Mapping Hacks

Why You Can’t Watch Broadcast TV #18

Chapter 2, Mapping Your Neighborhood

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HACK

Warning, Traffic Ahead!

If you don’t have lots of spare time, simply wardriving your commute can

show you the networks on your route. You can vary your route sometimes,

in order to cover a wider distance. Even covering the same area repeatedly is

useful for picking up signals that are missed the first time or are very faint.

Wardriving can become a bit of an obsession. To maximize your coverage,

print out the Wi-Fi maps of your areas and take them with you. Mark the

roads you travel on, and drive through populated intersections a couple of

times—this will improve the quality of your collected data. A good source

for other wardriving tips and tricks can be found at http://wardrive.net/.

Please pay attention to the road, to pedestrians, and to other types of haz-

ards! Wardriving can be loads of fun, but make sure you enjoy it in a safe

and productive way.

—Drew from Zhrodague

HACK

#18

Why You Can’t Watch Broadcast TV Hack #18

Find out why radio and TV reception can be poor, even if you’re near a

broadcast tower.

Do not adjust your set! Fiddling with that dial may do your crackly recep-

tion no good at all. Much like Wi-Fi, broadcast television signals need a

clear line of sight for transmission and can be blocked by hills or other large

obstructions. In this hack, we’ll use a free software application for *NIX

called SPLAT! ...