If cost is their issue, consider revising your plan. I have found that festivals and things like farmers markets are a wonderful place to market. I have a trailer set up with a solar panel that keeps a deep cycle battery charged. I can put it in place then push up a fiberglass pole to connect to one of our tower assets. I then have an AP inside the trailer. It works for quite a radius around the setup. The side of the trailer says "Awe Solar Unit" and has a stylized sun. The green mileage I get just from that is noticeable.
If you just set it up at some location at the festival, it would be popular and appreciated by a certain subset of revelers. The locals will take note and it puts your name out there with them in a sort of gee wiz way. Cheap, effective marketing. Friendly Regards, Mike -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Charles Hooper Sent: Monday, April 19, 2010 9:51 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Internet for festival: Laptop/PDA signal strength? Ahh, I emailed the organizers about a week ago. I just heard back a moment ago; they don't "need" it so it's not something they want to deal with. Bummer! :-\ Thank you everyone for your suggestions! jp wrote: > I would suggest checking with the organizers to see if they want > basic/free/cheap or really nice with cost. They may have big dreams and > will seek a way to make it happen in conjuction with you for reasonable > money. I don't do free festivals or events. I give away enough every > month to regular nonprofits and other trade arrangements, I don't need > to get distracted by big events for free when I should be taking care of > local paying customers. > > While you might be doing them a great favor to provide something for > free, Internet might be a very very important thing to them and the > sponsors/vendors and they might want to make it a priority for the sake > of commerce and community development. National sponsors wouldn't bat an > eyelash at an elaborate broadband improvement for the festival. > > If they go for the latter, you might get paid to install year round > infrastructure throughout the area, and gain year round customers. And > they wouldn't have to rethink/upgrade Internet again the next year and > the next. You might also make nicer relationships with repeater site > owners if the impetus is to prepare for the festival more so than > strictly business profit. > > > On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 10:02:00AM -0400, Charles Hooper wrote: > >> Oh yeah, I'm doing this for free. I don't really have any hardware other >> than a Bullet with an omni that a friend gave me. I planned on buying >> some equipment and I don't mind, provided I can use it for other >> projects after this one, but I'd like to keep the budget under $300 (if >> that's laughable, do let me know!) >> >> My thoughts were to use NS5Ls for the backhaul and up to three >> well-placed 2.4 Bullets w/ omnis, but the fewer the better. >> >> >> Josh Luthman wrote: >> >>> Nanos would be cheaper then MT wouldn't it? >>> >>> On 4/17/10, Mike <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> >>>> Marlon's idea is good. Put a high 5.8 omni at the crossroads. Put some 5.8 >>>> cpe at a few different places with 2.4 low power radios connected to them. >>>> A P2P to the crossroads system from your demark would complete the system. >>>> >>>> You could do it with Deliberant radios, or Mikrotik quite easily. >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On >>>> Behalf Of Marlon K. Schafer >>>> Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2010 7:08 PM >>>> To: WISPA General List >>>> Subject: Re: [WISPA] Internet for festival: Laptop/PDA signal strength? >>>> >>>> I use a 24dB grid for a project like this. We can get to a laptop (in >>>> open air) about a mile away this way ;-). It's pretty cool. >>>> >>>> You'd never be able to handle the volume that way though. >>>> >>>> I'd probably try to go with REALLY low powered omni or sectors with a LOT of >>>> >>>> them. 5 gig 802.11 a and b/g. I'd also run a 5 gig system over the top of >>>> it for backhaul. >>>> >>>> Unless you are doing this for free. Then put in what you've got that's >>>> cheap and go from there. >>>> marlon >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> From: "Charles Hooper" <[email protected]> >>>> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> >>>> Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2010 11:27 AM >>>> Subject: [WISPA] Internet for festival: Laptop/PDA signal strength? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> Hi, >>>>> >>>>> Every year in July we have a fairly large, 3-day festival in town with >>>>> over 100 vendors and over 300,000 visitors. I'm teaming up with a local >>>>> non-profit that I'm involved with to try to provide Internet access to >>>>> those vendors, as well as any of those 300,000 people with >>>>> smartphones/PDAs who feel the need to get online. Essentially, the area >>>>> I want to cover is in green on this map (plus the pier): >>>>> >>>>> http://sailfest.org/images/page/sailfest2009_event_guide.gif >>>>> >>>>> For a sense of scale, those green sections are only about 400 feet long >>>>> and are (mostly) flat and the buildings around them are made of brick. >>>>> There will be tents and stands all along the street. This is one of the >>>>> areas: >>>>> >>>>> http://sailfest.org/images/page/vendorarea_03.jpg >>>>> >>>>> If I put a Ubiquiti bullet in that intersection of the green area with >>>>> an omnidirectional antenna, I have very little doubt that its signal >>>>> will get wherever it needs to go, but will people's laptops and PDAs >>>>> have a problem with connections at that range? Or should I put a >>>>> repeater halfway down those streets, or even for this use case use a >>>>> Mesh network design? >>>>> >>>>> Thanks in advance, >>>>> Charles >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> ---- >>>> >>>> >>>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> ---- >>>> >>>> >>>>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >>>>> >>>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>>> >>>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>>> >>>>> >>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> ---- >>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> ---- >>>> >>>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >>>> >>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>> >>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- >>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- >>>> >>>> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >>>> >>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>> >>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> http://signup.wispa.org/ >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- >> >> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] >> >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
