Homemade EVDO/WiFi Mobile Access Point

Tamundson writes "Over the last few weeks I've built myself a mobile access point for my car. It's based on a Soekris net2421 embedded Linux box and uses Verizon's 1xRTT/EVDO network as its uplink, resharing it over 802.11b. Wherever my car goes, my Internet link goes! :) I finally put some webpages together on how I built it. The components are pretty cheap and anybody with basic Linux skills can build their own just as easily. I've also got it interfacing with Google Maps to do live vehicle tracking via gpsd. It also uploads pictures from an on-board webcam every five minutes or so."

Comments

Seems like a good prototype.

[Future Man 3000]

Get the cost down, and this would be an interesting way to integrate per-vehicle information (speed and congestion [via vehicle proximities/GPS]) with map information to get realtime data on the best route to work. Or figure out where the most interesting accidents are happening.

Re:Seems like a good prototype.

[Christopher Thomas]

Get the cost down, and this would be an interesting way to integrate per-vehicle information (speed and congestion [via vehicle proximities/GPS]) with map information to get realtime data on the best route to work.

I'm not sure how he'd get the cost down much further than it is already. He's using off the shelf parts at commodity prices. Building in quantity-100 might shave off 30% or so, but even fabbing your own integrated board with all widgets on it in quantity-1000 would only get to about half the current price.

Custom IC would get it down further, but that would take quantity-silly :).

Re:I can't even begin to tell you....

[Tugrik]

Funny thing is that I'm exactly the same way. I've done dozens of little projects, sometimes right through completion, and by the time I put up some web page about it I find out it was last month's geek press.

I know of about 5 others (two in my area) who are making similar devices... so I'm still surprised I was the first one to get pages about such a project on /. .

How far have you gotten on yours, if you're working on the same kind of project? What else have you made yours do?

Re:It'll crawl!

[manitoulinnerd]

Oh how broadband has spoiled you.

Once upon a time, before I left home, I had dialup internet. Unfortunatly my ISP was some government funded one so equipment upgrades were not really their thing.

We had a 32Kb/s internet connection. I say we because by brother and I shared this dialup connection over our home network. Now yes it was not speedy but with a good IM to keep you company it was quite useable. Image intensive pages took a little to load but we survived.

Updateing windows and downloading linux ISOs were a problem though. ;)

My point is that for his uses it is good enough. I am sure he is open to suggestions to speed it up though.

Re:Why is it...

[Anonymous Coward]

as soon as a car autopilot drives better than the average driver

which is not that hard. hell tying the wheel to point straight and setting the cruise control at the speedlimit does better than the average driver.

Nice!

[Jozer99]

He could make some money off of this if he wanted. Silk screen a logo on his car, and set up a paypal based payment system, and he could rent the thing out to functions. Forget the car, put it all in one box, plug it into the wall at your outdoor wedding, and voila, Uncle Mirv can be there by webcam! Either that, or he could be nice, and get rid of the WEP, and drive around giving free (although brief) highspeed internet access to the masses.