2004 Henley Beach (Macfox)

Macfox's Wireless setup

Hi, below is just a few shots of my pet project, connecting to Air-Stream's Adelaide based wireless network.

Aim
1. Establish a link to the Air-stream network via a link to the "Air-Stream-Skye" access point, situated below Mt Lofty
2. Provide access to Air-Stream to interested locals via a local access point.

The Begining
Initial attempts to connect other Air-Stream network proved difficult due to the distance (>17km) and pine trees lining the street. Using ministumbler on an IPAQ 3870 and an Orinoco Gold card connected to a 25dB connifer would discover various APs, but associating was almost impossible.

I purchased a 1 Watt Longreach amp from Ebay along with a 5M run of Helix for a helpful Air-Stream member (Rayman).

Using the amp it was possible to associate, but data transfers were limited to 1Mbit. Best data transfer reached were around the 80-100KB/s via FTP, which was more respectable.

I purchased three Minitar 802.11b access points and RPSMA pigtails via a bulk buy organised through the Air-Stream forums. These then replaced the IPAQ for a more permanent solution.

The Long reach amp was supplied with a DC injector which removed the need to run power to the top of the mast for the amp. The Longreach amp comes in a weather proof housing and only features two external LED's and two external female N connectors. It's very robust, and designed for commercial installations.

With the amp connect directly to the antennas fly lead and secured to the top of the mast, the 5M of helix was long enough to ensure the DC injector and APs could remain in the roof cavity, out of the weather.

This setup proved very successful and I ran with this for over 3 months. Not being happy with the data transfer rates, I decided I would need to drastically change my setup. This is were this project takes off.

The Box

While some of the weather proofing may seem to be a little over the top, this was necessary due to the close proximity to the beach, only 300m away.


Standard weather proof box from AZtronics with grommets and PCB mounts.
The PCB mount are those commonly found on PC motherboards.
The box has a rubber bead to seal the box tight.


U-bolt attached. Three nuts on each side. Two inside/Two outside to lock U-bolt into place.


Similar installations have used RJ45 sockets for connecting the Ethernet and power (POE). However in this instance, I was concerned about harsh conditions, particularly the corrosive nature of the sea air. I doubt these connectors are design for external use. Instead I chose to run all grommets and terminated the cables inside the box.


The two minitar APs were stripped down to save and space and give better ventilation. Unfortunately the Minitar AP have an internal regulator, which does generate some heat.
The 1st Minitar is for the link to the Air-Stream network, the 2nd is to provide local access to Air-Stream and my internet connection.


As the DC injector was not being used in this install, it was necessary to run power to the Longreach amp. A grommet was installed on weather proof housing for the power (12v 1A)

A small junction box was setup as there was not enough room in the AP box. Power is split tothe amp and the two APs.

The Mast

As the house had a tiled roof. Installation of a mast was relatively straight forward.

Lead sheeting makes water proofing much easier.

The complete mast setup. Amp is facing down to minimise weathering.
A 5dB omni was installed on the top to improve the performance of the local access AP.

Inside the roof cavety. A PC powersupply was chosen for it was the cheapest regulated powersupply over 2Amps