Thanks to Andre, K6AH who is presenting at Hamcon 2017 in Torrance, CA, we've been granted a meeting space at Hamcon. We have a conference room on Saturday afternoon September 16th. We'll hold a BOF ("Birds Of a Feather") session that afternoon for all interested meshers. I encourage you to consider attending Hamcon for both Andre's presentation and an opportunity for some face to face time with your fellow meshers!
Because we have the room all afternoon, I'd like to develop a schedule and publish it ahead of time to make sure we're able to fully utilize the space.
Content TBD - we're soliciting ideas that this time. Some possibilities:
- Training/how-to sessions - we could have a number of brand-new users or interested hams as a result of Andre's presentation.
- Q&A session
- Linking discussions (backbone buildout)
- Regional breakout sessions: SoCal, NorCal, AZ, NV - whatever makes sense - to discuss regionally-specific issues.
Comments/suggestions/ideas, please!
Orv
Orv,
I had not responded to your request for comments because I thought that I would be out of town this weekend, BUT my plans have changed and I can attend the Torrance Hamcon. I like the idea of having a hands on workshop on Saturday afternoon. The purpose of the hands on workshop is to show prospective users how to start with a couple of factory Ubiquity units and end up with a functional mesh network. I can bring three 2.4 ghz nodes: a Bullet, a NSM2 and an NSML2. I can also bring some VOIP ATAs, a web cam and an Airgateway. I can revert the nodes to the factory firmware while Andre is giving his presentation, then we can install the AREDN firmware, familiarize the users with the admin interface, and if time permits, set up VOIP and web cam services.
I also like the idea of having regional breakout sessions after we do the hands on workshop. I have found that due to line of sight, fresnel zone and vegetation, setting up a mesh network is not a trivial exercise; when we have set up mesh networks in the desert or the mountains to support ultra marathons and navigation exercises, there is a lot of trial and error in finding suitable locations for nodes. I'd like to discuss the possibility of periodic EMCOMM drills with mesh, just like we do with our periodic ARES voice and packet network drills.
Let me know if this fits in with what you and Andre have planned.
Russ
KI6MLU
Orv
W6BI