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Before You Start

1. You must be in a group, preferably four people, although 3 and 5 person groups are okay if you've talked to me.
2. Everyone in your group must be trained.
3. You must know your map assignment and group number.
4. Go to wifimaps.com and sign up for an account -one per group.
   • On the front page of wifimaps.com, click "Click here to create a user account".
   • Enter your nickname as uwmaps_groupnumber. So, if you are in group 3, your account name will be uwmaps_3.
   • Your password can be whatever you want, but write it down so you don't forget it.
   • Use one of your group member's email addresses as the confirmation address.
   • Make sure to check the email address inbox and activate the link before you go wardriving.
5. Get a decent map besides the xeroxed one I gave you - make sure you know exactly where you are going and how to get around there.

Configuring the Equipment

See the equipment page for specifics about each set of equipment and diagrams.

First: be in the car, or near the car.

1. Put the wi-fi card in the laptop, if it's not already in.
• The wifi card goes into an empty PCMCIA slot. PCMCIA slots should be located on one side of the laptop and should be about the same size as the card. The card should fit in snugly. Don't force the card in or you might damage it.
2. Boot up the laptop.
• The laptop will boot into Windows XP. The big Thinkpad (setup One) will let you choose your login. Choose "Com 300". The other two will go directly to Windows.
3. Set up the GPS unit. This is different depending on what GPS unit you have.
• Setup One:
  • Earthmate GPS: You do not need to boot up this device. Attach one end of the USB cable to the GPS. Plug the other end into any open USB port on the laptop (there are several). It will take at least 3-5 minutes for the GPS to begin picking up signals.
• Setup Two:
• Garmin GPS III Plus: Press the red button with the lightbulb on it to turn on the device. The unit should start "Acquiring Satellites" pretty quickly. It will take it at least 3-5 minutes to finish and display latitude and longitude.
• Turn the device over and pull out the black, round rubber plug that covers the socket.
• Take the serial cable and plug one end into the GPS unit and the other end into the serial port on the back of the laptop.

• Setup Three:
• Etrex: Hold down the bottom right button.
• Then hit the top right button.
• You will see a screen where the GPS is searching for satellites. It usually takes it a few minutes to find from 3-5.
• Once you see the longitude and latitude displayed, you're done!
• Plug the GPS unit into the serial cable.
• On the back of the GPS at the top is a small port covered by a rubber flap. Insert the smaller end of the serial cable into the port.
• Plug the other end of the serial cable into the Belkin adapter.
• Plug one end of the USB converter into the laptop, and the other into the Belkin adapter.

A USB port looks like this crappy picture:

Get in the car and launch Netstumbler.

Using Netstumbler

1. Open Netstumbler by clicking on the netstumbler icon on your desktop. 2. Look at the bottom of the application. You should see "GPS: Enabled" or "GPS: Listening" and "1 AP active" or "No AP's active". If you see this, everything's working fine. If you don't see this, you may need to replug in the GPS unit, etc. See the Troubleshooting section of the website.

Here's a screenshot of NetStumbler working properly:

Here's an example with more than one network:

You can see the three networks listed:

Let's look at CapHillCafe1. Clicking on the SSID's menu on the left hand side and opening the CapHillCafe1 menu, clicking on the live green circle brings up this:

The green represents the signal strength of the wireless connection.

If everything appears to be working properly, you should be ready to go.

Wardriving

Before you start driving, familiarize yourself with your assigned area of the city [link coming soon] and work our a driving route that will take you on every street at least once. Have a copy of the map with you in the car, and make sure the driver is just driving and not handling equipment at the same time.

NOTE: GPS may come in and out, especially if you go through tunnels, under overpasses, behind hills, etc. If you're having problems with the GPS, put the laptop on the dash; bend the screen down (but don't close the laptop, that will turn it off). The GPS will work better if it's closer to the window. You may have to hold it outside the car window or at the far edge of your front window as you drive. You will also have to be careful about holding it at the right angle (upright with the screen facing you, not flat).

At this point, as you drive around, Netstumbler will detect all the various wireless networks in the area. You do NOT need to do anything except drive around and listen to Netstumbler pick up networks. It uses audio feedback to tell you what's going on - you should hear a series of chimes, tones, beeps, etc.

If you're not picking up any wireless networks, something is wrong. Check that all the equipment is working correctly and try again.

Tips:

• Drive SLOW - 25mph is ideal.
• You might want to put the laptop on the dash to amplify the signal. You may need to fold the screen partway down to do this, but do not fold it all the way down as that will put the laptop in hibernation mode.

Uploading Files

At this point, you should have a full screen of wireless points you've picked up. Your next step is to save this data.

Once you've saved the file, you need to upload it. GO SOMEWHERE WITH A WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION.

1. Go to http://www.wifimaps.com.

2. Login using the account information you previously registered. You should see a screen like this:

3. Click "Upload" at the top of the page.

4. You'll see the following screen:

5. Click "Browse" in the "Send this File" box.

6. In the "Choose File" dialogue, find the .ns1 file you just saved. Click "OK".

7. Click "Send File".

You're done!!