[Noisebridge-discuss] Solar-power radios popping up around the Mission

[Jonathan Lassoff]

On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 12:04 PM, Christie Dudley <longobord at gmail.com> wrote:
> Well, obviously it's a mesh as it's JUST the antenna and the panel. There
> are a number of reasons that come to mind that they would use the solar
> panels on a pole that has power (mostly having to do with inter-departmental
> politics and relations with PG&E) but the best reason I can think of to do
> that is for emergency services. Or alternately, non-city "services".

This absolutely makes sense. If it's low enough power, I see no reason
not to go this route, as it'll work even when PG&E doesn't.

> Another thing that this reminds me of is the truck signalling on the
> highways. (It's a national consortium for weigh stations, mostly.) It'd be a
> stretch to see how they might want to expand it into the cities. However, it
> looks like it's a 90 deg. polarization from those. It looks like the FasTrak
> antennas are similarly polarized.

I suspect it is indeed an omni, as all the ones that I've noticed have
been pointed directly downwards. The antenna for Fastrak and for
Caltrans' traffic/congestion monitoring look like UHF or SHF Yagi Uda
antennas pointing at people's dashes.
I see no reason this couldn't be that, but it seems like the antenna
design would have changed dramatically.

At least in the mission, their installation seems well timed with the
rollout of new parking meter heads.


On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 12:46 PM, Taylor Alexander <tlalexander at gmail.com> wrote:
> You could always steal one and then see who comes looking for it. ;)
> /sarcasm

They're not attached very securely. Most have been a bit of pipe
strapping (the kind with the screw) wrapped around a pole.

That said, these should not be touched or stolen.