WIFI in large institution

[Jim Alexander]

Last spring, I posed a question here about the best way to install a WIFI system for public use in accessing QR coded web videos about museum exhibits. At the time, we thought that just scattering a few WIFI transmitters around a 100,000 square foot hall and ancillary buildings might do the job, but had no experience with such. We were, of course, concerned about the public not being able to get into our cable-based LAN.

 

The uniform advice several of you provided was that something like this merited professional scoping and planning. We were urged to get a site survey and do it right, and to think of things like protecting the signal.

 

Heeding this advice, we engaged a firm that does just this for large places like hospitals, colleges and stadiums. It was not cheap, but the results were impressive. A complete site survey was prepared, and specs/prices developed for 15 access points, considerable stringing of CAT6 cable and even some fiber. We had our electrical contractor, our computer service firm, and the WIFI folks involved. 

 

The other day, Comcast finally brought the signal into the museum. From the outset, it worked like a charm, although we'll undoubtedly learn some more lessons. So now, any visitor to the Railroad Museum in Pennsylvania in Strasburg can bring their smartphone or tablet, and scan (initially) twenty QR codes at exhibit pedestals to view 3D tours of the interiors of the rail cars and locomotives. This allows handicapped visitors a better view, as well as allowing sighted visitors to see things that for safety reasons they aren't allowed in to. And we'll be able to provide other QR-accessed information as well.

 

Details:

1.  It is fed by Comcast business service, and is totally separate from our existing Verizon DSL-served LAN. We started with 22 MBps service, and can increase it if needed.

2.  Visitors will be advised by signs of the password that must be used on the splash screen to get them in. We'll change it from time to time.

3.  The tours were prepared by a firm that specializes in that, and are hosted on our web server. Out of bandwidth concerns, only three of them as samples can be called from our public web site, while the rest are called from the QR codes locally. You can see the three samples at http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/about/musviews/index.shtml.

4.  We're using Meraki Access Points, which are controlled via a web-based Dashbord that allows remote management.

5.  While the museum is operated by the Commonwealth, this project was managed and funded by the Friends of the RR Museum.

 

So, good advice can be had here at PC Talk Online!  Thanks, guys!

 

Jim

 

[Alan Schneider]

Great news!  Glad everything worked out!

 

Jim

 

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[RBL]

Thanks for closing the loop, Jim. Sounds like a great implementation. Potential PR value. You could shoot an "explainer" video and showcase the new system and its accessibility features, etc.

--
"We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question." - Grace Hopper

Rich Levin

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