[B.A.W.I.A - The Boston Area Wireless Internet Alliance]

Access Points

Linux on your Access Point! - Access points based on the Eumitcom WL11000SA-N board (SMC EzConnect 2632W, US Robotics USR 2450, Addtrom AWS-100, possibly others) can reprogrammed to run Linux. What does this get you? VPN, PPP, DHCP, and of course the ability to modify any of the programs in the AP for your own application. A similar project exists for running Linux on an Apple AirPort or Lucent RG-1000.

Linux Host Mode Access Point - This is a driver for PRISM2 based cards (SMC, Linksys, Zoom, etc.) that runs on Linux. It turns the system into an access point. I have tested this and it works fairly well. However, it does not support WEP encryption at this time. If you are familiar with linux, you can compile and use this module. In its current state, I cannot recommend it for Linux beginners.

Guerrilla.Net has put together a package to use a Prism2 card with new firmware to make a Red Hat Linux 7.1 system into an access point. Requires some unix/linux experience. This is a different method than the Host Mode Access Point mentioned above. Here is another set of instructions for doing it.

This text file came from Wisconsin 2600 and describes a way to increase the transmission power of the Linksys WAP11. It does not require any hardware tinkering. It also works on the Netgear ME102 and SMC MC2655W. The program described merely changes an SNMP element. If you wish, you can set it with your own SNMP manager, the element is enterprises.atmel.atmelmib.atmelSys.TestModeSettingsGRP.TestModeRadioConfiguration.0 = Hex: CA CA CA CA CA CA C9 C9 C9 C9 C9 C9 C9 C9 , also known as 1.3.6.1.4.1.410.1.1.8.8.0. If you are using the snmpset program, the command line is: 

snmpset 192.168.100.250 public .1.3.6.1.4.1.410.1.1.8.8.0 x "80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80"
After this change, the Access Point will now transmit at 100mW. This is far below the maximum power output the FCC allows of 1W, and still low enough to cause no harm to humans in everyday use (though I wouldn't strap it to the side of my head).

Modifications to allow for an external antenna on the Apple AirPort are documented here. There's also other information of interest to Macintosh users wanting to go wireless. Some other things to note: Apple's AirPort configuration tool won't allow you to change the AP's IP address from 10.0.1.1, but the Java Configurator will. You can also upgrade the AirPort to use 128 bit encryption. Many of the tools and methods mentioned for the AirPort also apply to the Lucent/Avaya Orinoco RG-1000.

Cisco 340 series access point can be modified to use standard antenna connectors.