So Cal Free Net.org

Our intrepid band of volunteers really pulled through today with the most complex single-day install we've ever accomplished!

For starters, there was the common room that become a computer lab. Then there was the dual node installation of a main AP and a second rooftop repeater AP. These were all driven by a newly installed router, firewall and captive portal box (a soekris box running m0n0wall). Many, many thanks to all of you, both the regulars and the newcomers. With one less person, it would have been hard to finish in one day.

Things that went well

Feeding the ground wire down the downpipe is usually simple, but this downspout had some kinks in it. So we used a 'fish tape' by threading it up the pipe from the ground and then pulling the ground wire back down.

This water pipe and adjacent downspout provided the perfect destination and route for the grounding wire.

The main AP at Golden Villa is a Netgate HS3000 mounted on a 1" pole with a SuperPass downtilt omni antenna. Not fully secured yet is the the bronze ground wire and PoE/ethernet cable.

Blurry picture, but this shows the Soekris 4501 running m0n0wall and the cable modem. The white cable is the WAN port, yellow goes to the wireless AP and waiting to be connected is the local LAN cable for this computer.

The Golden Villas computer lab after Joe and Dave had finished for the day. As well as working their magic on the machines, they also rearranged the room furniture. All six computers run from a single D-Link wireless to ethernet bridge.

As usual, it was starting to get dark by the time we finished the installation. The moon in the background makes the AP look so much better :-).

Socalfreenet members Drew and Mike work on the power source for the repeater AP. There was an existing outdoor outlet, but we needed a waterproof place to put the PoE injector and plugpack. Also, because this is accessible to children, we wanted to be sure that all cables were hidden from prying eyes. The bottom empty box will hold the PoE and a cover will go on the outlets with metal conduit to the box.

The community room before the installation of the computer lab.

Here are the steps taken to program monowall for use at Golden Villas apartments with a Soekris 4501 box. Read the Network Configuration in conjunction with this guide.

The latest version of m0n0wall available was used, 1.2b3. It was configured as follows.