Building a Client Node is pretty simple. The hardware can be purchased on ebay or at one of the online stores for a fraction of what you'd pay retail. Checkout pricewatch under "networking other" and "network cards".
ONE - The first thing you will need is a PCMCIA WirelessCard. See the HardwareComparison for more detailed information. There are several available, but the one thing that you want to make sure of is that is compatible with 802.11b (also known as WiFi) If you are installing the card in a desktop computer, you will also need a PCMCIA adapter. These are offered by most of the PC card suppliers as a package with the PCMCIA 802.11b card and PCMCIA adapter all bundled in one. Your ClientNode can run any Operating System as long as the card's drivers support it. We have tested on Linux, BSD and Windows Operating Systems. See WirelessSoftwareLinks for more driver info.
As a client of SeattleWireless you will need to put your card in "Infrastructure" or "Managed Mode", set your ESSID or Network Name to "seattlewireless" and turn off WEP. You can use "ANY" if your card's driver supports it and you will go to the strongest signal access point in the area. You will need to set your computer to obtain a IP address automatically using DHCP.
TWO - If you are near the node that you are connecting with, you can get away with the antenna that is integrated in the 802.11b card. However, in most cases, the second thing you'll need is cable to run from your 802.11b card to the antenna. See ConnectorsAndCable and PigTail.
THREE - The third thing you need is an antenna. See the AntennaHowTo.
FOUR - You have to be in the right location or will need to point your antenna in the right direction. WhereToGetOn
Note: As a client node there are no services that you *need* to provide, and the networking functions are all managed upstream.
