9/21/2015

Broadband-Hamnet™ (formerly called HSMM-Mesh™)  is a high speed, self discovering, self configuring, fault tolerant, wireless computer network that can run for days from a fully charged car battery, or indefinitely with the addition of a modest solar array or other supplemental power source. The focus is on emergency communications.

In its current form it is built using the Linksys WRT54G/GL/GS wireless routers and operates on channels 1-6 of the 2.4GHz ISM band, which overlaps with the upper portion of the 13cm amateur radio band. Other platforms and bands include several types of Ubiquiti equipment in the 900MHz, 2.4GHz and 5.7GHz band. Adidtional features let signals come in on one band and leave on another without additional configuration. All mesh nodes on all bands exchange data so long as they are within range. We will be adding support for Ubiquiti 3.4GHz gear as well.

OLSR is used for auto linking of the mesh node radios.

OpenWRT firmware tools are used for firmware development.

Broadband-Hamnet™ is currently being designed, developed and deployed as an amateur radio broadband communications system. It originated in Austin, Texas but has spread all across the USA and many other countries around the world.

Glenn KD5MFW, David AD5OO, Bob WB5AOH and Rick NG5V are the gents spearheading the efforts, while yours truly, Jim K5KTF keeps the website up and running to provide information about the project.  There is a distributed development community with users in a number of areas of the USA and other continents.

If you have questions, our forums would be a great place to research and ask questions. You will need to register and login to post to them but reading online is available without an account. Expanded search abilities are now available to find topics and keywords. Just use the search option at the top of most pages.

This technology is amazingly popular, having a true Worked all Continents, (including Antarctica) thousands of users overseas, and a huge number of users in the USA. Anyone can read from the site. If you want to see how many users have registered to post on the forums, click the forums link in the main menu and scroll all the way to the bottom. As of 1/2/2018, there are almost 8,000 registered users for the site. In the upper left corner of the home page, logged in users and guests are shown. These numbers regularly run between 50 and many hundreds of concurrent guests.

Regardless of your experience level, please take a moment to learn a bit about how our firmware works. The biggest source of confusion is the notion that our project is application software. It is not an application, but rather a network. As a network, it can transport data or use application software residing at another location just like your home or office network The page linked above contains a significant list of what it is/is not and will give you a good overview of Broadband-Hamnet™ operations. Mesh networks are different than normal WiFi. Microwave networks are different than UHF/VHF or HF networks. Different rules apply concerning propagation and RF safety. Adding an amplifier rarely improves communications and is never your first choice. You may want to read the linked page completely, do some exploring around the web site and then go back to re-read info on the link above to lock in your understanding. As you begin to think about how a network can be used, your options for employing Broadband-Hamnet™ will continue to expand.

If you have a mesh node (or 3) installed, and would like to have it put on our Googlemap http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/googlemapped-mesh-nodes.html (viewable by registered and logged in users), fill out the form.

That way, any nearby meshers (or potential meshers) will have an idea which way to point.

In order to gain benefit from this system you must be fluent in TCP/IP networking or be a highly motivated self-starter who can independently acquire that fluency. At this stage there are relatively few developers and users, and they are already stretched thin with their current contributions. While we have made the system as easy to use as possible, it can still be a complex system and we cannot offer any basic network training. As our user and developer base grows we may collectively be able to offer such support but at this time you are responsible for your own education in the fundamentals of computer networking.

HSMM-MESH™ is not a fully mature, time tested, finished product. However, its basic functionality is proven and it is quite useful in its current state. It provides a network infrastructure upon which numerous applications can be built. This project is in its infancy and requires contributions from its users and developers before it will be suitable for a wider audience. If you have a specific application in mind, hop on board and help us grow the capabilities of the mesh.

HSMM-MESH™ is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It may or may not be suitable for your application. You will be better served by changing your application to fit the mesh than the other way around. Using a mesh node is relatively easy. Setting up its internal structure and services to create the mesh is not easy, but it is very easy to break if not done correctly. While it is essential to have an understanding of general networking principles to use the mesh effectively, the mesh is not a conventional network. You will have to learn some new ways of thinking about networking. I strongly recommend reading the HSMM-MESH Design Philosophy article for an overview of how the system is designed.

All that being said, this is a new way to HAVE FUN with ham radio! For $60 you will not be able to find a more capable radio than that contained in a WRT54G. If you have grown weary of the colossally slow pace of digital communications with HF and VHF radio, give HSMM-MESH™ a try!

Unfortunately, all this needs to be said as well:

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE TRADEMARK HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TRADEMARK OWNERS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.