue, better known as Richard M. Stallman. Here is my plan, which I will tentatively title "Preparation-H."

      RMS is well known for his liberal/communist leanings. We will first convince him that his presence is requested at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University to discuss how Free Principles may save the wretched Russian economy. RMS will accept this invitation like a horny Slashdotter invited to Natalie Portman's birthday party.

      Of course, RMS will NEVER make it to the university. We will arrange a limosine to take him to the airport, a luxury even his fat, liberal ass couldn't pass up. The limosine will be "hijacked" (but not really, since the limosine was paid for by us anyway). We will extract RMS' white, quivering flesh from the back seat, throw it in a black trash bag and haul it to Alaska.

      We will convince RMS that we are environmental activists and we have come to Alaska to save the whales. RMS will see a better publicity opportunity in doing this and gladly forget about the University lecture. With our promises of sexual favors and FREE money, RMS will agree to do whatever we ask of him.

      We make RMS disrobe. We must wear protective aparatii for this process. Once RMS is naked, we will beat him over the head with a seal-club and carve the fat off of his sweating carcass.

      We will take the raw RMS fat and distribute it to poor Eskimos to use as lamp-oil, thus "saving the whales" as we promised.

      Once RMS is out of the way, we can adopt a NEW leader! A leader more palatable to the public! A leader that will put a pretty face on our cause! A leader that EVERY Slashdotter can look up to!

      Who is this leader? Natalie Portman, of course.

      thank you.

  2. FP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait
    i love the smell of frosty post in the morning


    FP, you fucking slasholes.

  3. What about software?? by caffeinex36 · · Score: 1

    Clearly kismet is an essential component....no?


    -Rob

  4. GAAAAH! MUST EAT POOP!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    POOP ARE US! swaswa waf waf blah waaaaaaaaaah# Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. # Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. # Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. # Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. # Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal.# Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. # Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. # Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. # Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. # Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal.# Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. # Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. # Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. # Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. # Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal.# Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. # Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. # Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. # Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. # Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal.

  5. Fuck you Americans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Still a paralyzing other bombshell has hit the harassed Community of the BSD when last month IDC has confirmed that the BSD represents less than one fraction than 1 for the one hundred of all assistants. Coming on the heels of the last surveying of Netcraft that dichii clearly that the BSD has lost more percentage of the market, serv of these news to reinforce that what we have known all along.

    The BSD is sinking in disarray complete, like more still exemplified coming to completely lack the last time in the recent complete test the net of the Admin system. You do not have to be a Kreskin in order to foretell * the future of the BSD. The writing of the hand is on the wall: The BSD faces a future brullo. In effects us it will not be some future at all for the BSD because the BSD is dying. The things are observing much defective for the BSD. Altretanto of we already are informed, the continuous BSD to lose the percentage of the market. The red ink flows like a spirit river. FreeBSD more is put than they all.

  6. why apple? by akb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This article is pretty pointless to focus on Apple. Unforuntately clueless people will read it and assume that in order to use wireless they'll have to drill and void their warranty. The fact is there are plenty of other products for which none of that is necessary.

    The first time /. ran one of these "Mod your Airport" articles however many years ago it was cool but the wireless product landscape was very different then.

    1. Re:why apple? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's apple because the article is simply specific instructions on how to mod the Apple base station, dingus.

    2. Re:why apple? by adelayde · · Score: 1

      >This article is pretty pointless to focus on Apple.
      >Unforuntately clueless people will read it and assume that >in order to use wireless they'll have to drill and void their
      >warranty. The fact is there are plenty of other products
      >for which none of that is necessary.

      Sorry you feel that way, it's true. I just happened to have one and what's nice about it is that because it's round with a flat bottom, you can stick a pigtail on it and have a nice solid N type coaxial connector on the top. The point is not whether there are plenty of other products available, it's what you can do with what you have.

      >The first time /. ran one of these "Mod your Airport"
      >articles however many years ago it was cool but the >wireless product landscape was very different then. .....

  7. First Post Made with..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    ...Opera 7.1 beta 3 for Windows!!!

    DOWNLOAD it NOW!!!

  8. Wow! by Can+it+run+Linux · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Will they run Linux?

  9. Wireless Engineer by GigsVT · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think anyone who calls themselves a "wireless engineer" should be able to figure out how to put an N connector on an Airport. Unless you mean "engineer" in the "sanitation engineer" sense.

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    1. Re:Wireless Engineer by Blaine+Hilton · · Score: 1

      Reminds me of the article they just had here recently about what really is an engineer and who is NOT really an engineer.

    2. Re:Wireless Engineer by essdee · · Score: 1

      I installed my cordless phone all by myself. Do I qualify as a "wireless engineer"?

    3. Re:Wireless Engineer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Engineer & Style are mutualle exclusive - always have been - always will.... ie: if style matters to you, you are by NO MEANS an engineer. This one needs one of those red stary stickers on it - "As seen on Slashdot."

    4. Re:Wireless Engineer by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 1

      "I think anyone who calls themselves a "wireless engineer" should be able to figure out how to put an N connector on an Airport. Unless you mean "engineer" in the "sanitation engineer" sense."

      Psst, this is an Apple product we're talking about. Titles like engineer are decorative. ;)

    5. Re:Wireless Engineer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone who's never studied engineering yet calls himself an engineer and does nothing except plugging in computer equipment should be beaten to death.

    6. Re:Wireless Engineer by zod1025 · · Score: 1
      Engineer & Style are mutualle exclusive - always have been - always will.... ie: if style matters to you, you are by NO MEANS an engineer.

      Bzzt. Let's have a look at Architecture, for example... style and engineering are equally important.

      I award you no points.

      --

      -ZOD-
    7. Re:Wireless Engineer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An Architect is not a Structural/Civil/Mechanical/Hydrolic Engineer. They interact with them. There's no such thing as an Architectural Engineer???!!!

  10. Ateml AVR's are Trouble - Stay Away by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    AVR's are buggy and soon to be obsolete microcontrollers. Invest in Microchip PICMicros (TM) instead.

    Advantages of PICMicro(TM):

    *True RISC Design. Only 35 instructions to Learn!
    *20ma drive current per I/O pin
    *40 Mhz operation (PIC18xxx, Using 4x PLL multiplier)
    *Simplist In-Circuit Programming in the industry

    Disadvantages of Atmel AVR(TM)

    *Based on obsolete pseudo-RISC design
    *Only 32 registers
    *Badly Implemented Peripherials (ADC is slow and innaccurate, and EEPROM loses contents often)
    *fragile - easily destroyed by ESD
    *Poorly supported.

    Don't Delay, Learn PICs (TM) Today!

    PIC(TM) and PICMicro(TM) are registed trademarks of Microchip Technology

    1. Re:Ateml AVR's are Trouble - Stay Away by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      SEND PICS!!!!

    2. Re:Ateml AVR's are Trouble - Stay Away by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      Dear, Sir youre posting on Slashdot. The idiots here wouldn't know what a microcontroller is even if it was running Linux. And you misspelled Atmel in your subject. Go back to troll school. sincerely, my ass

  11. already /.'ed? by vertical_98 · · Score: 1

    I wanted to read the article, but I couldn't. One thing to note, Linksys has Airport-like connectors, that you can plug a NIC into and go wireless.


    Vertical

    --
    72 CD D7 52 D0 7E D8 47 44 91 D5 84 D1 59 F1 A9-This is my 128bit integer. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    1. Re:already /.'ed? by SHEENmaster · · Score: 2, Informative

      Here is a mirror. Apparently the cheap-ass version doesn't have such a connector.

      --
      You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
  12. fuck france! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Looks like two weeks of Marine "weapon inspectors" has done more than 10 years of UN pansies!

    1. Re:fuck france! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      If the objective is to kill innocent Iraqui citizens, then yes you are pefectly correct - Smashing Job!. But on the other hand if the objective is to find/destroy WMD then I think they are still even...

    2. Re:fuck france! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      non-innocent iraqi soldiers were killed in far, far more numbers than innocent iraqui citizens.

  13. some Airports have an antenna connection by green+pizza · · Score: 4, Informative

    Some of the newer Airports (AirPort Extreme perhaps) have an external antenna jack. There's even a company selling a matching external antenna, no drilling required.

    1. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by hypertex · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My Extreme base-station does not sport an external antenna connector. Upon internal inspection, the circuit board(s) have the same connector as the original tiBook Airport/Orinoco cards. So buy a pigtail, external antenna, drill the hole and plug it in.

    2. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by green+pizza · · Score: 1

      My Extreme base-station does not sport an external antenna connector

      Weird. Do you have the model with the USB port (print server) ?

    3. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by edspunky · · Score: 2, Informative

      man, why would you pay $100 for a 3.5 dBi antenna when you can get a 5 dBi antenna for $20 here? ok, so i understand cool matching looks, but there's a limit, especially when you can get so much more performance for less...

    4. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by hypertex · · Score: 1

      Yes, that's the main reason I bought it. But after several calls to Apple over the last 60 days it still doesn't work with my Epson Stylus Photo 820. IMHO they were thorough in their attempt to resolve the problem. It's too bad Epson won't update the driver for them. So Apple removed the 820 from the approved printer list.
      As for the base-station itself I opened it up and found a similar, not identical antenna to the one at the site. The metal case inside has a cable running from it to the dividing network and then onto the radiators. It's not a good idea to plug/unplug too often.

    5. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by hypertex · · Score: 1

      There's a place in the City of Industry here in soCal called COPSUSA that has all kinds of antennae, amplifiers, etc. No sign of a website, but you can probably 411 in the 626.

    6. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by Teese · · Score: 1

      Weird. Do you have the model with the USB port (print server) ?


      There are two airport extremes, one with a modem and an antenna port (for for 249) and one without the two (for 199). Which never made sense to me, I would think the user who wanted the antenna, would be the one who connected the airport to the LAN, and wouldn't ever use the modem.
      --
      "I'm a Genius!"*


      *Not an actual Genius
    7. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      " especially when you can get so much more performance for less... "

      Wait! I see a pattern!

    8. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      There are two airport extremes, one with a modem and an antenna port (for for 249) and one without the two (for 199). Which never made sense to me, I would think the user who wanted the antenna, would be the one who connected the airport to the LAN, and wouldn't ever use the modem.

      What if you're net connection is via dialup (so you need the modem), and you want clients to have a larger roaming area (so you need to antenna)? Seems like a likely scenario. Plus, having more available models would be more confusing to consumers (and more of a pain to distribute). Basically they're saying, "here's the feature-rich Airport Extreme, and here's a cheaper version with two features removed". Makes plenty of sense to me...

    9. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by rjstanford · · Score: 1
      There are two airport extremes, one with a modem and an antenna port (for for 249) and one without the two (for 199). Which never made sense to me, I would think the user who wanted the antenna, would be the one who connected the airport to the LAN, and wouldn't ever use the modem.
      You can use the modem to establish a dial-in connection to your network from the road. That's the reason that its on the higher-end models rather than the lower-end ones. Using it to dial out to connect to the internet would be unlikely.
      --
      You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
    10. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by Teese · · Score: 1

      Wow, I've never heard of this feature. Of course I didn't believe it when you first mentioned it (sorry:), but sure enough, this link describes it like you say. That's a pretty neat feature.

      --
      "I'm a Genius!"*


      *Not an actual Genius
    11. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 0, Troll

      Or you can get some here for £1.78 and get a free snack out of it ;)

      --
      Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
    12. Re:some Airports have an antenna connection by mosch · · Score: 1

      Ah, you bought the cheaper model then. the $200 one doesn't have the antenna port, the $250 one does.

  14. ...including the new airports (external jack) by green+pizza · · Score: 1

    Unforuntately clueless people will read it and assume that in order to use wireless they'll have to drill and void their warranty. The fact is there are plenty of other products for which none of that is necessary.

    My office got a shiny new "Airport Extreme" about two weeks ago. Not only does it have a built in print-server, but it also has an external antenna jack. I wonder how many Airports were returned to Apple service/repair with hole drilled in the sides before the company decided to spend the $0.07 to add an external jack...

    Anyone else find it odd that after 12 comments posted, both the main site and its mirror are slashdotted?

  15. Fo' Shizzle Mah Nizzle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Shouldn't "pansies" be spelt "panzies" you fucking American Yankee.

  16. YOU FAIL IT! by YOU+FAIL+IT! · · Score: -1
    Opera sucks! Thats why you have FAILED! Get a real browser, kid.

    YOU FAIL IT!

  17. Mirror of the Mirror? by green+pizza · · Score: 1

    Does anyone happen to have made a working mirror of this site yet? How many millions of hits does it take to knock down both a site and its mirror??

    1. Re:Mirror of the Mirror? by GigsVT · · Score: 3, Informative

      Mirror Be gentle.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    2. Re:Mirror of the Mirror? by caino59 · · Score: 1

      another for good measure.

      mirror

    3. Re:Mirror of the Mirror? by Oliver+Aaltonen · · Score: 0

      Might as well jump on the Please-Slashdot-My-Server-Kind-Sir bandwagon...

  18. So what exactly stops you from by happyhippy · · Score: 2, Funny

    being arrested every time someone sees you carrying that thing thinking its a bomb?

  19. Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i wish to commend the author on mirroring the site, for all those /.'ers that could not beat the rush to the site...

  20. This has to be a new record! by Dr_Cornholio · · Score: 2, Funny

    Both the original site and the mirror /.ed in under 30 minutes!

    --
    In Soviet Russia, the monkey spanks you!
    1. Re:This has to be a new record! by Skreech · · Score: 1

      Both the original site and the mirror /.ed in under 30 minutes!

      Heh! For sure you meant seconds.

      It makes me wonder if this whole thing about people not reading the articles is due to the frequency with which articles are /.ed. After a while, people get tired of trying. Not that that's a valid excuse. Nor would everyone do it, otherwise the /. effect wouldn't exist!

      So perhaps a response to "RTFA" could be "I'm saving their bandwidth by not reading the article." Donno.

      </offtopic>

  21. Re:...including the new airports (external jack) by ToadSprocket · · Score: 0

    Slow day today I guess. Maybe someone should triple post the IP header article again.
    Troll? FlameBait? Yeah maybe. Like I said... booooring.

    --


    If this article confuses you, don't worry. It was posted yesterday in a much clearer fashion.
  22. Wow... that's some mirror... by loucura! · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's so good, it even mirrors the slashdotted state of the original...

    --
    Black and grey are both shades of white.
    1. Re:Wow... that's some mirror... by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 4, Funny

      The mirror was slashdotted first.

      I know this because I immediately right clicked both links and made new windows. Then I realized: "I'm being an asshole..."

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
    2. Re:Wow... that's some mirror... by loucura! · · Score: 1

      So did I... are you my mom?

      --
      Black and grey are both shades of white.
  23. fuck oakland pd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    oakland pd are some fascist pigs. fuck those rubber bullet shooting swine.

    oh ya fuckc america, free speech until you get shot with some rubber bullets and tear gas...

  24. I'm highly suspicious... by Hanji · · Score: 1

    ...of any mirror with "Flakey" in it's URL...

    --
    A Minesweeper clone that doesn't suck
  25. I wish by mao+che+minh · · Score: 4, Funny
    "You're a wireless network engineer and you work on the run...."

    No I'm not, and I don't even want to get started down that path to fantasy. I'll just be depressed again when I open my eyes and realize that I'm still in this tiny office , with a job description that is nowhere near as exciting as "wireless network engineer".

    I go through these bouts of depression too much as it is with my constant, recurring, and haunting "you are a porn star that will be filming a scene with Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez....." day dreams.

    1. Re:I wish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I go through these bouts of depression too much as it is with my constant, recurring, and haunting "you are a porn star that will be filming a scene with Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez....." day dreams.

      Damn you. Well, I'm no good for the rest of the day!

  26. How can it be secured? by Mr.+Nigger · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    MICHAEL SIMMS: PORTRAIT OF A PSYCHOPATH
    "Mickey and Mallory know the difference between right and wrong. They just don't give a damn." - Steven Wright, Natural Born Killers.

    Michael Simms. Champion of the outcast teen. What has made him so sympathetic to the cause of the columbine killers? Why has this event seemingly resonated so deeply within him? Is Michael just sympathetic to the life of the modern teen? Or is there something more? Something insidious?

    These are the questions I've been asking myself as I've read Simms's obsessive columbine writings. These were the questions I was asking myself as I sat mesmerized by my Natalie Portman poster. Like a torrent of sudden rain, my spirit guides bombarded me with the heinous images of Michael's life. I was so disturbed I could barely bring myself to write this.

    Michael was born and raised in a small, southwestern town. His father, Carlito, was a Mexican immigrant who worked for the department of transportation, building highways. His mother, Juno, was a gypsy who earned money by performing card readings. The family made a comfortable living and Michael was a happy, outgoing child, who even contributed to the family income by cleaning dog excrement from the neighborhood sidewalks.

    Carlito was a hard-worker. In fact, he worked too hard. One particularly hot, sunny day, he was overcome with heat exhaustion. The incident had changed Carlito forever. The charming, jovial, caring Carlito became a vile, egomaniacal, misogynist. Carlito soon lost his job and spent the rest of his days lounging around the house.
    The first incident of abuse happened when Michael was but 6 years old. Juno had lured a Siamese cat into the house. She let the cat roam around until it was time for her to prepare it for the family's dinner. Michael had just come home from a long day of sidewalk cleaning. Carlito was lying on the couch with a 40 ounce Schlitz. The putrid stench of dog manure flooded the house as Michael closed the door. Carlito was roused from his wrestling match. Infuriated, he jumped off the couch, grabbing Juno's cat by the tail. Carlito stormed over to Michael, who had backed himself into a corner. Michael could do nothing but cry as Carlito severely beat him with the screeching cat.

    The more Michael cried, the more Carlito beat him. After fifteen minutes of abuse, Carlito plunged his hand into the stomach of the dead animal and gutted it right there in front of Michael. He ate the entrails and forced his stunned son to wear the pelt as a hat for the rest of the week.

    The beatings continued for a few more years, at a lesser severity until just after Michael's 10th birthday. Michael invited his friend Ron over to spend the night. Carlito would usually hide in the bedroom whenever anyone visited, so it was always a good way for Michael to escape the beatings. The boys had had fun roaming the neighborhood that evening, making castles with the dog excrement they found and then pretending to be giant monsters, from a Japanese science fiction movie, going on a rampage and smashing the castles. The boys played hard that night and went to bed early.

    But the boys could not sleep. Instead, they decided to play doctor and various other games. The laughter awakened Carlito. He stormed into the bedroom and flipped on the light. There, he beheld his son on all fours with his little friend mounting him from behind. The boys were playing "dog." Carlito lost control. He threw Ron out of the house, sending him walking home and picked Michael up by the feet.

    Carlito stormed outside, carrying his naked son by the feet. He rampaged throughout the neighborhood stopping any time he ran across a dog. Carlito would beat hapless animal to death, using his son as a club. Once again, he would plunge his hand into the dead animal, remove its organs and devour them. He then collected the pelt.

    After Carlito had slaughtered twenty dogs, he tied together all of the pelts into a make-shift body-suit for Michael. Exhausted, and with Michael b

  27. Mirror by nelf · · Score: 2, Informative
  28. For all the effort... by azav · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For all the effort to do this, it is worth it to pay the extra 50 (or so) bucks and get the Airport Extreme with the antenna jack.

    How much is your time worth after all?

    If it's not worth it then by all means, go ahead and drill.

    --
    - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
    1. Re:For all the effort... by hypertex · · Score: 1

      The antenna port on the base station is of proprietary design. In fact it is a required feature. One would still have to change out the internal jumper.

  29. flakey.info? by mattkime · · Score: 5, Funny

    does anyone else think its a bad idea to name a server "flakey"?

    --
    Know what I like about atheists? I've yet to meet one that believes God is on their side.
    1. Re:flakey.info? by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 1

      "does anyone else think its a bad idea to name a server "flakey"

      The place I used to work for did that. The product we sold was "Smoothmove'. The sysadmin, who had a sense of humor about it, named his servers Bran, Flake, Fiber, Psyullium, etc. Clearly scatological references, but he got away with them. Too bad I got busted when I named a server 'Butthead'.

    2. Re:flakey.info? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      does anyone else think its a bad idea to name a server "flakey"?

      No, not at all. In fact, I'm now thinking of renaming one of mine to that if another piece of hardware fails on it.

    3. Re:flakey.info? by lamp540 · · Score: 1

      Reverse psychology.

    4. Re:flakey.info? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congratulations captain subtle.

  30. US Laws? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Based on the laws in the US, and my understading (I am NAL), because of the part 15 the antennas are illegal because they have to be certified good by the FCC as well as the unit itself which has been modified from the original spec. Article talking about this for wireless ISPs, but the part 15 would still apply to individuals I believe. While it is unlikely that they would randomly come across you this is always a good deterent:

    Julius Knapp, FCC deputy chief of the office of engineering and technology, said the agency's policy isn't to punish, but to correct the system before it becomes a problem.

    "Generally, we try to correct the problem before we take any further steps," he said. "Of course, there are provisions for people who (continue to) violate Part-15 rules, with up to $11,000 in fines for first-time violations all the way up to $80,000 for repeated violations."


  31. Sorta, by SHEENmaster · · Score: 1

    but the term "Wireless Solutions Consultant" would be better fitting; after all you have first-hand experience to draw from.

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
    1. Re:Sorta, by essdee · · Score: 1

      Hmm, true. I hear consultants make good money, perhaps I could do that for a living.

  32. BITCHTITS, YOU ARE THE FAILURE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    you silly little sack of pathetic shit.

  33. Cool! by PrimeWaveZ · · Score: 1

    More ways for me to crash my car while wardriving and endanger pedestrian warchalkers...

  34. Another mirror to trash by nelf · · Score: 1
  35. I don't get it by g4dget · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Wireless network engineers on the run" generally use something like a PocketPC or Zaurus, together with a CF WIFI card and a collection of wireless and network tools. That's smaller than the AirPort, battery operated, and far more flexible.

  36. Where_IS_the built-in connector? by hypertex · · Score: 1

    Of the two types of Extrreme base-stations, one comes with an external connector as wella s a 56K modem. Where on the unit does the optional antenna connect?

  37. Hack wireless engineers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Actually, if a "wireless engineer" showed up with an Airport with a hole drilled in the top, I'd kick him out and tell him to get some real tools. Check out some of Fluke's stuff for starters, like the OptiView. Professional engineers use professional tools.

  38. Less wires=less bandwidth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Part of our policy is to cut down on wires, so until you get some better cross-atlantic wireless shenanigans sorted out, theres not a lot we can do...

  39. Link to airport extreme article by nelf · · Score: 1

    Theres a link on the page to an article on the airport extreme

  40. Style? Whatever. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Style is also important to you.


    Style? Real engineers don't give a f*ck about style. If it gets the job done, who cares how it looks?

  41. Style is also important to you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Style is also important to you

    Hrm. These must be Apple engineers.

  42. OoooooOhh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OoOooohhhhhh.... look at that sexy titanium powerbook in the drilling photo!

    I think i am going to cummmmm......

  43. blah by kwj8fty1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is a pointless /. story.

    1. First of all, this 'airport', is really just an RG1100 with a different cover. Sure, you can connect antennas to it. But it's not a "MAC Only" think it's a "Windows thing" that just so happens to have MAC OSX drivers. Google on rg1000 + linux/windows. You'll find several java config tools. Moron.

    2. Anyone who really has the title 'wireless network engineer' would know that building homebrew antennas just isn't worth the time. most of them end up sucking, and it's MUCH cheaper to just purchase one online.

    3. Anyone who cared about the FCC regs wouldn't do this.

    4. To do real LOS tests, you want antenna systems with known gain & radial patterns.

    5. You'll want kistmet, as some other posters highly under-rated posted.

    1. Re:blah by adelayde · · Score: 0

      > This is a pointless /. story.

      Thanks. Took a while to write it, it really did. I look forward to you writing something less pointless.

      > 1. First of all, this 'airport', is really just > an RG1100 with a different cover. Sure, you can > connect antennas to it. But it's not a "MAC
      > Only" think it's a "Windows thing" that just so > happens to have MAC OSX drivers. Google on
      > rg1000 + linux/windows. You'll find several java > config tools. Moron.

      Erm. Don't quite get you, where did all that come from? Yes there are tools for other platforms for it, but I have a sleak sexy PowerBook G4, so I don't need them, and it gets the girls.

      > 2. Anyone who really has the title 'wireless
      > network engineer' would know that building
      > homebrew antennas just isn't worth the time.
      > most of them end up sucking, and it's MUCH
      > cheaper to just purchase one online.

      Got money have you? Nah, it's more fun and more rewarding than just charging up the credit card once again. Also these 'homebrew' antennae work very well thank you very much, I am happy with them, certainly for this little 'experiment'. Though if of course someone has the cash for a pro job I'd buy lots of top price branded kit.

      BTW. I am a 'wireless network engineer' and have used this kit on several occasions to do real jobs, it's cool, it's for temporary fixed installs, so a Zaraus won't do the trick. But I do a lot of community and free stuff, just for the crack and/or because it's a good cause, and there isn't the money for the pro kit, also the homebrew stuff tends to go down well with ordinary non-wireless network engineer types, they like it, I like it, it gets the girls.

      > 3. Anyone who cared about the FCC regs wouldn't
      > do this.

      I don't. As you may have gathered, Barcelona is a city in SPAIN, not the UNITED STATES.

      > 4. To do real LOS tests, you want antenna
      > systems with known gain & radial patterns.

      Erm, okay, whatever, I like the homebrew stuff.

      > 5. You'll want kistmet, as some other posters
      > highly under-rated posted.

      Kismac, the version of this for Mac OS X is a bit flakey. Kismet didn't work very well, have several tools and plummed for Wavemon as it worked best. But yes, Kismet is pretty good.

    2. Re:blah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      my my you are a little grumpy - not shot down some of your own today ?
      I'm pretty sure the poster was not from the US so the FCC does not rule, but from a friendly coaltion country - ahh I suppose they could be shot down :-)

  44. whats wrong with pointing it at yourself? by Milkyman · · Score: 1

    or looking inside the cantena when its powered?

    1. Re:whats wrong with pointing it at yourself? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      2.4 ghz is microwave range. Microwaves + human retinas = blindness.

      It's directed energy at a frequency that can cause irrepairable harm. What's the power output on one of these, a watt? Probably not THAT dangerous, but still--you only get two eyes.

      JD

  45. ROFLLMAO the best part: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Always check the laws for radio transmissions in your country before publically broadcasting radio signals.

    so funny :) hehe

  46. ... and in other news, hell freezes over. by The+Fun+Guy · · Score: 1

    Brokaw: This just in, a recent Slashdot posting appears to have provided links to mirrors, reportedly within the posting itself. Is Slashdot finally taking responsibility for proactively avoiding the dreaded "Slashdot effect"? We turn to our Internet correspondent, Last Mile, for analysis. Last?

    Mile: Thanks, Tom. After a series of early morning explosions across the continental United States, in which unsuspecting webservers literally burst into flame following attempted access by over 45 million Slashdot readers, the spiritual head of Slashdot, who goes by the "Internet name" of Commander Taco, has apparently said, "Enough is enough."

    CmdrTaco: "Enough is enough."

    Mile: By approving a posting which provides multiple sites to serve the same webpage, a process known as a "load sharing" can prevent the kind of catstrophic overloading of webservers traditionally associated with having a link on Slashdot. Will this overloading, called "Slashdotting", become a thing of the past? Only time will tell. Back to you, Tom.

    Brokaw: Thanks, Last. Up next, XML: is it as good, or as bad, as it's creators claim? Stay tuned.

    --
    The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. - Mark Twain
  47. Drug paraphenalia? by httpamphibio.us · · Score: 1

    Does that picture remind anyone else of drug paraphenalia? Looks like some sort of hookah, maybe a small bong on the left...

    --
    sig.
  48. Doh! who cares about US Laws!! by fantomas · · Score: 1

    umm, read the article. The article was written by a guy in Barcelona, Spain not USA.


    US laws don't apply in Spain (yet... is Spain with the US or against it?...). Fair comment to suggest people should check their national laws on microwave antennae but "Off Topic" to suggest a Spanish poster should be aware of US law.

  49. Homebrew antennas can be damaging by Fastolfe · · Score: 1

    Just another note on point #2: if you're going to build yourself an antenna (which is perfectly doable if the topic interests you), be sure you do it properly. A poorly made antenna, not tuned for the frequency you're transmitting on, can reflect much of the RF energy back into the transmitter. This has the effect of slowly frying the amplifier circuitry in your equipment. It's still worth it to experiment, if you're into experimentation, but if you're going to be doing this a lot, or many times, buy a SWR meter. Your equipment will thank you. (Generally a home-brew antenna is not a cheaper solution in the long run due to the shorter lifespan of transmitting equipment connected to poorly tuned antennas.)

    And for those that are interested in hacking things together in this regard, I recommend that you take a few hours to learn some basic RF theory and get yourself an amateur radio license. Depending on the license and your skills, you can hack together an 802.11-style solution on amateur bands and legally skirt many of the power restrictions these devices face (in exchange for other restrictions about how you can use it).

    1. Re:Homebrew antennas can be damaging by adelayde · · Score: 1

      Just a point on the durability of cantennae. Was involved in this wireless project posted to /. in the autumn and we used J&B Whiskey tins as cantennae. They were put up last June and are still up and working nearly a year later, with no signs of failure. They even survived one of the worst gales seen in the west of England for several years (100mph winds if I remember correctly!).

  50. Re:Homebrew antennas can be inefficient by Fastolfe · · Score: 1

    I didn't say this explicitly in my other comment, but there's an efficiency loss here too. If your antenna is reflecting a lot of the energy back into the transmitter, that's energy that isn't being pumped out into the ether. Build your antenna well, and your transmitting coverage area could increase dramatically over a similar, untuned antenna.

  51. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 0

    I do hate sums. There is no greater mistake than to call arithmetic an
    exact science. There are permutations and aberrations discernible to minds
    entirely noble like mine; subtle variations which ordinary accountants fail
    to discover; hidden laws of number which it requires a mind like mine to
    perceive. For instance, if you add a sum from the bottom up, and then again
    from the top down, the result is always different.
    -- Mrs. La Touche

    - this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...