2.4 Ghz phone broadcasting SSID?

Everything I've read says no... but I experienced something very strange
today.

I visited a relatives farm today. The farm is 35 miles from the nearest
town and in mountainous territory. The nearest neighbor is 4 + miles away.
I flipped open my laptop on the kitchen table and my wireless card
immediately picked up and connected to a network it identified as an ad-hoc
wireless g. There was no internet connectivity and I didn't receive any
DHCP/IP addy or anything like that. In fact, I couldn't locate another
"computer on the network"

There is no computer or any other device on the farm that is wireless
capable. There are no neighbors nearby. There is a microwave tower in
line-of-sight about 12 miles away, but this connection registered as
"excellent" and as a full 54megabit. The broadcast SSID was "hp_east". I
fired up netstumbler and the dot was a bright red (I've never seen bright
red before and I don't know exactly what that means) It said it was an Agere
device and described it as a peer.

So, any idea of what might be going on with my Broadcom mini-pci 802.11g
device to have connected to a network that probably can't exist? Or is it
possible that the 2.4 Ghz phone in the house has something to do with this?

Could have been an amped up signal coming off of the tower. I HIGHLY doubt
that there is a cordless phone with 11g built in. Also, I have seen some
cards fall back to ad-hoc mode if no SSID is available. Your PC isn't named
"hp_east" by any chance, is it?

Jeremy

"i'm_tired" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:j2bbb.531819$Ho3.90651@sccrnsc03...
> Everything I've read says no... but I experienced something very strange
> today.
>
> I visited a relatives farm today. The farm is 35 miles from the nearest
> town and in mountainous territory. The nearest neighbor is 4 + miles
away.
> I flipped open my laptop on the kitchen table and my wireless card
> immediately picked up and connected to a network it identified as an
ad-hoc
> wireless g. There was no internet connectivity and I didn't receive any
> DHCP/IP addy or anything like that. In fact, I couldn't locate another
> "computer on the network"
>
> There is no computer or any other device on the farm that is wireless
> capable. There are no neighbors nearby. There is a microwave tower in
> line-of-sight about 12 miles away, but this connection registered as
> "excellent" and as a full 54megabit. The broadcast SSID was "hp_east". I
> fired up netstumbler and the dot was a bright red (I've never seen bright
> red before and I don't know exactly what that means) It said it was an
Agere
> device and described it as a peer.
>
> So, any idea of what might be going on with my Broadcom mini-pci 802.11g
> device to have connected to a network that probably can't exist? Or is it
> possible that the 2.4 Ghz phone in the house has something to do with
this?
>
>

Were u east of the tower at the time? Or is the tower east of the nearest
town? I have found manny signals comming from towers in the middle of
nowhere that have odd ssid's like all numbers or such. Could i get a copy of
your NS log by any chance?

"i'm_tired" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:j2bbb.531819$Ho3.90651@sccrnsc03...
> Everything I've read says no... but I experienced something very strange
> today.
>
> I visited a relatives farm today. The farm is 35 miles from the nearest
> town and in mountainous territory. The nearest neighbor is 4 + miles
away.
> I flipped open my laptop on the kitchen table and my wireless card
> immediately picked up and connected to a network it identified as an
ad-hoc
> wireless g. There was no internet connectivity and I didn't receive any
> DHCP/IP addy or anything like that. In fact, I couldn't locate another
> "computer on the network"
>
> There is no computer or any other device on the farm that is wireless
> capable. There are no neighbors nearby. There is a microwave tower in
> line-of-sight about 12 miles away, but this connection registered as
> "excellent" and as a full 54megabit. The broadcast SSID was "hp_east". I
> fired up netstumbler and the dot was a bright red (I've never seen bright
> red before and I don't know exactly what that means) It said it was an
Agere
> device and described it as a peer.
>
> So, any idea of what might be going on with my Broadcom mini-pci 802.11g
> device to have connected to a network that probably can't exist? Or is it
> possible that the 2.4 Ghz phone in the house has something to do with
this?
>
>

It was Marvin the Martian's wireless PDA. They use ip unnumbered on the red
planet, hence the lack of dhcp addy.


"i'm_tired" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:j2bbb.531819$Ho3.90651@sccrnsc03...
> Everything I've read says no... but I experienced something very strange
> today.
>
> I visited a relatives farm today. The farm is 35 miles from the nearest
> town and in mountainous territory. The nearest neighbor is 4 + miles
away.
> I flipped open my laptop on the kitchen table and my wireless card
> immediately picked up and connected to a network it identified as an
ad-hoc
> wireless g. There was no internet connectivity and I didn't receive any
> DHCP/IP addy or anything like that. In fact, I couldn't locate another
> "computer on the network"
>
> There is no computer or any other device on the farm that is wireless
> capable. There are no neighbors nearby. There is a microwave tower in
> line-of-sight about 12 miles away, but this connection registered as
> "excellent" and as a full 54megabit. The broadcast SSID was "hp_east". I
> fired up netstumbler and the dot was a bright red (I've never seen bright
> red before and I don't know exactly what that means) It said it was an
Agere
> device and described it as a peer.
>
> So, any idea of what might be going on with my Broadcom mini-pci 802.11g
> device to have connected to a network that probably can't exist? Or is it
> possible that the 2.4 Ghz phone in the house has something to do with
this?
>
>

That doesn't quite explain the SSID tho.

"Selar Rao" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:fpebb.115074$(E-Mail Removed)...
> It was Marvin the Martian's wireless PDA. They use ip unnumbered on the
red
> planet, hence the lack of dhcp addy.
>
>
> "i'm_tired" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:j2bbb.531819$Ho3.90651@sccrnsc03...
> > Everything I've read says no... but I experienced something very strange
> > today.
> >
> > I visited a relatives farm today. The farm is 35 miles from the nearest
> > town and in mountainous territory. The nearest neighbor is 4 + miles
> away.
> > I flipped open my laptop on the kitchen table and my wireless card
> > immediately picked up and connected to a network it identified as an
> ad-hoc
> > wireless g. There was no internet connectivity and I didn't receive any
> > DHCP/IP addy or anything like that. In fact, I couldn't locate another
> > "computer on the network"
> >
> > There is no computer or any other device on the farm that is wireless
> > capable. There are no neighbors nearby. There is a microwave tower in
> > line-of-sight about 12 miles away, but this connection registered as
> > "excellent" and as a full 54megabit. The broadcast SSID was "hp_east".
I
> > fired up netstumbler and the dot was a bright red (I've never seen
bright
> > red before and I don't know exactly what that means) It said it was an
> Agere
> > device and described it as a peer.
> >
> > So, any idea of what might be going on with my Broadcom mini-pci 802.11g
> > device to have connected to a network that probably can't exist? Or is
it
> > possible that the 2.4 Ghz phone in the house has something to do with
> this?
> >
> >
>
>

You might check and see if someone in the area is offering wireless Internet
service. It could be that, as its pretty popular in under-broadband-served
rural areas. Could also be someone who modified a standard set of AP's to
boost range.


"i'm_tired" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:j2bbb.531819$Ho3.90651@sccrnsc03...
> Everything I've read says no... but I experienced something very strange
> today.
>
> I visited a relatives farm today. The farm is 35 miles from the nearest
> town and in mountainous territory. The nearest neighbor is 4 + miles
away.
> I flipped open my laptop on the kitchen table and my wireless card
> immediately picked up and connected to a network it identified as an
ad-hoc
> wireless g. There was no internet connectivity and I didn't receive any
> DHCP/IP addy or anything like that. In fact, I couldn't locate another
> "computer on the network"
>
> There is no computer or any other device on the farm that is wireless
> capable. There are no neighbors nearby. There is a microwave tower in
> line-of-sight about 12 miles away, but this connection registered as
> "excellent" and as a full 54megabit. The broadcast SSID was "hp_east". I
> fired up netstumbler and the dot was a bright red (I've never seen bright
> red before and I don't know exactly what that means) It said it was an
Agere
> device and described it as a peer.
>
> So, any idea of what might be going on with my Broadcom mini-pci 802.11g
> device to have connected to a network that probably can't exist? Or is it
> possible that the 2.4 Ghz phone in the house has something to do with
this?
>
>

Hi,

Just turn off the phones and see if it's still there...

Tim


"i'm_tired" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:j2bbb.531819$Ho3.90651@sccrnsc03...
> Everything I've read says no... but I experienced something very strange
> today.
>
> I visited a relatives farm today. The farm is 35 miles from the nearest
> town and in mountainous territory. The nearest neighbor is 4 + miles
away.
> I flipped open my laptop on the kitchen table and my wireless card
> immediately picked up and connected to a network it identified as an
ad-hoc
> wireless g. There was no internet connectivity and I didn't receive any
> DHCP/IP addy or anything like that. In fact, I couldn't locate another
> "computer on the network"
>
> There is no computer or any other device on the farm that is wireless
> capable. There are no neighbors nearby. There is a microwave tower in
> line-of-sight about 12 miles away, but this connection registered as
> "excellent" and as a full 54megabit. The broadcast SSID was "hp_east". I
> fired up netstumbler and the dot was a bright red (I've never seen bright
> red before and I don't know exactly what that means) It said it was an
Agere
> device and described it as a peer.
>
> So, any idea of what might be going on with my Broadcom mini-pci 802.11g
> device to have connected to a network that probably can't exist? Or is it
> possible that the 2.4 Ghz phone in the house has something to do with
this?
>
>

Wow, I never thought of that. ;-D You just made me feel rather ignorant.

"WiFi Nerdling" <WiFi-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:JwJbb.2558$(E-Mail Removed) t...
> Hi,
>
> Just turn off the phones and see if it's still there...
>
> Tim
>
>
> "i'm_tired" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:j2bbb.531819$Ho3.90651@sccrnsc03...
> > Everything I've read says no... but I experienced something very strange
> > today.
> >
> > I visited a relatives farm today. The farm is 35 miles from the nearest
> > town and in mountainous territory. The nearest neighbor is 4 + miles
> away.
> > I flipped open my laptop on the kitchen table and my wireless card
> > immediately picked up and connected to a network it identified as an
> ad-hoc
> > wireless g. There was no internet connectivity and I didn't receive any
> > DHCP/IP addy or anything like that. In fact, I couldn't locate another
> > "computer on the network"
> >
> > There is no computer or any other device on the farm that is wireless
> > capable. There are no neighbors nearby. There is a microwave tower in
> > line-of-sight about 12 miles away, but this connection registered as
> > "excellent" and as a full 54megabit. The broadcast SSID was "hp_east".
I
> > fired up netstumbler and the dot was a bright red (I've never seen
bright
> > red before and I don't know exactly what that means) It said it was an
> Agere
> > device and described it as a peer.
> >
> > So, any idea of what might be going on with my Broadcom mini-pci 802.11g
> > device to have connected to a network that probably can't exist? Or is
it
> > possible that the 2.4 Ghz phone in the house has something to do with
> this?
> >
> >
>
>

Jeremy Parr wrote:
> Wow, I never thought of that. ;-D You just made me feel rather
> ignorant.

I went back to the farm today and did just that. With the phone unplugged,
it is still there. I'm still a bit baffled by what might be providing such
a strong 54g signal at such incredible distances (and there is a provider
recently trying to start up at the other end of the valley but his is 802.11
a equipment, not b/g and it is more than 20 miles away)

I'm still suspicious that something might be out of whack with my broadcom
mini-pci.... I just can't identify where such a strong signal could come
from and even if it came from the microwave tower 12 miles away, why would
it register as ad-hoc and not infrastructure?

Run netsrumbler and put your laptop in the fridge for half a minute. If the
signal level doesn't go down maybe it is your card.

"i'm_tired" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:YYPbb.130307$(E-Mail Removed) et...
> Jeremy Parr wrote:
> > Wow, I never thought of that. ;-D You just made me feel rather
> > ignorant.
>
> I went back to the farm today and did just that. With the phone
unplugged,
> it is still there. I'm still a bit baffled by what might be providing
such
> a strong 54g signal at such incredible distances (and there is a provider
> recently trying to start up at the other end of the valley but his is
802.11
> a equipment, not b/g and it is more than 20 miles away)
>
> I'm still suspicious that something might be out of whack with my broadcom
> mini-pci.... I just can't identify where such a strong signal could come
> from and even if it came from the microwave tower 12 miles away, why would
> it register as ad-hoc and not infrastructure?
>
>