Now what? - Some ideas on what to do AFTER your node is up and running...

[After answering many of the same questions of newbies in email, I put this together to give a few folks an idea of what's in store...]

If you are like me, you found out about this mesh stuff and thought this might be an interesting tool... You saw possibilities. You thought, yeah, this is what TCP/IP packet SHOULD have been!

If you are like me, you hunted down some gear, you figured out which software to download, you leaned how to get inside the box and re-flash the firmware – and voila! You are almost there! You click update and cross your fingers...

Hopefully, it worked...

OK, so now you flashed a WRT54Gx or a Ubiquiti module and now you have a node... With your call sign in it and everything. Congratulations!

Now what?!?

It's on the air and you can go and scan local WiFi frequencies and look at a node list that has only you – or if you are lucky, you might see other meshers in your area.

When you look at the Mesh Status page you will see your node. You may see other nodes if there are people around you as “Neighbors”. Typically in the remote node list you will see node names on the left and their advertised services on the right. These services can be anything from a web page, HamChat, Bulletin boards, cams and even IP phones.

For an example see: http://www.n5mbm.net:8084/cgi-bin/mesh

Part of the fun of the mesh is there is stuff out there – or there should be. If there is nothing out there but just nodes to interact with – why mess with it? One of the things I have tried to bring to the table on my local mesh (and what I am tunneled into) is something for people to listen to, something to read and something to interact with – so people can interact. Otherwise you are just looking around at other nodes, looking at their mesh status screen and perhaps scanning their local WiFi frequencies to see what routers are near them... And that can get pretty boring after a while...

Most of us hams want to talk to other people, interact with other people and perhaps learn something in the process... The mesh is only the tracks, we have to put rail cars on them and move them somewhere for it to be something of value to the rest of us... The mesh is the infrastructure for whatever we want to put onto it – just like the internet!

HamNet is a great emergency communications tool. But if the only time we ever use it is to drag out in the time of an emergency, dust off the routers and plug them in – then what? If there is no larger infrastructure of something to connect to, those emergency communications tools are useless. If the only time we dust off this stuff and use it is when the stuff hits the fan in a hurricane or something, people aren't going to be proficient in using it!

So... Lets take a look at what some ideas of what you can probably do to make this a system that people want to use, log in to and toy with on a daily basis – like the rest of our Ham radio Hobby. Something that is THERE for us to use when we want it... Let's see a few ways of using it that will gain you experience as to how to set this stuff up and maintain it.

I will use my network as an example as to what you can do – but it isn't the ONLY way to do it! The following is based on MY experiences, yours will undoubtedly be different.

Now what? Let's talk resources...

Now you have a node. You didn't think you needed just one did you? Now you have more nodes to add! In my shack I have the “QTH” node that is the internet gateway for my little mesh network. It plays traffic cop between the 10.x.x.x HamNet network and my home 192.168.x.x network which is the one that talks to the internet. It is like ground zero. Everything branches out from there.

To this I had to add a tunnel server and a tunnel client router so I could mesh with anybody out there on the web via tunneling. These have to be WRT54GS v1-4 routers as they handle the tunneling scripts and the right version of the software. These have their WAN ports plugged into the 192.168.x.x network on static addresses to talk to the internet. I live in the boondocks and without these, I wouldn't see anybody else, period.

To this I added a “Bridge” router that has static Ips and setup as NAT that has its WAN port plugged into the 192.168.x.x network. I reserved addresses for services on this to my servers I have on my 192.168. network like my streaming audio server, web server and mail server, etc...

Now that's FOUR little WRT54Gx routers sitting on top of one another – with no DTD linking at all, there's a lot of RF flying around there because all the inter-router communication is over RF right here in the shack. So I cut the power on all of them down to the minimum – everybody seems happy. But all the routers talk to the 192.168.x.x network via WAN ports and the shack PC's and mesh based servers, cameras, etc. are on the LAN ports. But inter-router communication is still all over RF in this configuration.

(This isn't including the Internet router that talks to the 192.168.x.x network!)

Linksys routers have a chipset bug that prevents us from using direct DTD linking via the lan ports. However, Ubiquiti gear is free from this problem and will happily pass LOTS of its traffic via the LAN ports keeping the RF side more open for higher speed data transfers.

That's FOUR routers to get me on the internet, tunnel over the internet and connect the shack and my home network together... All WRT54Gx's (I have G's, GL's and GS's – but only GS's will tunnel.)

These four routers give me the infrastructure to put resources OUT THERE on the mesh – without it, I couldn't provide other folks stuff to look at, listen to and interact with...

Now what?

Well, we need to talk to the outside world with RF right?!?

The WRT54G routers don't have all that much power. The Ubiquiti units are more suitable for mounting outside, way up high and out in the open. Most of them either have integrated antennas or are designed to be screwed right onto the back or bottom of the antenna so you have no feed line loss at all.

Now what? Should you put up an omni, a beam or a dish?

First off, microwaves do not act like we are used to on VHF/UHF. They do... But they don't... If there is nobody else in your area meshing, put up an omni. Just because you never know what you will do in the coming months. If there is someone, somewhere near you, figure out the compass heading and put up a patch antenna, a yagi or one of those 150 buck BBQ grill dishes for a whopping 24db of gain and point it at your buddy. Having it on a rotor might be nice, but once you find a path, you will probably want to leave it pointed there...

Why not split off one of the antenna ports of a WRT54Gx? Because microwave feed line losses are horrendous and after personally using Ubiquiti M2HP bullets and Rocket boards – there is no comparison in performance, ruggedness and reliability for something out there in the weather. It is commercial carrier grade stuff!

NOW – with four routers in the shack, and one up on the tower I can see peoples internet routers for miles around – and the mesh on the tunnel over the internet... I live in the boondocks, no other meshers are within line of sight, even from on TOP of the tower!

Now what?

I setup my tunnel routers to talk to the outside world via the Internet. Without it, I can't see anybody else... There's a lot of stuff out there from Hawaii to Paris to Italy even! It's growing every day...

Now what?

I added HamChat to several of my routers so people could type to each other keyboard to keyboard from anywhere in the world... I felt the need to give people a way to interact with each other. This was a very simple way to do so and it lives and runs ON the node! No other hardware required!

Now what?

I renamed all my resources to have unique names that probably wont be duplicated somewhere else in the WORLD. Like putting my call sign in front of them so my cameras names will be different than someone elses barn-cam. Having VERY unique names will become more important as the mesh grows and there may be 13 “barn-cam” entries in the list! How many PBX entries can there be before people start naming them something unique? Although I am tempted to put up a chicken coop cam named LIVENUDECHICKS!

Now what?

Well I needed to see what the temp was in the greenhouse and be able to see if the propane heater was still lit or if the 40 lb. Bottle of gas had given up its last ounce of propane... I put a little WRT54G router out there on a shelf with a Foscam waterproof POE IP camera attached to it, DHCP reserved and setup as an advertised service. Voila! I can now see the big round thermometer in the greenhouse and the face of the propane heater and it even sees in the dark!

Now what?

Still contemplating the chicken coop cam...

Now what?

Well I needed to watch over my parking lot next to the barn to see when the UPS man showed up... I mounted a Foscam waterproof POE IP camera on the tower and connected it to one of the WRT54Gx's in the shack and set it up as an advertised service.

Now what?

Well, I needed to monitor the barn... I put a little WRT54G router out there on a shelf with a Foscam waterproof POE IP camera attached to it, DHCP reserved and setup as an advertised service. Voila! I can now see the inside of the barn to see when the cats get left behind or the traps are sprung for the rats. Did I close the barn door? I can peek at the cam and see from the comfort of my skivvies in the house on a tablet or in the shack.

Now what?

Still contemplating LIVENUDECHICKS cam... Maybe bird feeder cam... Maybe hummingbird feeder cam... Maybe even the aquaponics koi pond feeder cam... I wonder if the IR LEDS will work under water...?

Now what?

I built servers and added cameras to the mesh advertised services... I added streaming audio servers off of a big bank of scanners in a rack in my shack. I added cameras. I put a few html files in the www directories on the nodes and put them up as Node List information pages the tell people what are ON my nodes and what to do with them.

And now people have something to look at, read, listen to and interact with...

It sure beats looking at peoples node status screens and scanning their surrounding WiFi frequencies... :)

Now what?

I scurry off to Amazon to order another IP camera for the chicken coop... You will accumulate a collection of routers, bullets, LAN stuff and cameras if you dive off into this deep enough and YES it can become addicting! But Amazon and the UPS guy will love you...

I am still trying to figure out how to stuff a waterproof IP cam in a glass bottomed bucket for the Koi pond and NOT have the IR LEDs reflect back from the glass......

My buddy suggested a deer feeder cam...

Now what?

Each day somebody does something else with the mesh I am tunneled into. Countries are added, new resources are added. More and more people are coming together on the mesh now that tunneling has become a reality. Giving YOU more opportunities to explore stuff out there...

Just like the early days of the world wide web... The tracks were laid down, people figured out what to do with hypertext and the internet became something most of us can't live without. What happens to the mesh is up to good people like you to put something up there interesting and worthy of somebody else like me wasting a little time on and exploring what there is out there.

Who knows, in another ten or twenty years, the mesh may become the Ham Radio version of the internet. If we don't toy with it, we wont be able to use it when the times comes to depend on it for whatever reason...

Then what?!? :)

It's all up to folks like you and me... If you don't build it, who will?

We all need something else to look at other than my chicken coop... Even LIVENUDECHICKS have a limited appeal after a while... But they make good eating... The Koi, not so much...

Have some questions, tips, tricks or hints to share? Please comment!

Bill – N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

I figured it out - and I am posting it here for anyone else that wants to try syncing the time on all their nodes...

Thanks to N2MH out in West Orange, he has a time server setup on his PBX box and he gave instructions on how to edit the /etc/init.d/ntpclient config file on the BBHN nodes.

I used WinSCP to get into my node(s) and edited this file and replace both of the entries for "us.pool.ntp.org" with the address of his time server (10.148.231.14) I could see through the tunnel on the mesh.  After a HARD reboot (a softboot from the web interface won't do)  After about 3 or 4 minutes, it synced!  It worked!

So this ought to work on my local end of the network too - right?  I went hunting and found Meinbergglobal.com's NTP software for Windoze 7 machines.  I installed it and the shack PC is now synced with UTC to a pretty close tolerance.  YAY! Now my shack PC became an NTP server on my local mesh network as well. 

I went in and reconfigured my node(s) again and I just put in the "10." networking address of my shack PC in place of his PBX time server address and this worked as well!

Now all my nodes are looking to my shack PC (which never gets shut off and sees the mesh AND the local network AND the internet) for NTP services.

And my nodes no longer think it is January 1970... :)  Mission accomplished!

Bill - N5MBM

I found an NTP service for my Shack PC running Windoze 7 from meinbergglobal.com.

Now that it is operational...  other PC's on the network see it.  But...  I still don't see my nodes finding the NTP server on the network and some of my nodes think it is Jan 1, 1970?!?!

Maybe it is lack of sleep but I seem to remember you could edit something in BBHN to look at a specific address...  And NOW I can't find that info! LOL

Any ideas guys?

Bill - N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

I see that you mentioned previously AsteriskNOW. That is what I use. What are you needing to do that required you to pay whoever money? I've been using Asterisk & FreePBX for a while and have never paid anyone a cent (except for a VoIP<->PSTN provider...which does require some type of plan).

I've been busy...  Got a lot of nodes up and a lot of resources for people to connect to...  AND I am now tunneled into places like Hawaii and Paris...

But one little nagging bug seems to be biting me in the butt - TIME!

Now that I am tunneled to different sides of the planet, the time doesn't hit the internet anymore to pickup the right time on all my nodes.  AND I have some cameras that need to have their time set every time they reboot.

Whats the easiest way to setup one of my Linux/Windoze servers or maybe even one of my Windoze PC's as a time server for my local mesh - so I can put it ON my mesh for all my nodes to see WITHOUT having to reach out to the internet?  (Because the tunneling stuff seems to be blocking it...?)

Anyone have any suggestions?

Bill - N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

http://n5mbm.endoftheinternet.org:8084/cgi-bin/mesh

Take a peek at the Nanostations - they are about the size of a "Tall boy" beer can, they strap to a vertical pipe and is basically just a M2HP integrated with a 8db directional patch antenna. 

I know of one installation where they have a Ubiquiti M2HP bullet on an omni antenna up on top of the tower and several of these nanostations under it, strapped a couple of feet down on the same pole, pointing in different directions to make the directional links that the omni just doesn't quite reach with a signal strength better than a 70...

You don't HAVE to have a 24db BBQ grill dish up there on the tower adding to your wind load - but the extra gain helps on those long haul links!  The Nanostations traverse miles without a problem.  Just not as many miles as a BBQ grill dish!  (8db vs. 24db!)

You can have several different nodes, all pointed in different directions, all mounted to the same pole and working happily next to one another.  You just tie them together with a managed switch like Ubiquiti's ToughSwitch line of 5 and 8 port POE switches to feed them power and interconnect all the nodes on one compact switch.

In my experience, so far, links that fall above -70 to -75 become downright marginal when you start pumping a lot of data.  -65 or better is good, anything less than -50 will be pretty good and solid.  I have noticed NO rain fade but FOG becomes a problem some mornings...

Good luck and post your progress for the rest of to learn a thing or two!

Bill - N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

http://n5mbm.endoftheinternet.org:8084/cgi-bin/mesh

BTW - just 'cuz I don't have many folks to brag to and feel important... :)

I'm doin' a happy dance over here!  We got Remi F6CNB setup and online via tunneling to my nodes from PARIS FRANCE!  I also got Wayne KH6TZ in Honolulu Hawaii on the world wide mesh as well!  In addition to Maryland, California, LasVegas and numerous points in Texas...

Anyone down in Australia wanna give it a try?!?  (big cheesy grin...)

Anyone else want to join the fun?!?  I have slots open on my tunnel client and tunnel server ready to set you up when you are ready to see the bigger picture...  Ya know, just to see how it works when we get it all loaded down...  Help me help the team debug this puppy!

Thanks to everyone who made this possible!

Bill - N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

http://n5mbm.endoftheinternet.org:8084/cgi-bin/mesh

Thanks for your comments guys!

I kind of wanted to hear what they guys on the ground floor envisioned for all of this...  I see a lot of possibilities. But I don't want my enthusiasm to over ride what people originally wanted to do with it.

I have a habit of getting excited about something like this and jumping in with both feet!  You want proof?  Just look at my node list down below! LOL  I put all the stuff from my website on the mesh too!

I see this as what packet should have been.  A different kind of web.  A "ham" web!  A whole lot of guys with stuff idling away in their shack, making it available for other people to play with...  I don't mind sharing my toys!  Besides, exploring stuff out there is kind of fun!

But I also see a need for some "Best Operating Practices and Standards" coming together...  And the longer I play with this stuff, and the more people come online with tunneling, the more important it will become.  Naming conventions, node list info pages, MORE resources to explore and play with and standardized user accounts and passwords on peoples web cams...  It IS coming together!

I stuck "MyNodeListInformation" html files in the www directories of some of my nodes explaining what the resources were, how to access them and their passwords - it helps newbies!  If anyone wants info on how to do this, drop me a line.

Now, I want to not only see more nodes in my list - I want to see MORE resources to explore! :)

Thanks for the comments!  And continue the discussion - where do YOU see this going in the next few years?!?  :)

Bill - N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

http://n5mbm.endoftheinternet.org:8084/cgi-bin/mesh

@Neal - N5EN

We will get you all setup!  Amazon to the rescue once again!

I got the Ubiquiti M2 rocket module, the 13db dual polarity omni antenna, a Ubiquiti POE "Tough Switch" and a Foscam HD waterproof IP camera all setup and running on a UPS out in the barn for you - doing the "burn-in" shuffle!

For resource links it has HamChat installed on it, a Node Info List and the camera people can click on and see when they visit.

Bill W5TZ and I have discussed a tower stand off bracket to make the install go smoothly...

Take a peek at the nodelist to see the BrenhamNW node.

http://n5mbm.endoftheinternet.org:8084/cgi-bin/mesh

Keep in touch with me and we will see if we can get this hung off of your tower next weekend!

Bill - N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

M2's are 2.4 GHz.  M5's are 5 GHz.  The plain old M2HP's and M5HP's I have been buying off of Amazon work like a charm with the 3.0.x firmware.

There's a bunch of them on this node list...  http://n5mbm.endoftheinternet.org:8084/cgi-bin/mesh

M2HP Bullet's - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SYS22E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

M5HP Bullet's - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SYTPMU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bill - N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

I gave up on "FreePBX"...  Mostly because everything I wanted to do or add they wanted money for - imagine that?!?  I got exactly what I paid for...  But I DID like their GUI for configuring things!

So I started all over from scratch!  Which means I am probably doing it the hard way...  But...

I downloaded the latest version of Unbuntu and installed it.  Then I went and installed Asterisk, for Unbuntu.  And now, without a Http GUI to help me out, I am sort of stuck...  I stalled out and took a break from bashing my head into the keyboard at 2:53am...

I really miss that GUI!

But I am going to dive back into it after I get some other nodes setup in town - it got put on the back burner...  Getting my fellow hams UP and ON the mesh is more important right now.

And after talking to Jim K5KTF about Asterisk, we need to all get our asterisks talking to each other with some software he told me about so we can make the whole PBX stuff a really workable and viable addition to all of our ham shacks!  I like his idea of using our callsigns on the telephone keypad!

Thanks for all your comments - I will dive back into this and let you know my progress!

Bill - N5MBM

To be honest... There's more than one way to skin a cat... (my wife would cringe...)

The WRT54G's have two antennas and can be used separately. One going to a beam, one going to an omni – or any combo you can think of. Typically, the left antenna port (looking at it from the front) has a little less loss inside the box to the actual port because it uses cable instead of a printed circuit board strip line to feed it. But realistically, these routers aren't suitable for outdoor long range links. They just don't have that much power and the feed line losses at 2.4 GHz are absolutely horrendous!

In other words, try like hell NOT to use any coax anywhere in your mesh gear if you can help it!

Ubiquity makes “Rocket” modules (M2, M5) that have two ports, but they also have some pretty nifty antenna rigs that they hook right up to... (Right on the base of the antenna!) They are GREAT for outdoor long range links. They sell them on Amazon, with prime, it's free shipping!

If you want to go all out with a badass omni setup the Ubiquiti Rocket M2 paired with their 13db dual polarity omni antenna is a pretty nice setup – it's rugged commercial carrier grade gear! But it also aint cheap! But you DEFINITELY get what you pay for...

The cheaper option is the plain old Ubiquiti Bullet M2's and they are about 75 bucks a pop and a TP-Link 15 db vertical polarity omni is about 50 bucks. (Amazon and my UPS guy LOVE me!)  The bullet screws right onto the base N connector of the antenna – NO feed line loss at all! I have a bunch of these and they work VERY well and never seem to lock up.

High gain antennas, low (to none) feed line losses and height will get you more performance than anything else. Also, if you have other meshers in your area, OMNI may not be the way to go... Those 24db BBQ grill dishes work REAL well too!

Ubiquiti makes some M2 Nanostations that are basically a bullet integrated into a 8db directional "patch" antenna inside a little white box you strap on a vertical pole - that are nice, small, compact and rugged units for point to point links.  They work well too and I think I saw some online for LESS than 50 bucks!  It's about the size of a "tall boy" beer can.

After you have those in hand, find a WRT54GS v1-4 to setup for your “in the house” node and router and leave the little duckie antennas on it. It has to be a GS model v1-4 to hold the software. This will allow you to be able to “tunnel” outside your local area to widen your view of the mesh beyond your neighborhood.  (Using the newer releases of the 3.0.x firmware.)

Any other WRT54Gx v1-4 router you have will be fine running stuff around the house, but they can't tunnel and they are low power and short range. I use my NON-GS Linksys routers for hooking up resources off my local network and interfacing cams in remote buildings away from my shack – like out in the greenhouse, guest house, chicken coop and barn, etc.

If you want a peek at what a larger mesh with nodes from Hawaii to Paris and even Italy check this out.

http://n5mbm.endoftheinternet.org:8084/cgi-bin/mesh

You will see a lot of nodes and beside them, the resources you can visit. I have a lot of stuff hanging off of my nodes as I am trying to give people something to do and look at when they poke around the mesh! :) There's webservers, cams and live audio streams off of repeaters and scanners to listen to.

So, in a nutshell... Setup a WRT54GS router in the shack, a bullet or rocket up as high as you can get it outside and find someone to tunnel with to widen your scope... THEN, hit up the local ham club and get OTHER people interested! The more nodes, the more interesting stuff will eventually popup on the mesh!

Good luck and keep us posted on your newbie progress! :) It's always cool when you click it – and it works!

Bill – N5MBM

www.n5mbm.net

Ok, so I'm real new to this, but wanted to know the best way to do this.  Wouldnt I want a directional antenna to get the best connection to other nodes, but an omni to connect to nodes that aren't in the direction of the directional antenna?  Maybe I got this all wrong.  If I was to do that wouldn't I need something with two connections?  Do any of the ubiquity models allow this?  Or do I need two units, one with the directional and one with an omni?  Or am I totally way off here??  Trying to get the best range, as my QTH is kind of low here.

73,

Ed

I will be setting up my AirGrid at about Shea and the Indian Bend Wash. I have a clear shot to the east and hope to make a connection. I have tried with some lower gain antennas and a WRT56GL with no contact inside or out.

There are also several folks in the Mesa and Tempe area that are getting their nodes ready. I hope we can make this network work.

Douglas W7ADD

Linksys produced hundreds of these routers for Rogers and T-Mobile for a voip project that was canceled. Both are essentially the same as the WRT54GS v3 (they have 8 MB flash and 32 MB RAM) and thus can be loaded with the WRT54GS v3 Broadband Hamnet firmware. Many of these Rogers routers (in Canada) and T-Mobile routers (in the USA) can be found still sealed in the original packaging.

A zipped file with instructions and all required files to replace the original firmware with bbhn can be downloaded from: http://ve3rrd.ddns.net/files/Broadband-Hamnet on WRT54G-RG and TM.zip

The TRX file to upgrade existing Linksys bbhn routers to bbhn-3.0.1 (zipped) can be downloaded from: http://ve3rrd.ddns.net/files/bbhn-3.0.1-brcm-2.4-squashfs.zip and the procedure to add the new tunneling solution to Linksys routers with 8 MB of flash and 32 MB of RAM can be found at: http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/documentation/204-the-tunnel.html 

If you are using these routers as a tunnel server or client, you must also include the "bug workaround in hotplug" fix discussed here: http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/hsmm-mesh-forums/view-postlist/forum-5-problems-a-answers/topic-1527-vtun-tunneling.html 

And to add a count of Remote Nodes and Current Neighbors to the mesh status screen, replace the "/www/cgi-bin/mesh" file (chmod 775) with the one given by K5KTF at: http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/hsmm-mesh-forums/view-postlist/forum-3-firmware/topic-1538-wrt-mesh-status-page-update.html#ccbp7070 

Linksys produced hundreds of these routers for Rogers and T-Mobile for a voip project that was canceled. Both are essentially the same as the WRT54GS v3 (they have 8 MB flash and 32 MB RAM) and thus can be loaded with the WRT54GS v3 Broadband Hamnet firmware. Many of these Rogers routers (in Canada) and T-Mobile routers (in the USA) can be found still sealed in the original packaging.

A zipped file with instructions and all required files to replace the original firmware with bbhn can be downloaded from: http://ve3rrd.ddns.net/files/Broadband-Hamnet on WRT54G-RG and TM.zip 

Hi Bill (N5MBM),

I have one WRT54G flashed (N5EN-1) flashed, but it looks like I am an island node in SW Houston.  How does the tunneling work to get connected to you?  I may have another WRT54G V2 soon and have an antenna and a 2.4GHZ bullet on the way, but I'll still probably be an island in SW Houston. I just need some tutoring on how to set up a node to tunnel through the internet.  It would be lovely to monitor the farm house in Brenham from Houston and visa versa.

Neal N5EN

Broadband-Hamnet mesh, like you have never seen it before, will operate at Ham-ex hamfest (www.ham-ex.ca) on Saturday March 28.

Bring your own smartphones, laptops and other mobile devices, and we will mesh them in!

We will publish the list of the recommended applications to pre-install a few days before the event.

Hi folks,

I am interested in having a go at developing firmware for other platforms.  Does anyone have any links to information for getting started?

I have some TP-link hardware (I know its not quite up to the Ubiquiti stuff but I have some kicking around doing nothing) that I have flashed with a few different versions of openwrt and had a go at setting up OSLR manually on.  They are WR841NDs so I think are ar71xx based so hopefully not too obscure.

Any advice?

Thanks

Jon