These routers can be found for as little as $30 (there is a hardware compatability list that should be referenced) and the firmware installation is painless with an easy to follow tutorial that lives on the main site.
In short, the firmware is based on "open-WRT" and has had a "MESH" layer added to it that gives the "magic" that makes it work. Except for changing the Node name to include your callsign, there is little else to be done ...the moment any of these "modified" routers come within range, they will automatically connect to each other.
So, that doesn't sound much different than a regular wireless network ....but it is!!
What sets a Mesh aside is the auto-traffic routing that it performs. The routers automatically take the most effective path to its destination and should any router fail, the mesh survives as it re-directs to the nodes still online. So, in the end, the more stations in range the better!!
These same routers have removeable antennas with RP-TNC connections that allow for higher gain or directional antennas to be used! So the creativity can pour forth into the metal wands we stick in to the air.
Sounds great ...but, are there drawbacks? YES, the bugger is that, with 2.4 GHz signals, it is VERY important to have a direct line-of-site between nodes. So, terrain plotting programs (i.e., Splat, Radio Mobile, etc.) were used to determine if paths existed between different QTHs. This helped with determining where the terrain prevented a path and where directional antennas should be used, but it does NOT take into account foliage, condos, etc, so it is only used as a guide.
York Region, north of Toronto, is a large geographically diverse area of over 2,100 sq. Km., slightly larger than the country of Israel! Our Club is centrally located in the Newmarket/Aurora area in an undulating bowl completely cut off from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) due to the Oak Ridges Moraine (it would be great to put a site up on the top of the Moraine to help bridge the region). My QTH is further removed, within the Holland Marsh, and I'm eagerly awaiting a viable link to point my Yagi's at!
MESH routers can be built into an enclosure and mounted up on your tower. Power can be passed through an ethernet cable using Power-Over-Ethernet (POE) breakout cables ...or power can be run directly from batteries or solar panels via a small charge controller.
In true Amateur fashion, there are folks repurposing old digital satellite dishs for use on their systems. It takes a bit more work to make sure the focal point is set, but there are lots of web references to assist. As well, the DIY'er can play with Cantenna's and Pringle's cans to see what luck they have.
The routers will only talk
to each other, so don't expect to connect to them with your
laptop/smartphone, though you can still see their SSID name. The easiest
way to connect is to plug your LAN cable in to the router. This does
offer some security from the conventional user.
At our recent Hamfest, I was
able to cludge together a demo that consisted of a few updated routers
and Raspberry Pi's running USB webcams. It's all eye-candy, but it
demonstrated some of the basic functions to be explored. You can run a
FTP server, which is a simple way to exchange/retrieve files during
deployments (emergency or event based). There's also the ability to
have text based "IRC chatrooms" where everyone can share information
...and there's work underway on VOIP-type software as well. Really,
just about anything you can do on your home/Internet network can be done
on the HSMM-MESH network. The routers allow port forwarding as well as
"advertised services" assignment. So a basic functioning webpage can be
built on each router that could link to ftp servers, imagery, etc....
Sites of interest: Main site - http://hsmm-mesh.org/
Google Map of HSMM nodes - http://www.hsmm-mesh.org/googlemapped-mesh-nodes.html
General Info - http://www.n5oom.org/hsmm/
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