Bill Nash wrote: > = > Ummmm, we used the plans linked from the various slashdot pieces about > them. The most effort required was building the waveguide, and the hard= est > part there was just finding aluminum tubing. We wound up scavenging fro= m a > roof mounted TV antenna. We aren't sure who it belonged to, though. It'= s > funny how things work out when you're just wandering around with clippe= rs > in your hand. The rest of the wave guide is just a five inch piece of a= ll > thread, with some washers. Home Depot carries them. Make sure the washe= rs > you select FIT on the allthread before you leave the store. Don't ask i= f > we made a second trip. Don't ask what my drill bits are made of, either= =2E > Locking nuts on either end of the allthread keep it together. > = > Keep in mind, this project was pulled off by hooligans for whom power > tools are verboten. Had wife/girlfriend figures known what we had been = up > to, this would never have been written. Just for less pain, I recommend= > picking up two cans for each antenna you're planning to build. One, in > case you screw up. Two, the extra lid, minus about 2mm of it's outer ed= ge > (accomplished with simple scissors) is perfect for the inside end of th= e > waveguide. And if you like Pringles, you get more. > = > We cut some schedule 40 PVC for our mounting apparatus, which worked ou= t > pretty well. Using a length about six inches longer than the pringles c= an, > we cut the PVC in half, except for that last six inches. We set the can= > into the slot, hot glued it in, and then drilled the still-whole part > through so we could side mount a u-bolt onto it. (Hint, drill those hol= es > on the same axis on which you cut the pipe in half.) If you're not > mounting it, this still leaves you with a good handle with which to tes= t > for RF burns on your friends (joke, I swear.) > = > The important part to remember about the hot glue, especially in AZ, is= to > make sure that when you mount it, the PVC is on the underside. Running = a > ring of hot glue around the can like a rubber band helped, too. Our fir= st > go around, we suffered dramatic signal loss when one of the cans took a= > dive off the mount. Oops. We picked up some female N connectors at Fry'= s, > for installing the load into the can (By the by, proper measurements us= ing > a can of plain pringles has your load hole going in right about where i= t > says Sodium on the list of things that will kill you if you eat the > chips.) Ideally, the copper load should be just behind the end of the > waveguide. > = > When it came down to the WEP11's, oh man, now there was an adventure. T= hey > use the RTNC connectors for the antennae they sport, which you cannot f= ind > locally. Well, stock ones do. Both of mine now have one RTNC, and one B= NC > connector. The firmware allows you to turn one antenna off, which we di= d, > since we didn't need indoor access on these APs. No point in confusing = the > little PC card any more than we already were. Figuring out how to get > those slick little blue cases open was fun. I dremel'd one like a jigsa= w > because I was too geeky to just yank on the front. That and I love > dremelling things. > = > We picked up the RG6 after we discovered Rg58 just wasn't up to the tas= k. > With our 50 foot RG58 runs, we were losing so much of the signal that > we got about 20 feet of signal out through the can. I probably could ha= ve > done the math on this had I known better, but hey, getting there is hal= f > the fun. I could have done without the repeat attic crawls, though. We > crimped BNC on one end, and used twist on/soldered load N connectors fo= r > the Can connection. Fry's poor selection dictated our choices, there. T= hat > and every other electronics place in town, from Greybar on through the > yellow pages doesn't carry RTNC. You have to order them, usually from s= ome > Ampenol distributer. We were in a hurry, so this wasn't an option. > = > The drawback to RG6 is that it's about a buck a foot, and about a pound= a > foot, now that I think on it. It's about half an inch thick or so, too,= > and gets VERY pliable under the sun. Caveat emptor. > = > We grabbed a couple of tripods and six foot masts from Fry's, as well. > When all was said and done, we had only a couple milliseconds of latenc= y > at full speeds, and since one of the cans was Sour Cream and Onions, so= me > really wierd gas. The cans took the summer heat pretty well for a coupl= e > of weeks. The cool thing about pringles cans is that new ones are cheap= , > and once you build the waveguides and assemble other parts, you can kee= p > them in a drawer for when you need fast temporary link-ups. > = > - billn Bill, You need to document this in a web page with drawings and pictures. = Keep the same sense of humor. One question - how did the Pringles can hold up to the rain? I'm sure the Pringles would hold up well with all the preservatives, but what about the cardboard? I have a sinkhole in my yard from the rain - I'm wondering about the cantenna. George -- = Discover . . . | Free Computer Security Information <=B7=B7=B7> Secure | http://www.georgetoft.com/security Networking | = @http://georgetoft.com | Lock your box - keep your affairs private!