More Wi-Fi and More Check-In

Lately we’ve been faced with a great problem to have in a church: More and more people are showing up, and as a result we now have some bottleneck issues to deal with.  Call it what you will, but when systems and processes at a church need changed because more people are showing up, I think that’s a great thing!

One of the solutions we are going to implement is putting additional check-in stations in play so that more people can be checked in at once.  To add flexibility, we will be giving these new check-in stations wireless capability so that they can be repositioned as necessary.

To prepare for this, I needed to do some beefing-up of our wireless infrastructure. Until this past week we only had 2 active wireless APs in the building, which made for quite a few dead zones.  Our original plan was to add 4 Proxim AP-4000s in key areas where we would be checking people in.  Before heading to a retailer though, I did some shopping on Ebay and managed to come up extremely lucky: 6 AP-4000s for about $1900 total…you can’t pass up a deal like that!

I spent Tuesday morning updating and configuring the new APs… the ability to do CLI over serial and conduct TFTP config file downloads makes for decently-fast mass configuration, considering the fact that there’s no central management involved.  Through Tuesday night and Wednesday, cabling was pulled or repositioned to make way for installation, and by Wednesday evening 5 of the 6 new APs were up and running.

The plan for wireless check-in is to use the Proxim’s 802.11a radio to talk to the check-in stations. (If you’re curious as to why I’m not using 802.11b/g, read Jason’s post on the matter.)  Each check-in station will have a Proxim 802.11a-capable radio, as well.

I’m hoping to see out hardware coming in over the next couple of weeks.  Once we have a couple stations build and ready to go, I will come back with Wi-Fi performance results.  I’m hoping to see great things!

…from where I left off

Today I had the embarrassing experience of going to http://davemast.net to check the network connectivity of one of our video production machines. The post at the top of the page dated October 4th told me that I should probably write something, or at least plan time to decide if I should even continue blogging.

Last you heard, I was on my way to the 2008 Fall Church IT Roundtable.  It was hosted by Trace Pupke at Seacoast Church in Mt. Pleasant SC, and from what I’ve heard (because this is the first “big” RT event I’ve been to), it was by far the best. I believe it, because Trace and his team did an amazing job of planning and executing the entire event. From the food to presentations to literature, nothing was overlooked.

The most enjoyable part of the roundtable, hands-down was getting to connect with IT leaders from around the country. There’s always something great about being able to connect with like-minded folks and share ideas, challenges, joys and pains with one another.  I won’t lie — being a lone IT guy in an organization can be a lonely deal at times; there’s not a lot of people in the organization that think like you do, and it’s easy to be misunderstood.  I’m extremely thankful for the CITRT group and the folks that lead it, it has had immeasurable positive impact on my ministry.

headin' down South

Just two or so weeks ago, I was in Granger IN, participating in the GCC Church IT Roundtable (recap available here).  If you’ve never been to a Church IT Roundtable event before, you need to understand that the elements of encouragement and community abound in the environment.  Not to mention the power of collaborative thought.  This year’s roundtable at GCC was no exception, and I think every single person involved was able to benefit from going.  I know I did.

Tomorrow I will be jumping in the NewPointe-mobile and heading down to the official Fall Church IT Roundtable at Seacoast Church.  I am JACKED about this!  Here are just a few reasons why…

• This will be the largest Roundtable I’ve been to so far (I didn’t get to go to the SCBC or OKC Roundtables)
• I love being able to connect with like-minded people, and the RT is a great atmosphere to do that in. (it’s not easy being the lone geek in your organization)
• The drive to SC is going to be a crackin’ good time.  I’m a huge fan of road trips.
• On Monday I’m doing to make a stop at NewSpring Church and meet up with THE Jared to scope out their multi-site/campus setup.
• My wife is coming with me!  She’s going to be hanging out with her counterparts at NSC and Seacoast while I geek out.
• I’m going to get to experience southern cooking, and that ALONE is worth the price of admission.  Bring on the BBQ and sweet tea!

We’ll be pulling out of Dover somewhere between 1-2pm tomorrow afternoon.  Looking forward to it!

Twitter in Plain English

From time to time, I’ll mention Twitter when I’m talking to someone in person.  Most of the time, after mentioning Twitter, I’ll have I feel obligated to explain what it is and how it works.

Since I’m not the most eloquent person around, I’m very pleased that someone has taken the time to put this video together.  It explains, briefly and completely, what Twitter is and why its useful.  Enjoy.

Power-on delay update

Here’s a REAL rough shot of a working circuit.  It needs a little pretty (but not too much) before it goes behind a plasma.