So Cal Free Net.org

Today we installed the second node at the Barrio Logan Mercado site. Practice helps. With three of us working constantly, this installation took 3 hours to complete from start to finish and there's nothing left to do except notify nearby tenants that its available!

The equipment was the same as previous installs with the exception of the 802.11a antenna. Based on advice from the Seattle Wireless group, we decided to try the 5.8GHz Hyperlinktech backfire antenna. At $42 each, these are great value compared to the 5.2-5.8GHz panels we were using previously. And they come with nice mounting hardware that is adjustable on both axis. We're also hoping that they'll provide a bit more gain at 5.8GHz since they're only for that frequency.

Matt, Drew and I decided to spread some New Years cheer by getting a second node installed during this holiday week. It was largely a repeat of our first installation, except we had short clear line of sight to the main backhaul AP so there were no issues with mast mounting. We used the same short wall mount that we'd tried during our first install, but this time when we were done the signal was a respectable -66dBi (-98dBi noise) so we didn't need to raise the antenna at all.

Matt handled the rooftop mast mount and equipment mounting. Drew worked at ground level doing the cat-5 cable and groundwire routing and attachment. I did odd jobs and took pictures.

We used the same technique as last time. On the rooftop we ran the outdoor rated cat5 cable and 8 gauge copper ground wire inside 1/2 inch electrical PVC pipe. This keeps everything tidy and stops anyone tripping on the wires and also provides UV protection. Then we ran the wires down the drainpipe and at the bottom lightly buried the groundwire against the edge of the building on its route to the water pipe. The cat-5 cable was again gently wedged between the slab and building wall and then entered the utility closed at ground level by the door jamb.