[WAP in the Facility in the Middle of Nowhere] [1] (WAP in the Facility in the Middle of Nowhere) [2] I finally took the time today to get my own WAP (Wireless Access Point) going. When Rob [3] moved out, his WAP went with him, leaving us … um … wirelessness (or is that “wirelessless?”).
Or something like that.
So off to CompUSA [4] to obtain some wireless equipment, but the spot lights and the distinct lack of parking made me suspect I picked the wrong night to go shopping for wireless equipment. I went in anyway, determined to get what I came for, reguardless of how long it took (besides, it got me out of the house of Two Kids and Incontinent Dog [5]).
Despite the crowded store, I was able to get through the checkout line in under ten minutes with the needed equipment—a WAP and wireless PCMCIA (People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms) card (both from Linksys [6]). I was a bit upset that the WAP had more features than I wanted (I do not need a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)/firewall/NAT (Network Address Translation)/switch/router functionality) but given that all the WAPs being sold had similar features and went for about the same price, I didn't have much choice in the matter.
Well, unless I shop online, but I'm not in the habit of doing that.
It took me quite a while to get set up. Short story—changing the default settings (including IP (Internet Protocol) address) of the WAP, having to jumper a network card to use the proper connector (10Base-T instead of 10Base-2) in a buried computer (underneath two other computers) and obtaining current Linux drivers for the wireless card I'm using.
All told, it took several hours to configure and get working.
But I now have wireless!
Woo hoo!
[1] /boston/2003/03/21/thumb.wap.jpg
[2] /boston/2003/03/21/wap.jpg
![[1] /boston/2003/03/21/thumb.wap.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2003/03/21/thumb.wap.jpg){kind=link}
![[2] /boston/2003/03/21/wap.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2003/03/21/wap.jpg){kind=link}