We welcome you to join us. Your interest in the association helps promote our wireless community, and your involvement helps make us what we are. Every member is encouraged to participate to help us shape our future. In addition to meeting interesting and talented people, you can learn more about wireless technology, the community wireless ideal, and provide a significant public service to your community.

The association has regular meetings that all members are invited to attend. During these meetings, we discuss and vote on all issues relevant to the association and its members. Feel free to stop by and introduce yourself, observe, and contribute to the discussion if you feel like it.

We have both technical and non-technical members that participate in the association that donate time and energy to our wireless community. Our needs range from highly skilled professionals to run an organization to a pair of hands to steady a ladder (as we install and support the network infrastructure ourselves ). We are certain that no matter what your background or experience, you can help out.

NEW MEMBER REQUIREMENTS AS OF JULY 2009: New members are currently only being accepted on already existing and managed Access Points within the network. There are eight (8) Access Points currently without an active manager and those APs will not be accepting new members; however, any potential new member who wishes to serve as an AP Manager on those Access Points would be welcome. Information and technical assistance will be provided for potential new AP Managers. 

Step 1: Let Us Know You're Interested

The first step in getting started is to let us know you're interested. You can do this by emailing us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  including your name and, especially, your street address so we can determine the suitability of your location. When we receive your email we will reply confirming your interest and provide you with a contact within the association. This email may contain special information and instructions that you will find useful for the following steps.

Step 2: Study Up

As an all-volunteer organization we rely on members to install themselves (with our help, of course). Review the installation guide so you have a good understanding of what your role is in getting connected. You should also review the website in detail to understand what our association is and how our network works. We operation quite differently from commercial networks in that we require member participation in some form to keep things running. If you have another means of internet access and you are not interested in spending some time getting connected, we suggest you consider other options.

Step 3: Attend an Orientation Meeting

Part of the installation process involves attending an orientation meeting. At the meeting we will discuss our association and services, answer any questions you may have, and give you the information you'll need to become a member and get online. You can select a date from our meeting calendar. If you have any correspondence from us, please bring it along to the meeting for reference.

Step 4: Be A Member, Not A Customer

The success of the Association depends on the active participation of its members. Members are not customers. As an analogy, consider this: in a business, the success of the business depends on all of the employees, not just the owner or principals. Customers pay for the services afforded by the business. As a member, you are an owner of the Association and, as such, are partially responsible for its continued existence. As a corollary, you are not a customer. Remember that the services that members receive are possible only through the efforts of volunteers.

LCWA holds its meetings on the second and fourth Mondays at the Vista Grande Public Library in Eldorado. All members and potential members are welcome to attend to get informed about what's happening in the association.

Schedule

* Drawing Dates: Check Home Page for exact status

LCWA is a volunteer organization, and as such relies on you as a member to get yourself connected to our network. This page contains step-by-step instructions to follow to get connected. If you are not familiar with our association we suggest you review our Steps to Get Started page.

As part of the installation process, you are required to attend one of our orientation meetings. At this meeting will learn how our association works and obtain specific information that you will need in completing the following steps. Please review these installation instructions below prior to attending a meeting so we can answer any questions you may have about the process or service before you get started.

You may find in reviewing these instructions that some steps are challenging and may take some time to complete. We are happy to assist you in this adventure, but we do not have the ability to perform these steps for you. In the event that you need help or further instruction you can visit the tech group at one of its informal work meetings and we can provide assistance and guidance. We have chosen this method in order to mimize the amount of time our volunteers spend on weekends and to promote additional volunteers that have gone through the process and are interested in helping out.

Installation Steps

1. Obtain your GPS coordinates

The best way to obtain your GPS coordinates is via a portable GPS unit, but if you do not have one available you can approximate your position using Google Maps. We use decimal degree notation, so if your coordinates are in degrees, minutes, seconds you can use the FCC DMS converter .

To use Google Maps , to obtain your approximate position, use your mouse to scroll/zoom to position the center of the map on your location and then select the "Link to this page" option. In the "email or IM" text window you will see a string of the form ll=XX.XXXXX,YY,YYYYX. This is the map center position in decimal degrees.




2. Submit GPS coordinates and review simulation

Once you have obtained your coordinates, email the data to the member coordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The coordinator will run a computer simulation that helps identify potential access points that are visible from your location. Results of the analysis may indicate the quality of the the connection and may help guide your decision as to whether you can connect to our network or not. Study the results to get an understanding of the distance and direction to each of the potential access points and print out a copy to take to the orientation meeting for review.




3. Attend an orientation meeting

   1. We will collect your contact information and give you an introduction to the association.
   2. Your simulation results will be reviewed for access point options and outstanding issues.
   3. You will find out how the network operates and what hardware you'll need to get connected.
   4. We will answer any questions you may have.

An orientation meeting is required for all members. The orientation allows you meet face-to-face with one or more volunteers and allows you to ask any questions you may have. Orientation meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of the month in parallel with our member/board meetings according to our meetings page. At this meeting:




4. Confirm access point location(s)

Before you order any equipment it is important that you are confident you will be able to get a signal. At the orientation meeting potential access points are identified. You should verify that your view of at least one of the access points is unobstructed, which should guide where the antenna mast will be placed. If you are unsure if you have an unobstructed view, you can request a stumble at the next tech group workday, at which point we will bring some test equipment to your house to verify a signal.




5. Create an installation plan

Each installation is unique and requires some planning in advance. In addition to determining the location and direction of the equipment mast, you also need to determine how the mast will be mounted. You will also need to map out and measure a cable path from the mast to you where you plan to install the router or connection to you computer(s). By thinking through the installation you should have an idea on what specific equipment you'll need to support the installation. For example, you may decide to use a tripod mount on your roof and run the cable though an existing cable opening to your computer room. The tech group has amassed a lot of experience in doing installations and can help you if you run into problems putting together your installation plan.




6. Order equipment

At the orientation meeting you will be instructed on how and where to buy your equipment. Depending on the means and number of computers you wish to connect and the distance to the access point, your hardware requirements will differ from others.

Firewall routers can be purchased locally at a variety of locations. The router we currently recommend is the LinkSys WRT54G . You can use other firewall routers (such as an Apple Airport), but you will have limited support from the tech group.

Radios can only be ordered online. The radios we currently recommend are the Tranzeo TR-CPQ Series which can be purchased through Streakwave or Super Computer at 1532 Cerrillos Rd. Which radio you require depends largely on the distance between you and the access point. Note that N-type radios require an external antenna .




7. Submit equipment for configuration

Once you have collected your equipment, you must configure your equipment to allow it to connect to your network. Configuration is performed at our tech group work meetings. Current meetings are held informally at at:

 

All New Members	Saturdays 9:30 AM	Las Chivas Coffeehouse Agora Shopping Center, 7 Avenida Vista Grande, Eldorado

 

Bring along your router and radio with associated power and cabling. During configuration you will be assigned unique configuration data and your radio will be configured to allow connection to your selected access point(s). If you wish you can also bring along your laptop and we can show you how to configure the equipment yourself. We recommend that before you bring your equipment in for configuration, you review the manuals so you have an idea of what is involved in configuration. This is very important in the event that you have to reconfigure the equipment for any reason. Follow the links in the previous step to download the manuals.




8. Install the equipment

   1. Mount an antenna mast with clear line-of-sight to the access point.
   2. Run a CAT5 cable from the mast to the router location.
   3. Terminate the CAT5 cable with connectors on both ends.
   4. Connect the router and PoE at the inside location.
   5. Connect the radio and align / mount it on the mast.
   6. Visually confirm the radio has power, LAN, and WLAN lights.

Installation generally involves these steps:

You should proceed according to your installation plan, starting on the roof or elevated position installing the mounting hardware and routing the cable first. In the event that you have difficulties in these steps or need help with various parts of the installation (such as crimping cable connects) you can solicit help from the tech group at one of its informal work meetings. Although the group would prefer that you do the installation yourself we can visit your site and help out, time permitting.




9. Verify connection to the network

Once you have the equipment installed and see the proper indicator lights on the antenna you generally just need to plug your computer into one of the router ports, and you should be online. As an initial verification of access see if you can bring up our welcome page. This link is only available when you are connected to our network, so if this page displays you should be able to connected to the internet. Congratulations!

If you fail to get online you can visit the tech group in person, leave a message at our 800 support line  (800-536-6149 ), or email the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it through another connection. The latter is generally your best option as the tech list is checked and replied to frequently. Reasons for not being able to get access are numerous, so we'll walk through some basic troubleshooting steps when we hear from you.




10. Start the billing process

Once connected we need to receive a response from you letting us know you are up and running. By doing so we can establish a permanent connection and monitoring of your equipment. To do this simply send an email to the tech list and await confirmation.

We strongly encourage you to register a member account on our website. From this site you can view your monitored connection and network status, read news about the association, find out about other members on the network, and have access to our tech support pages for self-diagnosing problems.

After completing this process we hope you have a good understanding of your association, your network, and the need for your help in keeping this thing alive. If you found the installation process interesting and would like to know more or lend a hand, feel free to come to any of our board meetings, tech group meetings, and/or orientation meetings. Not only will be kept up to date on what is going on, but you can also help plan our future and help others like yourself fulfill the mission of community based wireless here in your community.