Building Wireless Community Networks, Second Edition

Hardware Requirements

The total cost of your project is largely dependent on your project goals and how much work you’re willing to do for yourself. While you can certainly spend tens of thousands on outdoor, ISP-class equipment, you may find that you can save money (and get more satisfaction) building similar functionality yourself, from cheaper off-the-shelf hardware.

If you simply want to connect your laptop to someone else’s 802.11b network, you’ll need only a client card and driver software (at this point, compatible cards cost between $30 and $100). Like most equipment, the price typically goes up with added features, such as an external antenna connector, higher output power, a more sensitive radio, and the usual bells and whistles. Once you select a card, find out what the network settings are for the network you want to connect to and hop on. If you need more range, a small omnidirectional antenna (typically $50-$100) can significantly extend the roaming range of your laptop.

If you want to provide wireless network access to other people, you’ll need an access point (AP). This has become something of a loaded term, and can refer to anything from a low-end “residential gateway” class box (about $100) to high-end, commercial quality, multi-radio equipment ($1000+). They are typically small, standalone boxes that contain at least one radio and another network connection (such as Ethernet or a dialup modem). For the rest of this book, we’ll use the term “access point” (or the ...