On Tethering Buckets

I’ve mentioned tethering buckets a few times in this blog. Each cellular carrier in the US allows subscribers a certain amount of bandwidth each billing cycle to use for “tethering” with other devices. The term “tethering” goes back to before cellular phones had Bluetooth or WiFi. Once I switched to a GSM provider in 2004, ... Read More

A Realization, Follow Up

So I said the Mudi 7 was the perfect device, right? Well, it turns out the NETGEAR Nighthawks can also do WiFi as WAN: they call it “data offloading”. So, since the Nighthawk M7 (non Pro) has significantly greater band coverage, I’ll pivot to that device instead. The M7 has a single USB-C port for ... Read More

A New 5G Solution, Follow Up

The new SIM card arrived today, and I can report, at least while sitting on my desk, speeds on the M5 with this is quite acceptable: over 460 Mbps down, just over 80 Mbps up. This is a great start. Keep in mind the fact that speeds will vary depending on location. I’ll definitely be ... Read More

A New 5G Solution

In the last post I talked about what device to get as an upgrade for the Nighthawk M5. Obviously it would need service, and I’m not sure if it has the ability to easily be “adjusted” for the service I currently am using. Well, that problem is officially solved for the foreseeable future. I found ... Read More

A Realization

I found the perfect device for the case’s WAN: the GL.iNet Mudi 7. I had a previous version of this device at one point, and it worked incredibly well but lacked an Ethernet port. The Mudi 7 has an Ethernet port, a 5G standalone capable modem, and the ability to be a WiFi client. The ... Read More

Rethinking (Ver. 20260508)

It’s been a bit since my last post here, and I’m starting to come to my senses. While having an on-premise DC/Pi-Hole/Plex for the case is a good idea, I’m likely to be colocated again by the end of this year, power at home is far more stable than it was where I used to ... Read More

Consideration for Field Operations

While the primary use case for Project Garanchou will be for fixed locations in hotel rooms, the fact that this will be a self-contained setup does raise the question: can this be used for field operations? In this case, field operations are broadly defined as not having shore power available, such as in a car ... Read More

Project Naming

A few months ago, I changed the name of the page detailing the contents of the case to “Project Garanchou”. When I first began work on this project back in 2006, I simply called it the “AWA Con Room Network” as that was, barring the Huntsville Hamfest trip about a month prior being its “dress ... Read More

Solo Travel Musings

While most of the posts on this blog have been related to what I’ve dubbed “Project Garanchou” and its development over the last 15 years or so, the fact that I’ve been watching a lot of travel videos on YouTube where the presenters are using backpacks vs. suitcases or checked baggage lately and have followed ... Read More

Another Quick Update

We’re back with a quick update! A few days after the last post, a friend came in town for Sakura-Con, which I chronicled on the main blog, and as he has a Japan-spec Xperia phone which is pretty limited in capability in the US now, he made good use of the M5 throughout the weekend. ... Read More