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MAGNOLIA ROAD INTERNET COOPERATIVE (MRIC) NEWS DIGEST
Vol. II.1
                                          "Fostering Community Through Connectivity"
                                        
                                                         

ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCEMENT:

MRIC Board of Directors, -from 6/20/2004 email

As many know, MRIC has grown via word-of-mouth from 25 in July 2002 to close to 200 in two years.  We have about a 100 names on our list of people waiting for service.  Roughly half of those names can get a signal and are real potential customers.  Getting new members installed utilizes our network investment more fully and is key to MRIC eliminating our construction debt.  After our May 2004 membership meeting we also got over a dozen new volunteers.

 

To help get installs done faster we are very lucky to have Cindy Haxel volunteer as our new Membership Coordinator.  She has been on the job for the last few weeks responding to new service inquiries, collecting data for the installers, and generally helping us get more organized.  She and Randy Pierce are working on converting a backlog spreadsheet to something we can track via a web-based application.  She is currently monitoring membership@mric.coop and installs@mric.coop.  She's working closely with our installation area coordinators Mark Lindberg, Steve Dickson, Jim Hubbard, and Doug Benson.

 

We want to give a special thanks to Jake Owsley who has decided to take a break from volunteer installs.  He single-handedly installed almost all the new Lakeshore subscribers!

 

While service has been very good for most people, there have been some subscribers that fell into the cracks.  So far we have never lost a subscriber due to poor service and we'd like to keep that track record.  Our biggest surprise is that people do not tell support@mric.coop they are experiencing problems.  To address this, MRIC is now doing these four things:

 

  1. MRIC has changed our support phone number to filter out support
    calls from membership and general information requests.  Digitized voicemails
    will be more e-mailed to the over 25 support volunteers on our network much like a volunteer fire department.  Similarly, membership voicemails
    will get filtered to our membership alias.
  2. Sue Rodriguez-Pastor will be our new volunteer Technical Support Coordinator.  She will monitor traffic on support@mric.coop and be a customer advocate.  If problems don't get solved in 48 hours by volunteers, and she feels that a "truck roll" is needed she will escalate the problem.  Depending on our cash flow situation, she may have a very limited budget in August to call in a paid troubleshooter.  This experiment is our first baby step toward part-time paid staff.   Please continue to respond to support requests as you've been doing as Sue will monitor the e-mails on support@mric.coop as well as installs@mric.coop.
  3. MRIC has been blessed by an explosion of volunteers (too many to list here).  We are in the process of training and equipping these volunteers.  Mark Lindberg/Steve Dickson have been leading this charge in CCC and Jim Hubbard/Bill Clark in SL.  We must work in teams or risk volunteer burnout.   Mileage reimbursement for all volunteers will take place before we expand the paid support escalation.  Volunteers are the lifeblood of MRIC.
  4. Mike Lewinski is taking the idea that Bill Clark pioneered on the SL POPs to create some proactive subscriber link tests.  Our goal is to catch degraded subscriber service before they notice it.   Sue Rodriguez-Pastor will also be following up with every new install to check on status.  If  time allows (or if we get another volunteer to help her) we will poll current subscribers, too.  Hopefully, we can catch service problems before they get bad.

 

One of the next big areas for MRIC to tackle is knowledge transfer from key individuals (Mike, George, Bill) to new volunteers.  Volunteers with expertise in developing training materials would be much appreciated.  Due to work and vacation commitments, these key individuals are not always in town!

Please give each other, especially Cindy and Sue, your support and feedback on how we can make our cooperative more reliable.   Thank you.

 

MRIC'S NEW SUPPORT PROJECT DATABASE: DotProject

Randy Pierce and Cindy Haxel, Contributors

 

MRIC recently selected DotProject, an open-source PHP web-based project management framework, as a tool for management of support-related activities.   It includes modules for companies, projects, tasks (with Gantt charts), forums, files, calendar, contacts, tickets /helpdesk, multi-language support, user/module permissions and themes.      Features include:

 

…       User Management

…       Email based trouble Ticket System, (Integrated voxel.net's ticketsmith)

…       Client/Company Management

…       Project listings

…       Hierarchical Task List

…       File Repository

…       Contact List

…       Calendar

…       Discussion Forum

…       Resource-Based Permissions

 

Barb Thomas and Cindy Haxel are now adding MRIC membership and new member queue data into the project database.   Some web-based forms in our own administrative web area currently interact with the dotproject database and go a little beyond what dotproject does normally.  Some of these - like the customer status request - where a customer can check on the status of their request for service - will be made available on the main web site (www.mric.coop).   We are also using the trouble ticket system to track our own enhancement requests - so far just for the dotproject stuff, and we will extend this to allow members to submit trouble requests.  One remaining issue to resolve is how to get accounting integrated, which will require some coordination.   An on-line roll-out for the installers took place on Tuesday, August 17t.h.

  

MRIC Members:  The process entry for installs will generally work like this:  
  
The prospective member will have the ability to get into the website,  click on a link that will prompt them for information (address, GPS coordinates, etc.).  The completion of this form will automatically generate tasks for that prospective member: Line of Sight Analysis, Signal Test, Installation and Invoice.  These tasks will be automatically forwarded to specific aliases for that task.  Tasks can be marked as complete once they're done and we'll be able to easily determine our backlog for each area. 
  
The forum section allows for whatever discussion the installers, etc. deem important.  We currently just have a 
few items under Hardware  Suggestions/Configuration.  In order to make this information available to the customers, 
we will have a link to this section.  The user will get prompted for a login and password and will then get read-only 
access to only the forum (not the rest of the dotproject database).   
   
The user can use "customer" as the login and "mric" as the password to view these forums in read-only access 
now at:  http://dev.mric.coop/dotproject/index.php?m=forums.
  

Further details will be communicated as the various capabilities are released for use.

 

MAGNOLIA ROAD INTERNET COOPERATIVE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM:

Greg Ching, Contributor

 

MRIC has had some college students help from time to time but to date, nothing formal has been organized.  The matter of establishing such a program was brought up at a recent Board of Directors (BoD) meeting and the idea was warmly endorsed.

 

The value an internship could play in developing a work ethic, new job skills, and college application brownie points is very high.  MRIC is doing leading edge (especially for rural areas) work that's been recognized even by our State of Colorado IT department.   Possible intern jobs could involve getting site surveys (including gathering GPS coordinates), signal tests, installations, support calls, membership surveys, and possible community projects (TBD).    Here are some basic thoughts:

 

1. Supervised by a MRIC volunteer with experience coordinating or managing people (i.e. meets some basic human resource requirements or has experience such as a boy scout leader).

2. Flexible time commitments.  School and family come first.  However, we do expect that if your child commits to an appointment that s/he make that appointment because our subscribers are your mountain neighbors.

3. MRIC will provide mileage reimbursements (requiring mileage logs kept by your child).  Initially, since MRIC has no paid staff, we cannot provide any hourly wages.   That can change quickly as MRIC is growing rapidly.   If our installation or support coordinators believe they can do the work there will likely be some part-time work in the $10 - $25/hour range in 2005 (or sooner).

4. MRIC will provide equipment only as much as we provide it to any volunteer now.  For example, if signal testing is required, MRIC provides an antenna, cable, and PCMCIA radio card.  We do not provide the laptop.


5. Parents need to give MRIC written permission (e-mail may not be good enough) for your child to participate.  You and your child need to be clear on what your child cannot do.  Our intern program coordinator will need to work with our other volunteers to educate them on saying no to roof climbs or whatever you consider unsafe. Currently, MRIC does not offer any health benefits for our volunteers!

 

We're still in the formulation program.     Parents who are interested in learning more about this program for possible inclusion by their children should contact:  HDruckman@aol.com.

 

VOLUNTEERS:

 

MRIC has been entirely dependent on volunteer labor.   Without the numerous volunteers doing everything from membership coordination,  installations, support, accounting, event planning, publicity and outreach,  newsletters, network administration, POP construction, subscriber equipment construction, web site development, and other activities MRIC wouldn't be here.  Volunteers give MRIC its unique flavor while keeping costs down for everyone.   Almost all of these jobs require some skills but fortunately we are willing to train.  

 

To  make it easier for folks to volunteer, we are happy to announce mileage reimbursement for sanctioned volunteers for trips to signal test, install, support, or other MRIC activities.  Please use the special MRIC spreadsheet that these members received in an email to record mileage to be reimbursed at the IRS rate of $0.38/mile.  You should submit this preferably every month, or at least once per quarter, to:  accounting@mric.coop for reimbursement.  If you have records, you may go file back to the beginning of 2004.  Trading some reduced fees or free service for this effort is a small token of thanks by the cooperative.

If you want to become involved or have questions on a specific position, please e-mail: volunteer@mric.coop. 

 

Current Needs (Group/Position):


Volunteer Spotlight

 

MRIC values the efforts of its essential volunteer staff and would like to acknowledge their participation.    As the coop is growing quickly and has far too many volunteers to list in each newsletter issue, we will include a profile of a sample number of volunteers in each newsletter to convey a representative showing of the diverse talents and commitments that our members freely offer.

 

Steve Dickson:

     Fourth generation Colorado native and sixth generation Colorado resident, Steve works for IBM Global Services, in Boulder, as an IT Architect.   Companies pay them to take over their IT operations and mange them in a more efficient manner.    As part of the MRIC Install Group in Coal Creek Canyon, Steve performs installs and support of membersí gear and access points.   He also performs some purchasing and evaluation of gear.  

 

Paul Ganci:

     Originally from upstate NY, Paul is a six year resident of Coal Creek Canyon.   His "day job" title is Senior Staff Analog Design Engineer for Cirrus Logic, in Boulder.   Paul is the MRIC Email System Administrator and he performs such activities as: setting up user accounts, notifying members how to setup their client accounts, trouble-shooting email & virus checking issues and ìmucking aroundî with SPAM settings.

 

Cindy Haxel:

     A native Coloradoan, Cindy is working on her Masters' Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine.   She is an "ex-programmer," but continues to do some contracting.   She is also an apprentice/assistant in a Boulder acupuncturist office.    Cindy is working on the MRIC dotproject system (see related article in this newsletter issue) through administration, support and related training activities.

 

Mark Lindberg:

Originally a Minnesota native, Mark moved to Coal Creek Canyon in 2000 to work with Nortel Network's  Level (3) account team.   His role was to build a spares network that would support getting a replacement part to a point of failure within two hrs., globally.    Mark is currently seeking employment and offers over 20 years experience in the telecom industry.   View his resume:  http://magnoliaroad.net/~marklindberg/resume/ .    Mark works with the MRIC Install Group as a signal tester and/or installer.  He also "warehouses" installation materials, helps to identify upcoming installsí purchasing material needs,  organized MRICís first ìinterested in membershipî list and monitors the support and installs emails — helping where he can & learning from the various questions.   Mark also is a great MRIC ambassador who addresses technical and MRIC cooperative questions at potential subscriber meetings.    He enjoys the high level of camaraderie amongst the MRIC volunteers and a gains a great deal of satisfaction in being able to help others in our community.

 

Sue Rodriguez-Pastor:

     Sue is in her final semester of the doctoral program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder.  She studies the effects of habitat fragmentation and loss (due to urbanization, recreation and forest management) on birds in Ponderosa Pines forests.  She is the Technical Support Coordinator for MRIC and works with the Support Group to ensure that all subscribers get the help they need.   Sue also has a lot of big, silly, furry rescued dogs that make every day a blast!

 

Barbara Thomas:

     A New England native, Barb moved to the "flatlands" (Broomfield) last November from Massachusetts until she and her husband, Norm found their home in the mountains this past February.    They have twin daughters who just graduated:  one with an advertising degree and the other with degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering.   Norm is an electrical engineer who develops respiratory equipment and Barb formerly worked as an R.N. with experience in emergency room and pediatric nursing.   She is a Membership Coordinator with MRIC.   Each day Barb looks out at the mountains in amazement and wonders when her vacation will be over!  It is hard for her to believe that she ended up in a place of such beauty…

 

Members:  Please send me anecdotal stories of any experiences you've had with volunteers that contribute to the spirit of the coop:  editor@mric.coop.   —Thanks!


MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY FIREWATCH (MCF) UPDATE


MCF has started a website and is currently enlisting area volunteers to get home video cameras for smoke/fire sighting images that will be transferred to the main website.     Website:  http://www.mtncf.org.   There are two current examples of home cameras that transfer image files (via ftp) to the website for viewing.    Interested users may contribute information to the website via Wiki (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page ).  A "webcam 101" tutorial will be added by the end of September for anyone interested in learning how to get started.    Note:  this project will be eventually opened to the general public, but we're interested in starting with mric members (target by November 1st) to complete our "proof of concept" before generally promoting it beyond the coop.

The MCF Group plans its next meeting during the MRIC Membership meeting on 9/26th.   Contact: mcf-team@mric.coop for more information or to join the group.

 

MRIC SERVICE PAYMENTS & CONTRIBUTIONS

Judy Clark, Allen Gordon Contributors

 

MRIC prefers that service payments be setup on a quarterly recurring electronic basis through Alliance or Paypal.    The coop incurs 1/3 less cost with quarterly payments (compared to monthly ones) and less bookkeeping is required.     For member setup, please contact accounting@mric.coop or look for directions in the next quarterly billing.

  

Several members have asked if contributions are accepted towards expenses such as volunteer services
and gas amounts —SURE!   Feel free to contact: accounting@mric.coop or you can pay directly online.   
Please advise if itís OK to acknowledge your contribution in the newsletter: editor@mric.coop.
  

View of Thoroton Mtn in distance from Silver Springs POP…

 

WELCOME, SILVER SPRINGS!

Shane Castle, Contributor

 

Silver Springs is a new service area.   The Castle family made a matching contribution to MRIC in order to begin the wireless network & security installation process.   Key completed milestones include:


1. Getting the cable and other wires pulled between the various points on the property.
2. Completing the DC UPS.
3. Acquiring the remaining major components (radios, SBCs, antennas).
4. Installing and activating the backhaul radio and antenna.
5. Connecting the Castle household through the backhaul.
   
Highlights soon to be performed:
   
6. Erecting the AP components 
7. Activating the AP 
8. Finalizing the networking configuration

 

The AP antenna mount needs to be designed and built.   All other parts are on hand and ready.   

 

Shane Castle anticipates that when completed, "…the service will be fan-tastic!   This has dropped me in the deep end of wireless networking and security,  although as one person pointed out to me, -there is no shallow end in wireless security!   I have learned a lot in what seems like a short time."

 

NEW EMAIL ACCOUNTS

Paul Ganci and Doug Benson, Contributors



Once MRIC Support receives a request for a new email account, the member will receive the following response example. -Be sure to follow the necessary steps!


(Fictitious contacts ñ Windows users) Ann and John Smith wrote:


<> <> Weíd like to request a new email address:


smith@mric.coop


username: smith


password: mricsmith


email address: smith@mric.coop



You should login to the account and change your password ASAP. This can be done by going to https://mric.coop:81/login.php and logging in using the username and password given above. From that web site you will find a menu item Account at the top left corner ... click on it. A new window will pop up giving you a place to set your new password. You can also change your SPAM filter settings from the SPAM-Filter menu. Instructions can be found at http://mric.coop/spam/


You can also access your Email via web mail at http://mric.coop/webmail/ if you are at home and do not need a secure connection. If you are on the road and want a secure connection, use: https://magnoliaroad.net/webmail/. Again use the same username with your newly set password.


You also have web space. The URLs is http://www.mric.coop/~smith/ for your username "smith". You can use any FTP, SFTP or SCP program to upload web content to the server www.mric.coop . Under Windows, WinSCP is a good SCP client. Use your username and corresponding password to login into your account. Remember that you must change your directory to web and place your site's content there to get your page to load on the server.


I assume you want to setup Microsoft Outlook Express (OE). Here are the instructions for your account. At the top of OE select Tools->Accounts and a window will pop up. Select the Mail tab. At the top right corner you will see an Add button ... choose Add->Mail. Pick your display name, for example ìAnn and John Smithî, and press Next. Use smith@mric.coop for the E-mail Address. Next choose IMAP (or POP3) for incoming Email Server type, use imap.mric.coop (or pop3.mric.coop if using POP3) for the incoming server name and mail.mric.coop for the outgoing server name and click next. Put smith in for the account name and your newly changed password in the password field and click Next. Finally click the Finish button and your new account should be set up and ready to use. If you use some other Email client you should be able to take the information above and set it up similarly.


Please contact me (P. Ganci) if you have questions or problems.


BTW if you want separate Emails for you and your husband you are allowed up to 5 Email accounts. I could replace the single account smith with asmith and Jsmith and then you could each have your own account. It is up to youÖ.


* *
References

Netzero Email Configuration Link: http://www.netzero.net/support/email/email_setup.html


General Email Tutorial Links:
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/section/email.html
http://www.website101.com/email_e-mail/
http://www.scotconnect.com/TutorialsForFree/email.php


 

VIRUS NOTES ON EMAIL HEADINGS

 

The virus filtering is not controllable. The messages with attachments which are getting stripped are viruses. There are sometimes messages with dangerous HTML which will also get flagged. These messages sometimes are legitimate, but MRIC's policy is to flag them because the majority of them are not.

 

Canon

19th Century spam fighting technology…

 

MRIC EMAIL SPAM-FILTER SETTINGS FOR USER-DEFINED WHITE LISTS

Paul Ganci, Contributor

 

Users may set up whitelists (lists of addresses of people from whom one expects to receive mail) and filter anything that is not from them into a separate low-priority mailbox that may be checked periodically.    

 

Just go to the MRIC login site:  https://www.mric.coop:81/login.php  and enter your member username and password.   You will be brought to this personal profile screen:


               Image of Personal Profile Entry Screen

 

Select SPAM-Filter from the menu and enter these available settings under "Whitelist From" (screen example follows after setting table):

 

Address                         Meaning

 

address@domain.com    - White/black list this one Email address in domain.com


<>*@domain.com                    - White/black list all Email addresses in domain.com.

 

*                                  - White/black list any address without an explicit domain name

                           

*@*                              - White/black list all Email addresses in all domains. This

                                      could be used to effectively turn off all spam checking.

                                      The "What to do with SPAM" control could be set to

                                      "Filter disabled" which is the better way to do this.

 

*@domain.*                   -  White/black list all Email addresses in domain.com,

                                       domain.net,  etc. Very useful for white/black listing from

                                       similar domains such as mric.coop, mric.net.  In this

                                       case you could use *@mric.*


address@domain.*           -     White/black list a single Email address in domain.com, domain.net, etc.

               Note:  SPAM ASSASSIN consideration:  the lower the number, the lower the threshold for email being marked as SPAM.


Screen example follows:  


   Spam Filter Screen


             Also:  The icon that looks like an open door in the upper right screen corner is for logging out.

 

MRIC BASIC NETWORK STATUS PAGE

Mike Lewinski, Contributor -from 6/28/2004 email

 

Many members do not have a backup Internet connection outside of their wireless connection to MRIC, but for those who do, we have implemented a basic (manually updated) network status page:    http://mric.coop/status/

 

Also: some useful MRIC network functioning statistics can be located here:   http://members.mric.net/mrtg.html

 

TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID A SERVICE INTERRUPTION

Greg Ching, Contributor

  

Power continuity issues, many of which are lightning related, are the most common reasons for service interruptions.  Your home
does not need a direct strike to experience a service interruption.  Not every subscriber *needs* a lightning arrestor but MRIC 
tries to put one at every home.  Lightning arrestors work somewhat like fuses.  They can take the brunt of a current surge to 
possibly save the equipment behind it.  -But what else can a subscriber do?
   
Based upon our experience, the most common reasons for an outage are:
 …    Power continuity issues (mostly summertime)
 …    Antenna shift (mostly winter)
 …    Cable damage (unsealed connectors)
 …    Disconnected wires (unplugged equipment)
 …    Faulty equipment (usually power surge related)
   
Here are some basic steps to minimize power continuity issues and some initial procedures to try out before contacting MRIC.  
The troubleshooting steps will apply to all cases above.  When encountering a connection issue, ask "why is my equipment 
not working right now, and what can I do about it?"
   
1.     Keep a copy of your radio and router (if separate router) information near your equipment.  
This will be very helpful for any volunteers working on your problem.  This sheet should list any IP addresses assigned 
to you, your gateway IP address, your radio's device name (and password), and DNS mask.  Without this information, 
the volunteers can still help you but this saves them time.  It helps if you know  which Point of Presence (POP) you 
normally use, too.

2.     Buy a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) for your radio and router. 
Having a UPS is not a guarantee your system will stay up. However it will protect the equipment from brief voltage variations 
far better than a surge supressor. Inexpensive (about $40 new) UPSes are available at computer stores like CompUSA. You 
can also get bigger capacity UPSes if you want your computer to stay on-line but the radio/router does not require one if your 
primary goal is to protect your gear from lightning related power line voltage surges. A bigger UPS is helpful only if your 
computers are backed up and you wnat to maintain a network connection during a power outage.

So, what should you do if your service does go out?  
   
Are you certain it's not the computer you're using?  If you've got multiple computers hooked up to MRIC first check to see 
if any of them are connected.  If you know another MRIC subscriber using the same POP you use, you might calling that 
neighbor to see if their service is up.  Assuming you still believe you've lost connection, you can start trouble-shooting 
the process of isolating where the break takes place.
   
The most obvious question is to ask if you've got power on all key components.  -Are the lights on with your radio and router?  
Note which lights are on and if there's any specific pattern (blinking or solid).  At that point, you can unplug, wait a few 
seconds, then re-plug your radio's power connection.  See if you can connect now.  
   
If not, go ahead and repeat unplugging, waiting, and re-plugging a second time.  If you have a separate router, you should
repeat the same steps above.  Do not hold down any RESET buttons unless instructed to by a support volunteer as that will 
erase any MRIC supplied configurations. 
   
If you are feeling more comfortable after reading this entire article, try capturing some troubleshooting data before you call 
in MRIC support volunteers.  
   
Take a walk-around your cabling.  Be sure you have not disconnected any pigtails.  Note any ice or water around cable 
couplings outside.  See if the antenna is pointed in the general direction where it was installed.  Observe if any new 
obstructions (lots of new tree foliage, new construction) is obvious.
   
If you retain a dial-up service (with limited free service from places such as Juno and NetZero) for which you don't want 
to pay, you should e-mail support@mric.coop with a description of what you've done.  Be sure to describe your location, 
name, and phone number(s) where we can reach you.  If you cannot e-mail via dial-up, please call 720.210.1969 and 
leave a succinct message in the technical support voicemail box.  
   
Do not leave a voicemail or e-mail support@mric.coop if your equipment appears to be working fine, or if either the voicemail 
message or the mric.coop status page (http://magnoliaroad.net/status/) indicate there is a power status affecting your repeater 
or POP (Point of Presence).
   
Keep a copy of this article next to your equipment along with its MRIC configuration.  You should open up a command line 
window (terminal under Mac OS X, command prompt under Windows).  Ideally you'd record some of the steps below and e-mail 
them to: support@mric.coop along with a problem description.
   
First: Find out where your desktop/laptop stops talking to the outside world.
   
       Use the ìpingî command (at the operating system level) to check contact
       with the MRIC DNS or your specific gateway.  If you don't know what's 
       appropriate for your POP (because you lack your configuration info) try 
       this from your command prompt (type after the % sign):   
   
          % ping 66.28.54.253
   
Here's an example of pinging 172.24.133.1 with a 50% packet loss: 

Pinging 172.24.133.1 with 32 bytes of data: 
Request timed out. 
Request timed out. 
Reply from 172.24.133.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=255 
Reply from 172.24.133.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=255 
Ping statistics for 172.24.133.1: 
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss), 
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: 
Minimum = 5ms, Maximum = 5ms, Average = 5ms
  
      After pinging the gateway and getting no result, try pinging the radio using the IP address left by your installer.
      If you can reach MRIC network then the problem is not at your house. <>  

      Ping the radio using the IP address supplied by the subscriber or by looking it up (if our records are accurate). 
      If I were a troubleshooter on site, I'd see if a NOC volunteer could see the device name or MAC address (another
      thing we need to get for every subscriber) on the MRIC network.  It would be nice if we had a utility that any support
      volunteer could execute to test a MAC address (if they couldn't use the IP address).  The OR Manager is overkill and a
      security problem if widely available...and as far as I can tell only NOC sites can actually run this utility reliably. 
   
Next: If the above is overwhelming, don't despair.  If you remember nothing else, get  a UPS on your radio gear and reset the 
power on it.  MRIC is in the process of implementing an active link monitor so we can proactively test the quality of 
your connection.  Our hope is that we can anticipate the need for you to contact MRIC if your connection degrades or 
goes out suddenly.  At the minimum, your familiarity with the above trouble-shooting steps will help the support volunteer 
who contacts you.  You might end up being talked through these steps over the phone so be sure to understand whatís 
expected.   The support person can help clarify your questions, but be sure to provide as much diagnostic information 
as possible to help resolve the issue.
  

 

 CCCIA Hall on Hwy 72, in Coal Creek Canyon…

 

MRIC MEMBERSHIP MEETING

 

"MRIC is looking at holding it's next members meeting in November, later this year. There will be board elections so it will be a members only function. More details to follow...."
 
UPCOMING SURVEY

Sue Rodriguez-Pastor, Contributor, -from email 8/8/2004

 

Sue Rodriguez-Pastor, MRIC's new Technical Support Coordinator, and MRIC Volunteer David Jagger will be contacting MRIC Subscribers via telephone and e-mail in the coming weeks.  The goal of the telephone/e-mail survey will be to touch base with our Subscribers and get valuable feedback regarding their experiences with MRIC in order to maintain high quality service and support.  The questions will address Subscribers' experiences with initial MRIC sign up, installation, follow up support, quality of internet access and speed, and any suggestions for improving our services.  Each phone call should only take a few minutes to complete. Sue and the Support Team volunteers look forward to chatting with all of you soon! Please feel free to contact her if you have any questions or suggestions regarding the upcoming Survey at smrp@mric.coop.

 

AIRPLANE NOISE MONITORING

Confidential Member Contributor

 

A new mailing list has been created to discuss local impacts of DIA traffic and low flying aircraft.  A number of MRIC members have begun monitoring aircraft noise levels using software designed by an MRIC interested party.  A PC compatible computer that runs this software with an attached microphone can record and categorize noise events from jets and piston planes.  We hope to record data from a larger distribution of monitoring stations to a central server that can be graphed in real time.

Unfortunately, the local airports' interest in combating aircraft noise has been disingenuous.  Since airport noise complaint lines are run by aviation interests, the data are often misrepresented or mis-recorded, and there have been reports of pilots harassing the people who leave their location information. 

The way to combat the adverse impacts on local residents is to arm ourselves with our own good quality and comprehensive measurements which can then be presented to our elected officials and other citizens groups doing similar work around the country.

 

Please email noise@mric.coop if you have an interest in taking back the sky…

 

WISHLIST:

 

           Contact:    install@mric.coop
     

IN CASE YOU MOVE AWAY…

 

If members plan to move, be sure to mention that you are already pre-wired for mric.coop broadband wireless access — it will be a selling point to potential buyers who are looking for decent local response times.    If you still want to host:  mric.coop service cost will be $5/month per hosted domain.

TECH LINKS



WIRELESS TERMS & REPEATER MAINTENANCE

Mike Lewinski, Contributor, -from email 8/18/2004

 

WiFi:  Short for "wireless fidelity," WiFi is a radio frequency network.

         Link: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Wi_Fi.html

 

LAN:  Local Area Network — grouped computers that have a shared connection path.

          Link:  http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/l/local_area_network_LAN.html

 

Antenna:    Typically connected to a house (by cable or directly), this device

                  receives the wireless internet signal which is broadcast from a

                  repeater (within 8 miles) and connects to the computer or LAN

                  within the household.  

                  

Repeater:  Access Point (AP) or Point of Presence (POP).   Regardless of what it is called,

                 it is simply the MRIC-operated central radio that members in a given

                 geographical area use to connect to the Internet.  MRIC has multiple repeaters

                 in various locations to provide coverage throughout our extended service area.

                 Link:  http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/POP2.html

 

     MRIC repeater sites (in sequence of establishment):

               (legacy sugarloaf.net network)

1.     Sandy Dr. (SY)

2.     Kelly Dr. (KY) tandem POP

   (mric planned & funded)
3.  Pine Glade (PG)- the first MRIC service location
4.  Winiger West (WW)
5.  Twin Sisters (TS)

6.  Thorodin North (TN) on the face of Mt. Thorodin

7.     Lazy Z (LZ)

8.     Sugarloaf South (SS)

     9.  Labelle (LB)
                     10.  Arkansas (AM)                     
                     11.  Janelle (JN) in Coal Creek Canyon

      12.  Nightshade (NS)

       13.  Begole  (BG)  -Brand New POP in CCC!

 

Bill Clark has completed the job of building, renumbering and maintaining the legacy sites over the years, so members who are associated with those repeaters will not have to undergo this maintenance process.  However, the remaining sites have not yet been updated and as a result need some additional work to keep it running smoothly.  Therefore, APs #3-8 will all undergo renumbering, change of SSID and WEP-enabling over the coming months. 

 

We choose to start with Winiger West (WW) because it is isolated in some ways and the easiest point to begin.   Since there are too many devices connected to WW AP that are still un-identified, information will soon be posted to enable members to self-identify their MAC address so that MRIC Support can ID the last dozen and proceed with this maintenance.  WW maintenance scheduled for Sun, Aug 22, 2004 will be delayed until more MAC addresses are identified.   WW AP should check email for directions.  These updates will offer increased reliability and better security.


In order to go ahead with the maintenance to implement routing on our  network, it is vital that we ID each member by MAC address.   This simple script will do the bulk of the work for you:

http://popo.mric.coop/cgi-bin/mac-reporter.cgi

Notes:

1) The above URL is only going to give us valid information if you access it from on MRIC. Also, if you use VPN you should NOT be connected to your VPN when you access it. That site is a special script designed to record your MAC address directly.  If you are off-net or using a VPN it will not work.

2) Every member does have a MAC address- it is the fundamental low level means by which you are identified to the network. It is normally a strings of numbers and letters that are hard coded into your radio's network card by the vendor. Knowing your own MAC address can sometimes come in handy so when you visit the above URL you might want to copy and paste it somewhere in case the support teams needs to further identify you.

Thanks to all who've already responded to the first request! 42 households have already self-identified and this will be a huge help in finalizing our upcoming maintenance plans.   Others, please visit this link at your earliest convenience and register your MAC address so that we are able to identify to which AP you are connected.  We will send out a reminder notice periodically during the next week, and no later than Sept. 1st will assume that all members have had an opportunity to visit this form and fill it out.

IF YOU DO NOT VISIT THE ABOVE URL, WHEN WE MIGRATE TO A ROUTED NETWORK YOU WILL LOSE SERVICES!!!

Note that members on the legacy Sugarloaf.net network (Sandy Dr., Kelly Dr., Arkansas Mountain, Labelle APs) are not included in the above survey. However, to be 100% sure we advise you to visit the above URL
either way.  If a form appears, please fill in the requested information.  If you do not need to ID your MAC, the above URL will tell you so.

Because the most basic tasks require a site visit, MRIC Support has chosen to lump together multiple tasks in an effort to hopefully NOT have to repeat the same process of visiting members for reconfiguration at each AP several times.


Please address any questions or comments to support@mric.coop



FOND FAREWELL

Dear Fellow MRIC Members,

It is with sadness that as of Sept 1st I resigned my positions on both the Board of Directors and Support Teams. I have moved away from the neighborhood and am no longer receiving services from MRIC. It has been an honor to serve with many talented and committed volunteers. The volunteers really are the lifeblood of MRIC and I encourage everyone to seek ways to be involved. There are many changes that the network needs in order to remain usable.


I will continue to advise the BoD and support teams on high-level technical matters where I have expertise that is not widely available, in particular with the rollout of routing. So it is possible you will still hear from me from time to time on the members@mric.coop list.


Regards,

Mike




NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR OLD HARDWARE?


                      Now through Labor Day:    http://www.officedepot.com/promo.do?file=/promo/pages/recycle.jsp

  Leonid with Full Moon Light; 11/17/1998

COOL LINKS OF THE MONTH

Boulder Bighorns (member photos):    http://daveringoen.com/bighorn

Bears Salmon Fishing in Alaska's MacNeil Falls:   http://www.seemorewildlife.com/mcneil/bearweb.htm

How Big Does a Meteor Have to Be to Make it to the Ground?
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question486.htm

 

How Do Hybrid Cars Work?   http://www.howstuffworks.com/question486.htm

 

How Does a Watch Work?  http://www.si.edu/lemelson/Quartz/index.html

 

The ExtremeTech Guide to Buying HDTV:  http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0%2C1558%2C1573986%2C00.asp

 

Fossils Show How Whales Evolved to Hear Underwater:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0811_040811_whale_evolution.html#main

 

The Universe Within:  http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/

 

NASA Genesis Mission Expected to Return to Earth With a Piece of the Sun 9/8/2004:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2004-207

 

NASA Lecture (9/17/2004) on Genesis Solar Wind Sample Results:  http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/sep04.cfm

  

2004 Election Videos:   http://www.archive.org/movies/collection.php?collection=election_2004
   
UNUSUAL MRIC ANTENNA MOUNTS
   
         
  
-In a tree…                                                   -Under an overhang…
  
 

                 

                   -On a stovepipe???

 

            

-Around a gutter…                                        -On a deck…(repeater and backhaul)                                                   



                             Indoors Antenna
                              -Indoors…

WELLNESS LINKS:

 

Health Guide:  http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/otcMain

 

Nutritional Recipes:   http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/customize?sol_nutrition.html

 

Heart Healthy Recipes:      http://www.westernbaptist.com/recipes/

 

Vegetarian Recipes:  http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/recipeCategory?category.6

 

Eat Antibiotic-Free:  http://www.iatp.org/foodsec/library/admin/uploadedfiles/Eat_Well_Eat_Antibiotic-Free_2.htm

 

Vegetarian Society of Colorado:  http://www.vsc.org/

Yoga Yields Mind & Body Fitness:     http://www.aarp.org/health-active/Articles/a2003-03-07-yoga.html

 

Fitness Resources:  http://www.justmove.org/fitnessnews/hfindex.html

 

Growing, Perserving & Using Herbs:  http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09335.html


How to Read an Herbal Label:  http://www.naturemade.com/ProductDatabase/prd_label.asp?type=1


How to Read a Vitamin Label:  http://www.naturemade.com/ProductDatabase/prd_label.asp


Vitamin E The Wonder Supplement:   http://www.naturemade.com/WellnessTopics/wt_articles.asp?articleid=76

Alternative Therapies:   http://www.coloradohealthsite.org/holistic/kroll_wins.htm

 

Chinese Medicine & Foods to Aid Healing:   http://www.chinesemedicinedoc.com/PAtient/Dox/foodstoaidhealing.htm


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CURRENT EVENTS LINKS

 

2004 Election Candidates:  http://www.politics1.com/p2004.htm

 

2004 Election Issues:  http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S__Government/Politics/Elections/Presidential_Elections/2004_Presidential_Election/Issues/

 

BBC Site on 2004 Election:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/americas/2004/vote_usa_2004/default.stm

 

(For Teens) MTV "Choose or Lose" Site:  http://www.mtv.com/chooseorlose/

 

CU Boulder CIRES Distinguished Lecture Series:  http://cires.colorado.edu/announcements.html

 

Middle East:  http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E796CA4D-03EB-4D2D-99CD-5C29D295B520.htm

 

Research Guide to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict:  http://www.robincmiller.com/melinkfr.htm

 

China Internet Site (by govt.):  http://www.china.org.cn/english/index.htm

 

Homeland Security Knowledgebase:  http://www.twotigersonline.com/resources.html

 

 
CO-OP CORNER


Boulder:   Boulder Co-op Market, 1904 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 80302. 303-447-2667.

               E-mail: coopinfo@boulder.coop     

               http://www.organicconsumers.org/linkpage.cfm?memid=2435


Nederland:    Mountain Peoples Co-op, 30 E. First St., Nederland, CO 80466. 303-258-7500.

Living & Raw Foods:  http://www.living-foods.com/

School of Natural Cookery (Boulder):  http://www.naturalcookery.com/aboutUs/index.html

 

A Local Solution: