On Jun 1, 2016, at 12:28 PM, Rob Janssen <pe1chl(a)amsat.org> wrote: (Please trim inclusions from previous messages) _______________________________________________ Where are you located? Most important (unless you want to build a set of portable nodes that you can all deploy yourself during an emergency) is to have others to link to. So you need to check what others are doing in your area, to be compatible with the systems they use. In the old days, everyone built their own modems and sometimes even radios, and connected them to general purpose computers running special software. However, today you can buy ready wireless link and routing equipment from manufacturers like MikroTik and Ubiquiti for prices much below what we spent on homebrew equipment, and if you wish you can build an IP network by just plugging those together and do basic routing and linking configuration. Others have taken existing hardware from Linksys and those same two and replaced the firmware with own developments that e.g. go beyond the point-to-point linking by offering automatic routing in a mesh configuration. This may be more convenient in a temporary deployment during an emergency, but the point-to-point range of such a system is less than with directed links using dish antennas. Rob _________________________________________ 44Net mailing list 44Net(a)hamradio.ucsd.edu http://hamradio.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/44net