On Wed, 19 Nov 2003, Jason Johnson wrote: > GPS seems to be only part of the system in the Sears vans. Besides, the > dome is way too large to house just a GPS antenna. I have seen those same > type of "dome" assemblies on big rig trucks, repair vans, etc. They usually > contain a motorized tracking antenna for satellite broadband. This allows > the vehicle to be in motion and still be able to maintain contact with the > satellite providing the network access. Similar types of devices are just > now becoming available to the consumer market in the form of DirecTV > antennas for SUV's, motorhomes, etc. They are motorized and allow viewing > of satellite TV while the vehicle is in motion.
the even cooler antennas are steerable phased array lenses which are flat and have no moving parts... http://www.kvh.com/tracvision > >From what I gather, the Sears trucks have the following: > > - Satellite tracking antenna > - GPS receiver > - 802.11 radio in Ad-Hoc mode > - Ruggedized Laptop > > This allows the network connection to go from their Laptop -> Truck -> > Satellite tracking antenna -> Internet. They use it to access repair > information, set appointments, receive assignments, etc. It appears to be a > very well designed system. > > The site aforementioned (http://www.ittc.ku.edu/wlan/phorum/list.php?f=1) > tells you everything. > > It appears the SSID that is used by the Sears vans must be used in many > other, similar applications. People have reported seeing signals from these > devices "everywhere" and with incredible ranges. My guess is the company > behind the technology uses the same SSID for all their customers, not just > Sears. > > Oh, and also the Sears van is part of a secret government program to inject > radio signals into our brains (See site for details) :P > > --Jason > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Fred Coffman > Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 10:23 AM > To: Greg DesBrisay > Cc: Brian Lee; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [BAWUG] Sears Van > > > They are GPS units - I quizzed the Sears man > > Greg DesBrisay wrote: > > > > > > > > I've seen those equipment pods on the top of Sears vans as well, but I > > figured they were OmniTracs units (a satellite-based vehicle tracking > > system, see www.omnitracs.com). Can't say for sure, but I'm guessing > > the 802.11 gear is somewhere inside the van. > > > > Anyone here know for sure what an OmniTracs unit looks like? > > > > Greg > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, 2003-11-18 at 13:02, Brian Lee wrote: > > > >>I've stumbled onto an Ad-Hoc network from a Sears Van today! It's > outfitted > >>with a real nice setup. I pick up signal from far away. I just wanted to > >>share... > >> > >>SSID: SST-PR-1 > >> > >>Some pictures I took: > >>http://www.yepo.com/vanaway.jpg > >>http://www.yepo.com/vanback.jpg > >>http://www.yepo.com/vanside.jpg > >> > >>Extensive coverage: > >>http://www.ittc.ku.edu/wlan/phorum/list.php?f=1 > >> > >>Brian > >> > >>_________________________________________________________________ > >>Page a contact�s mobile phone with MSN Messenger. Get it FREE! > >>http://www.msnmessenger-download.com > >> > >>-- > >>general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> > >>[un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > > > > > -- > > general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> > > [un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > > > -- > general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> > [un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > -- > general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> > [un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joel Jaeggli Unix Consulting [EMAIL PROTECTED] GPG Key Fingerprint: 5C6E 0104 BAF0 40B0 5BD3 C38B F000 35AB B67F 56B2 -- general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> [un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
