W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014

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1 W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version: April 5, 2014 Author: Paul Smith ND4X Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

2 For the last few years the Paducah Amateur Radio Association (PARA) has had excellent HF radio equipment, computers, and most importantly club members showing up to operate the radios and assist in any way they can. The one issue we have been facing however is a reliable wireless network, to link the logging computers (N1MM software) together in a 100% reliable manner. Because we have been operating from within a DES communications bus, an RV and a public pavilion, all spread out over a local park, we were taking normal wireless cards past the limits of their normal ranges. So this year, for the 2014 Field Day event, PARA decided to tackle this hurdle, with an improved wireless network plan. The RV has always been in the center of the operating area, so we decided to place an external omni directional vertical antenna there, and use high gain directional antennas at the other two locations, pointing back to the RV and the omni directional antenna. Ed, AB4IQ built the omni directional antenna for the RV. The beam antennas are commercial units manufactured by MFJ and are model MFJ The Model MFJ 1800 is a 2.4GHz Wi Fi antenna made for b and g wireless networks, providing 15 DBi gain with 16 elements. Now that we came up with an antenna solution, the next step was to figure out how to connect the logging personal computers to them, in order to achieve that 100% reliable network we were striving for. The standard USB style wireless cards would not work, because they had no means to connect to the N style connector found on the antenna. We then decided to purchase three of the commonly available Linksys (Cisco) Wireless G broadband routers, Model WRT54GL, Version 1.1. These units operate on the b/g wireless standard at 54Mpbs. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

This would give us the flexibility we would need in 2014 and for several years and events to come. The dual antennas on the back can be unscrewed from the base unit.

antenna and connecting it to the beam or omni directional antennas for wide area support, through a coax jumper.

The third import feature of these units is that they are DD WRT compatible.

3 This would give us the flexibility we would need in 2014 and for several years and events to come. The dual antennas on the back can be unscrewed from the base unit. By utilizing this feature, we could leave one of the standard antennas connected for local wireless connectivity in the immediate operating area if the need should arise, while removing the second antenna and connecting it to the beam or omni directional antennas for wide area support, through a coax jumper. The second feature that we saw as am important feature was the ability to connect up to four personal computers to each of the routers through the four integrated 10/100 Mbps Ethernet ports. The third import feature of these units is that they are DD WRT compatible. By upgrading the standard out of the box unit and firmware to DD WRT, we could control the network to an extent not possible before. For more information on DD WRT, see the benefit summary and configuration procedure later in this article. By building on this platform, it now becomes easy to expand our operation from the three current stations, to any number we wish in the future, by adding an additional antenna and router with the upgraded firmware. The site we use for Field Day is heavily wooded, making wireless networking in the 5 GHz frequency range extremely difficult. Because of this we choose to use the 2.4 GHz range, which is native in the Linksys router. Also, since the N1MM logging program used at field day passes all data between the logging computers in plain text, we decided to lower the transmission rate from 54 Mpbs to 11 Mpbs. Faster is not always better in extreme environments, 11 provides more than enough throughput, and by locking all routers at 11 Mpbs, there was no interruptions caused by trying to auto negotiate for a faster link. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

The logging personal computers are to have statically assigned IP addresses in the 192.168.1.70 through 192.168.1.99 range.

4 The logging personal computers are to have statically assigned IP addresses in the through range. A WAN link to the internet is possible by using an Ethernet modem connected to the Internet Port on the central router. After you configure the firmware upgrade to DD WRT and then set all the configuration parameters, you still have one very important job to do before testing. Label Everything. This cannot be said enough. If you use the routers Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

once a year at field day, you will forget some of the settings and setup from year to year. This especially helps others who are assisting with setup.

5 once a year at field day, you will forget some of the settings and setup from year to year. This especially helps others who are assisting with setup. Trying to remember which cable goes where, or which box is which in the middle of a thunderstorm is not a fun way to begin setup. Here is how we labeled our routers. Central Router (There is only one router configured as the Central Router, any other attempt will not end well during testing.) Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

6 Secondary Routers (Note the top has different WAN labels, and the bottom has the unique IP information for each secondary device.) Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

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8 Logging Personal Computer Configuration Connected to Router W4NJA 001 W4NJA 002 W4NJA 003 IP Address PC name Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

9 DD WRT Benefits DD WRT firmware lifts restrictions on a router by providing advanced capabilities that can improve your Internet experience. Here's a list of a few specific DD WRT benefits: 1. Adjustable antenna power to increase your wireless spectrum. 2. Stability of running a Linux based non proprietary firmware. 3. VPN (Virtual Private Network) pass through capabilities. 4. Advanced QoS (Quality of Service) controls for bandwidth allocation to your various Network connections. 5. WDS wireless bridging /repeating protocol AKA the "Repeater Bridge" mode, which allows you to easily expand your network using a second wireless router. 6. Cycle your router from the Administration settings. 7. Built in DNS (Domain Name System) caching speeds up your connection to an array of sites. 8. Viewable performance graphs and statistics to watch your network performance and measure your bandwidth levels. 9. Configure the router as a Wi Fi hotspot for your business or neighbors with a verification page using the integrated Chillispot or NOCATSPLASH. 10. Radius Authentication for additional wireless security. 11. VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) Support. 12. A functional DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server. 13. Create unique SSIDs (service set identifiers) when using multiple routers. 14. NAT (Network Address Translation) support. 15. Frame Bursting Capabilities. 16. Software support for the SD Card hardware modification. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

10 DD WRT Configuration Procedure First the DD WRT software must be downloaded to your personal computer. Version 24 was available for the Linksys routers at this time. You will need to download both the mini and standard versions into two separate download subfolders on your personal computer. The download site is wrt.com/dd wrtv2/down.php?path= downloads%2fv24 sp1%2fconsumer%2f Linksys%2FWRT54GL_1.1/. Make sure the WRT54GL is connected to a UPS power supply. Now, disconnect your personal computer from the outside internet and hook it up to LAN Port 1 of the router you are going to upgrade. Do not go through a network switch, doing so will cause the upgrade to fail and you will brick the router. Give your personal computer a static IP address of Now you have to do a hard reset on the WRT54G router. If you do not do it exactly like this, you will turn your router into a brick for the trash man to pick up next week. This is known as a reset. To do this: 1. Press the reset button with the unit powered on for at least 30 seconds do not release the reset button until you are completely done with the third step. 2. Now, still holding in the reset button, unplug the router for at least 30 seconds, still holding in the rest button. Do not release the reset button until you are completely done with the third step. 3. After 30 seconds, plug the router back in, still holding the reset button in. Keep the reset button in for 30 seconds. Now after a total of 90 seconds has finally passed, you for release the reset button. After you have completed the reset on the router, use your web browser and surf to it using the IP address of You will be prompted for a User Name and Password. Leave the User Name blank and enter a password of admin. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

Note the existing Firmware version in your router. It will be shown in the top right corner. In this example, it is Firmware Version v4.30.14. Now click on the Administration tab.

11 Note the existing Firmware version in your router. It will be shown in the top right corner. In this example, it is Firmware Version v Now click on the Administration tab. You will again be prompted for the User Name and Password. Use the same information you entered earlier. Now on the menu line under Administration, click on Firmware Upgrade. Browse to the folder on your personal computer where you downloaded the DD WRT firmware upgrades and select dd wrt.v24_mini_generic.bin file. You have to upgrade to the mini version first, and then do another firmware upgrade to install the DD WRT Standard version. You cannot go straight to the DD WRT Standard version, your must upgrade to the Mini version first. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

Ensure that you are connected to a UPS. If you should lose power to either the personal computer, or the Linksys, during this process, you now have a nice new fancy brick.

You will see a progress bar in the middle of the screen showing percent completed. Read the next step below before clicking on any buttons. Again, failure to do this will brick your router.

12 Ensure that you are connected to a UPS. If you should lose power to either the personal computer, or the Linksys, during this process, you now have a nice new fancy brick. Click on Upgrade at the bottom of the screen. The upgrade may take five minutes or more. Do not interrupt the process, whatever you do. You will see a progress bar in the middle of the screen showing percent completed. Read the next step below before clicking on any buttons. Again, failure to do this will brick your router. After the upgrade appears complete you will get the following message. Do not immediately click on Continue. There are still processes going on in the background. Just let it set at this screen for a full five minutes before doing anything or clicking Continue. This is very important. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

Now after at least five minutes have passed, process Continue. This will reset and reboot the Linksys WRT54GL router. You will now be prompted for a user name and password after the router rest.

13 Now after at least five minutes have passed, process Continue. This will reset and reboot the Linksys WRT54GL router. You will now be prompted for a user name and password after the router rest. Because we upgraded the firmware to DD WRT, the login information is now different. The User Name is root and the Password is admin. If all is successful, you will see the following screen. As you can see when you compare this to the screen shown above, several things have changed. Linksys in the top left has been changed to dd wrt.com. If you see this, you can uncross your fingers and toes; you did not brick your router during the upgrade. A close examination of the two screens shows several additional features and changes. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

14 You are now half way through the upgrade process. You have completed installing the Mini version. Now you will install the Standard version. The next steps will be much like installing the Mini version of DD WRT. Click on the Administration Tab. Click on Firmware Upgrade. The dropdown for After flashing, rest to should be set to Reset to Default settings. Browse to the folder on your personal computer where you downloaded the DD WRT firmware upgrades and select dd wrt.v24_std_generic.bin file. Click on Upgrade at the bottom of the screen. The upgrade may take 300 seconds or more. There is a countdown timer in the middle of the screen showing how much time is left for the upgrade. Do not interrupt the process, whatever you do. Read the next step below before clicking on any buttons. Again, failure to do this will brick your router. You will now see a message saying Upgrade Successful and the unit will reboot. During the reboot you will lose your web interface page. After the reboot is complete, surf to again using your web browser. You will see the following screen. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

15 Key in a password you can remember. For our example we will use paraw4nja. The User Name will remain root (this is a Linux based box). Remember your password, without it you are dead in the water. You will now be forced to click on the Change Password button. There are so many new features; it is hard to begin explaining them all. One of the interesting ones is the ability increase the standard transmit power of the WRT54GL from the out of the box 70 mw setting all the way up to 251 mw. While this does not sound like much of an increase, it makes a huge different in range. One note on increasing the power setting however, with increased power comes increased heat so be careful in an environment that is not airconditioned, like Field Day. Now you are ready to configure the Linksys WRT54GL router. Only the changes mentioned need to be made. If you make a change to one router, you need to do it to all to keep them consistent. Router Name W4NJA 001 W4NJA 002 W4NJA 003 Local User root root root Local Password paraw4nja paraw4nja paraw4nja Local IP Address DHCP Address Range GUI Port Security Mode WPA2 Personal WPA2 Personal WPA2 Personal WPA Algorithms TKIP+AES TKIP+AES TKIP+AES WPA Shared Key PARAW4NJApara PARAW4NJApara PARAW4NJApara Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

16 Central Router Configuration W4NJA 001 Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

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25 Secondary Router Configuration W4NJA 002, Etc. Document: W4NJA Field Day Computer Networking 2014 Version:

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EnGenius Quick Start Guide

EnGenius Quick Start Guide T he operates seamlessly in the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum supporting the 802.11b (2.4GHz, 11Mbps) and the newer, faster 802.11g (2.4GHz, 54Mbpswireless standard. High output power and high sensitivity