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Roamin' on my ranch -- identifying locale

Please help me figure this one out. I used to be relatively competent in wired networks, but that was years (yarns!) before WIFI hit the market.

I have a small ranch with numerous distinct "functional" buildings separated far enough so access points don't reach from one to another -- in this case, what I want.

My dad can't work an abacus, let alone a computer, but I want to enable him to do inventories of our feed, supplies, fertilizer, tractor parts, etc. For this purpose, I ebay-hooked a used Symbol 9660 handheld computer with a bar code scanner. It runs Windows CE.net 4.2.

Each barn has an access point in a small office. Each office has a printer on an ethernet print server. They're all connected to the main "server" (no, not a server yet, just an XP box with a bunch of remote printers and access points).

When _I_ go to each building, I pop up an excel spreadsheet unique to the building, tally the goods, then print a "re-order" sheet on the local printer (by manually selecting which printer I'll use). The sheet gets hung up on a clip board for another helper to collect during rounds, and to fill on his trip to town.

What I'd like dad to do is find that whenever he enters an access point's field, a "web page" unique to the building automatically pops up, giving him only the lists/fields appropriate to that building, and enabling him to just scan what's there by 'dumb' trigger pulls on the 9660. No thinking, just point-n-push. Then, by scanning a special bar code hung up on a post, to trigger printing of the order sheet on that local printer.

So... how do I get an unique page to display when each access point is in range? I think I can make the application select the printer - believe I know how to do that. But how to I "push" a new page onto the browser from each access point without any interaction on dad's behalf?

Was I clear? Dad's not terribly happy with "machines" doing what a pencil could do. But heck... this is a toy, and it's fun (so far). Now I need to make it so dad can use it. (please, don't say, "train him to do it".... that _never_ did work)

Thanks,

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh
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On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:59:12 -0400, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in :

What do you mean by "reach"? Do you want just point-to-point links, which can be quite long with clear line-of-sight and good antennas, or do you want blanket outdoor coverage?

That could probably be accomplished by "hotspot" wireless routers in each building, each of which has a different configuration and login webpage. See wikis below for info on "hotspot" routers. For maximum flexibility at low cost, consider running hotspot-enabled DD-WRT firmware on suitable hardware, my own preference being Buffalo wireless routers.

Reply to
John Navas

I don't want an ad-hoc network, and the buildings are already bridged. I have wireless access to the palmtop now... just not the "push" of a distinct login page for each AP. The AP at each building is JUST so I can use the Symbol 9660.

I don't recall what happens when I enter a hotspot... will the page just push onto my browser, or will I have to invoke a refresh manually?

Thanks. I've already started downloading the wiki-recommended modules for my RedHat machine.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:55:36 -0400, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in :

No push -- any web access is redirected by the hotspot router to the login page.

Reply to
John Navas

Ok... I guess I could have a common Java applet running in every login page that attempts to refresh the screen.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:17:06 -0400, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in :

Auto refresh can be done without Java (or Javascript). What you have to watch out for is annoying the user with too-frequent refreshes. I think you'd be better off with something running on the mobile device that watches for new network connections.

Reply to
John Navas

Sounds familiar. In the distant past, I had to translate all the Altos AOS menus on my fathers computah into Polish in order for him to use it effectively. I later arranged to do the same into Spanish for the employees.

Nice. What are you using for access points? What are you using for a router? What application is your temporary server running? A web server?

You couldn't do this on one big Excel spreadsheet with all the various barns listed? Excel can easily setup a spreadsheet into "sheets", one for each barn.

Ok. So have the bar code scan do everything for him. Have it run a batch file or VBS script that starts the correct spreadsheet, and runs an Excel Macro with whatever startup menu he needs. You don't need to know which access point he's using as scanning the bar code on the post will have that and the corresponding spreadsheet recorded. The rest is programming, which I'm not very good at and don't want to offer any code. However, with protected cells on the spreadsheet, and custom menus, you should be able to create something useful.

The menus can be invoked by a function key combination or button somewhere on the spreadsheet.

You don't. You use the bar code scan on the pole to tell the computah where it's located and which spreadsheet (or which sheet) to use.

Same deal. The batch file or VBS script run from the bar code on the pole selects the printer. Here are several ways to reset the default printer on the fly:

or you can do it in VBS with an incantation:

If you're a true masochist, there's also this mess from Microsoft:

Browser? What browser? I thought you were using an Excel spreadsheet and not a web browser.

Not really. You described what you want to accomplish without much concern for describing what you have to work with (hardware and software).

Hint: Automating the process will only make it worse. If he feels he's not doing anything useful, he just won't do it, or possibly won't even try. Leave in a few bugs that even he can find, so that he doesn't feel like he's been replaced by a computah.

That's a much bigger challenge than automating the system. It may be fun for you, but not for him. Ask him how *he* wants to have it work so that it's easier for him to do (i.e. less work, fewer keystrokes, less reading, fewer steps, etc) and make it sufficiently reliable so everything doesn't have to be done twice. You might be surprised at what you learn in the process.

Incidentally, forget about putting a bar code on everything in sight. That's the maintenance nightmare from hell. Look into RFID and do your inventory while just walking around without any button pushing.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

John,

I'm not sure I have a handle on this yet, but I had a silly idea you'd be able to critique easily.

Let's say I had a Linux box running Apache (or any other web server... Apache is the only one I've ever configured).

Now, for grins, say I had several wireless APs scattered around the property, each issuing connections in a different IP range and DHCP scope.

Could I make a single instance of the web server send a different "splash page" to each IP range when a client connected to any given AP made an HTTP request?

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:21:59 -0400, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in :

The most straightforward way to do that is to have each access point forward its logins to a different URL, but you could also do virtual domain hosting on the Apache server. Does that help?

But also consider having a monitor app on the wireless client computer that watches the Internet connection, and reconfigures the wireless client computer based on the DHCP-assigned IP address or domain.

Reply to
John Navas

I like the idea of the building-unique captive portals, but you have to be sure you can't accidentally pick up the signal from a neighboring building's AP. It would be irritating to be in Building A, and keep getting re-directed the inventory screen for Building B.

A simple alternative might be barcode macros for each building's web page. Have a sheet of barcodes somewhere convenient (in your pocket, attached to the handheld, etc.) with a unique barcode for each building. Have your dad shoot the barcode for whichever building he's presently in to bring up that building's web page. This is pretty simple and possibly less trouble-prone.

Either way, post what you end up decding; it sounds like a fun project.

-Jonathan

Reply to
Jonathan

Haven't had time to work on it for the last few weeks, but one respondent suggested slapping a barcode on the door, and scanning it as you enter. That would work.

'course, I'm a tinkerer, so I still love the idea of it happening automatically!

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

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