[Battlemesh] Chilling effect - Lockdown (FCC/EU)

[fboehm]

Am 18.02.2016 um 10:44 schrieb Bastian Bittorf:
> * fboehm <fboehm at aon.at> [18.02.2016 10:35]:
>
> [please dont toppost franz!]
>
>> What about manufacturers like www.8devices.com? They are working on
>> 5GHz equipment currently and aren't focused on end-users. Therefore I
>> assume no firmware lockdown.
>
> generally speaking we need an OpenHardware design
> for indoor 2.4/5GHz and outdoor 2.4 and outdoor 5GHz
> with "standard" antenna connectors (RP-SMA/N)
>
> never ever rely on the vendors 8-)
>
> If there exists a design a community can
> order/produce e.g. 1000 pieces. I dont have enough
> insight if this is really possibly (going to an
> assembly line, handout the design and order the routers)
>
> so first there is an design needed and so we need
> to crowdfound the developement of the open design
> and the approval (FCC and EU).
>
> bye, bastian
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You anyway loose the initial FCC or ETSI certification when you modify 
the radio driver. A re-certification would be necessary. Pragmatic 
solution from the FCC: firmware lock, period :)

It's also not necessary to design a new board. Plenty of PCIe radios and 
suitable boards are available. Manufacturers will have an incentive to 
produce them as long as there are enough users/buyers.

Yes, this products are more expensive than TP-Link equipment. But I 
would say you get what you pay for.

As an alternative: there are finished MT7621 router designs that you can 
modify towards a PCIe ath9k radio instead of Mediatek radio. But the 
radio should be a module and not an embedded radio. Otherwise you have 
to deal with radio calibration stuff. Such a board would not even be 
considered a wireless router when you buy the wireless card separately.

Franz