Along the Colorado front range, there has been sporadic mesh activity over the years using the Linksys WRTs. Most of the current known RF activity has shifted to using the Ubiquiti products on 13 cm, utilizing channels -1 and -2 at 5 MHz bandwidth and using the default AREDN SSID. So, if you live along the front range of Colorado, and want to setup a mesh node, then you might want to set your Ubiquiti node accordingly.
There is an active RF-only group operating in the Boulder area. There is a node at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) that provides nice coverage for those in the Boulder to Longmont area. It is currently on channel -2 at 5 MHz bandwidth and uses the default AREDN SSID. Most of the participating nodes have MeshChat and HamChat installed, so you can connect and leave messages.
There is some activity in the Douglas and Elbert County area, south of Denver. Most folks have been connected using the tunneling feature, as there isn't currently a mesh node located at a high location for folks to connect to via RF. I currently have a node in Castle Rock on channel -2 at 5 MHz bandwidth, using the AREDN SSID, and it is tied into the tunnel, as well. It is on a Yagi at the moment, aimed northwest, but if anyone in the Castle Rock or Parker area wants to try a connection, I can move the antenna in their direction.
Since we have some challenging terrain in Colorado for microwave signals, we are always looking for more nodes to get on the air. The more nodes there are, the better the chance that we have of covering a larger geographic area and getting to folks who are situated in more challenging areas.
73,
Gary
WB5PJB
Castle Rock, CO
You are here
Known activity
Sat, 08/27/2016 - 12:10
#1
Known activity
Theme by Danetsoft and Danang Probo Sayekti inspired by Maksimer
I'm contemplating the purchase of some equipment for AREDN to use in the Fort Collins/Loveland area. Is everything around here on the 2.4 GHz band? It would be a shame to buy gear on other bands and find myself unwittingly isolated from the rest of you!
73,
Gary
WB5PJB
Castle Rock, CO
Off to Amazon. :-) I already have an old Nanostation but it's apparently too old and refused the firmware update for AREDN. Insufficient space.
We only support the "M" models...
73,
Gary, WB5PJB
There are many channels above ch 165 in 5Ghz that are clear sailing. WISP operators aren't licensed to use this space today.
Joe AE6XE
73,
Gary WB5PJB
Also, W0ARP is up and running with a node in Elbert County. Wayne can get into the Silver Heights node with an AirGrid at about 30 feet.
73,
Gary
WB5PJB
Gary and others,
I did not see any nodes shown in the Denver area on the AREDN map, but it sounds like you have some in place. I have recently moved into the area and am interested in seeing if I can establish a node at my location in Littleton. Any suggestions on equipment would be appreciated. I have fiddled with the WRT54Gs in the past using BBHN, but AREDN seems like a more structured approach.
Best Regards,
Kevin
KK4JZS
At the current time, there are two nodes on with omnidirectional antennas - one in Boulder at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and one in Castle Rock, right off I-25 and Hwy. 86. From Littleton, you would not be able to get into the Castle Rock node due to a lot of rock and dirt blocking the path. Depending on where you are in Littleton, you might have a shot at the Boulder node.
There are about a dozen active mesh participants in the Denver area that I know of, and probably quite a few more who are interested but haven't put up a node yet. Maybe some see a blank map for Colorado and assume there is no activity, so they don't want to put up a node if no one is around to connect with, hi. But, it all has to start somewhere, so if you can get a node on the air in Littleton, then that would be great.
The good ol' blue Linksys WRTs are no longer the preferred choice. Most folks are using Ubiquiti products with the AREDN firmware installed. Night and day difference from the old Linksys days. There are hardware options for 2.4, 3 and 5 GHz. Locally, so far all the known activity is on 2.4 GHz, or actually, a little below that in frequency on what is labeled as Channel -2 on the AREDN firmware. That gets us out of the horrific QRM that exists in the standard 2.4 GHz WiFi frequencies that every neighbor around you is likely using. Getting the ability to go lower in frequency, and still be in our allocated ham band, has been a godsend for mesh activity in the 2.4 GHz area. Anyway, if you look at the Supported Platform Matrix under the Software section of this website, and then look under the 2.4 GHz column of the matrix, all the products that have a green background are good to go for accepting the AREDN firmware. For a main node at your QTH, you probably are NOT going to want to use an Air Router, NanoStation Loco or PicoStation, as those are more on the short range side. Among the other hardware options, it then depends on what your goal is and your particular environmental conditions at the QTH. If you want an omnidirectional station, then the Bullet M2 HP with an Omni antenna that has a female N connector is one popular choice, or you can get a little more sophisticated with a Rocket and a Ubiquiti MIMO Omni antenna. If you want to try and get into the NCAR node, then you might need a directional antenna which could be an AirGrid or NanoBridge (complete self-contained units) or a Bullet, NanoStation, or Rocket with an assortment of antenna options. The NanoStation is self-contained, but you can get third party dishes for them. So, there are quite a few options to choose from. I am sure some on the forums here have their favorites and can offer suggestions about what has worked well for them.
If you want to discuss local specifics, please feel free to email me at my call sign @gmail.com and we can go from there.
Thanks, Kevin.
73,
Gary
WB5PJB