Now is the time to install everything into the car. All of the above items will be gathered together and quickly installed.When the ideal configuration is achieved, more permanent mounting options can be explored. For now, let’s just make it safe and easy (and flexible).

The installation is relatively quick and easy. It can be done in six simple steps:

1. Make sure that the wireless card is properly installed.

2. Position the laptop in an ideal place.

3. Attach the rooftop antenna.

4. Add the Global Positioning System.

5. Plug it all in.

6. Launch the software.

Each of these steps is discussed in detail in the paragraphs that follow.

Step 1: Installing the Wireless Card

The laptop should have the wireless card already installed and verified to be working with the war driving software. If you have a glitch, it’s better to troubleshoot it where you can reach the keyboard without straining.

Chapter 1 covered the essential but delicate wireless pigtail. The pigtail and the connector to

which it is mated are physically the most fragile components in a war driving setup. It’s easier and safer to attach pigtail cables before the laptop is securely strapped down. Also, bring extra pigtails on your war drives in case of connector breakdown.

Step 2: Placing the Laptop

The ideal position for the laptop is within arms’ reach but not obstructing your view.When doing a temporary mounting option, you can ensure that the laptop doesn’t slide by using the seatbelt on the passenger seat. Figure 5-13 shows this setup. Remember to treat cables nicely. Don’t bend RF cables too tightly and don’t put strain on the connectors.

This is where a magnet mount antenna comes in so handy. Place the antenna as close to the center of the roof as possible while staying away from any roof racks or other antenna. Run the cable using the least damaging method to get to the interior of the car. You can leave a window down, but that’s far from ideal. If the cabling is of sufficient strength, you can get away with closing it in a doorway without much loss. LMR-400 is very good and can take minor pinching without too much damage.

Figure 5-14 shows a typical magnet mount antenna placed on a roof. Notice how the antenna is placed well away from the roof rack and the cable comes down through the doorway. Use care in placing and removing the magnet mount antenna. To avoid damage, pull from the base, not the cable or aerial. Also, try to pull directly up to avoid scratch marks.

The GPS receiver needs a clear view of most of the sky. Nowadays, receivers are pretty good at obtaining a signal without seeing the entire sky. The front or rear window of the car usually has

 

enough view to maintain a decent signal. If you have problems getting a location lock, try repositioning the GPS. Or try a magnet mount external GPS. Temporary, but functional, placement of a USB GPS is shown in Figure 5-15. Note the simple suction cup cable management.

GPS receivers have many options. Review all of the options to ensure the GPS is configured correctly. In particular, make sure it’s not set in a demo or simulation mode.

Step 5: Plugging It All In

All these different components need unique power sources. Let’s look at how to hook them all together. Figure 5-16 shows the setup all plugged in and ready.

1. The laptop uses its own AC power supply plugged in to a power inverter, which itself is plugged in to a cigarette lighter.

2. The USB GPS pulls power from the laptop. Alternatively, a DC power source is available for most GPS receivers.

3. Extra ports are available for the myriad of portable components used while driving.

Now that your equipment is up and running, go ahead and launch the war driving software. It’s best to do this near a known access point to verify that the software is working. Ensure that your software is set to reconfigure the adapter on-the-fly. This can be a channel hopper, as used in Kismet, or a “reconfigure automatically” option, as used in NetStumbler.

War driving software has been known to glitch where it stops detecting new networks. If you have two known access points, this makes a good test before getting too far down the road. Finally, make sure the software is receiving GPS data. If you just powered up, the status will say something like “acquiring” or “locating.”When your position is acquired, the status should show your actual latitude and longitude coordinates.