Pirate Box...

[Colin McGregor]

Last evening I brought a portable pirate box (wireless file server) to
the meeting to see what would happen.

The details about the pirate box software can be seen here :
http://wiki.daviddarts.com/PirateBox

The hardware that I used consisted of a TP-Link MR3020 router
(http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/?model=TL-MR3020) with
Open-WRT software (https://openwrt.org/) and then the Pirate box
software installed on top of that. I bought the TP-Link MR3020 at
Canada Computers.

For a power supply I used a GoalZero Guide 10 Plus battery pack (
http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/133/Guide-10-Plus-Battery-Pack/2:8/ ).
The neat thing about this is that it can be recharged either from a
wall outlet or an optional solar panel (and they offer multiple sizes
of panels). I have not yet run the Goal Zero to exhaustion, but from
last evening's test, I know I can run the unit for 3.5+ hours without
getting the low battery warning. I bought the GoalZero Guide 10 Plus
at a Bass Pro Shop (http://www.basspro.com/) in Denver, CO. Bass Pro
also has a shop in Vaughan (but I have no idea if the Canadian shop
carries these battery packs). But conceptually, with the right solar
panel, battery pack, etc... you could build a file server that could
run effectively forever off the grid....

File storage was to the smallest physical 16GB USB key I could find at
the local computer shops (could have been just about any capacity, but
16GB keys are inexpensive enough these days...).

Case was an old 10 CD carry case (bought at a dollar store). The fit
was a little tighter than I was happy with, so I will be looking for
another slightly larger case.

Questions?


Colin McGregor
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