Sorry for the rush and that I didn’t give you all a chance to place orders - but I was contacted by a guy in Hobart the other night interested in getting involved in the Free Australia Wireless project … and seeing I’m going to Hobart in a few weeks I thought I should grab a few Merakis to take with me! Plus I’ll be passing through Sydney on the way there so maybe the Sydney folk might need some, plus I have 3 people here in Canberra wanting Merakis.

So I’ve grabbed:

8x Meraki Minis
2x Meraki Outdoors
1x Meraki Panel Antenna

Also this news is a few days old now but if you haven’t heard the NSW Government has once again scrapped plans to roll out free wireless in the Sydney CBD and major areas. I think this is the third time now?

Just shows that even with a budget of millions of dollars - it’s just not the way to go about. It’s a flawed model and approach. It goes to show who has the greater power and influence and ability to make this happen. Us.

So how many nodes and access points have we got in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth now under the Free Australia Wireless project? Forty? Let’s add a few zeros to that figure. Let’s make this happen.

Another interesting article, brought to my attention by Justin: Free Wi-Fi, but Not for All

From the Meraki High-Gain Omni-Directional Antenna fact sheet:

The Meraki High-Gain Omni-Directional Antenna can help extend the range of a Meraki Outdoor by refocusing the vertical signal to strengthen the horizontal signal.

This means that mounting a Meraki on a roof or second-storey with a booster antenna will actually result in lower signal strength below the unit compared with a normal antenna.

Below is the vertical polar chart of the Meraki booster antenna - so everything inside the shape is good signal strength, and you’re viewing it from side on; the optimal signal is like a big doughnut around the antenna:

As my Meraki Outdoor is mounted on my window on the second-storey of our house for optimal line-of-sight range it’s a bit tricky to actually extend the reach of the unit down to ground level … I’m currently doing some testing with the assistance of Rob who’s involved in the Free Canberra Wireless project and lives a couple of streets away.

Steve, Terence, Dean and Noel - I’ll email you shortly to arrange deliver; Brad, give me a couple of days and I can work out if I have a spare one for you, and “Griffmiester” I’ve put your two Minis + antennas aside to bring down to Melbourne at Easter.

COD is easiest for me, but I can provide bank details for direct deposit if you prefer.

Meraki antennas with standard antenna for scale
Meraki Outdoor with booster antenna