I kicked my Fonera out. It's an oldfashioned, overpriced, piece of junk.

That said, below is how I looked at it some years ago. Read it. Use it. And then kick your Fonera out the window. Get yourself a Longshine LCS WA5-45 Access point! Cheaper, better and more reliable.

Many friends became a Fonero by installing a Fonera in their networks and putting them online. So I joined in, reluctantly. But now I am enthusiastic. This is a very nice router! Until now, I ran a DrayTek Vigor ADSL modem/router, configured as a switch with a wireless access point. But the signal of that thing could barely reach the garden.

Not the tiny Fonera. It has a range with a radius in the orde of 50 meters. It has full speed strength in the garden, on the lawns around the house. Yet, the Fonera is not bigger than a package of cigarettes.

The Fonera is a small Linux machine. It connects to the central FON server, somewhere in Spain. All 'social' traffic goes via FON. The travel is free for the Fonero who runs this Fonero, plus for all Linus-es. Bills and Aliens need to pay for access.

I log in on the 'My Place' network section and have full access on an encrypted server. A Linus who needs to check her mail, needs to log in on the 'FON_AP' network. She can then connect to http://en.fon.com, log in to her account and from that moment, the network is open to the Fonero.
This means that you can access a foreign access point, but not anonymously. FON knows who you are and logs what you do (like all other ISP's). So if you want to do something silly, think twice and find an open network somewhere else (preferaby a private network operated by some dork).

Now, what's this with Bills, Aliens and Linuses? This is how Fon names the different kinds of FON members. In the table below I list the types and conditions:

I have a Fonera	My Fonera is online	I want free access on FON spots	I am a
			Linus
			Bill
			Alien
			Alien

Of course, the Fonera can be hacked. Many people had the urge to convert the Fonera in a full blown Linux computer that does everything, except allowing Fonero's to access it...
This is not my intention. I did not hack the Fonera for personal gain. I hacked it to give it a longer life.

The Fonera as is, gets very hot in operation. High temperatures are nice for some people, but electronics prefer to be cool. So I improved the ventilation in the case by making some extra vents in the case.

If you want to hack a Fonera: buy a Longshine WA5-45 access point! It's cheaper and you'll be better off from day one. And it runs cool, off 9V AC.

Page created on 20 April, 2007 and