Here's the Pre-Briefing Video...

The setting:
The playing field is the inner perimeter of Nashville. (Map Here)

The game:
A moving target you have to find via Wifi. Find the keyphrase and contact info attached to the webserver.

The Goal:
Track down the Fox before everyone else. Get the keyphrase and contact skydog to win the game.

This year's wifi race is Fox and Hound style. On the morning of the race, registration will start 30 minutes beforehand. 5 minutes before the race begins, the teams will get their game packets. Inside will be a satellite map of the playing field, along with the SSID and the MAC address of the FOX. At 9:00, on Saturday morning, October 25th, we let the fox out for a run. Your mission is to use whatever means possible to catch the fox while he's on the move. Bring your cantennas, your suped up wifi cards and your screaming laptops. Bring a team, or do it yourself. Capture the Fox before anyone else and claim the prize.

Each contestant will receive a package at the start of the race.
Inside will be the following:

A map of the playing field

The SSID of the FOX and it's MAC address

The rules of the game

One Wifi "HOUND" badge per player/team member

Other goodies that we deem necessary...

The map will show the borders of the playing field. This map will also be helpful in finding out where the hell you are if you are not from Nashville. The FOX is running somewhere inside the playing field. He may stop and rest, he may run hard and dive into a hollow tree to hide, you never know. How do you win? You have to catch the FOX by finding him, Associate with the access point, and locate a webserver running on the network. The webserver holds a passphrase and contact information that you need to use to win. Once the FOX has been found, we will call the contact person on each team and let them know the race is over. The winner(s) will be announced later in the evening, with prizes passed out then.

Antennas, cantennas, dishes and such are allowed. If you have the equipment and the skills, use 'em. Don't break any FCC regulations in the process please.

The FOX is a standard, off the shelf AP. Nothing fancy or exotic. Use whatever you have to find him.

If you signup as a team, you win as a team. No changes to the lineup midstream please.

Please observe all traffic laws while playing the game. We don't want anyone to get hurt in the course of playing. Catonic, this doesn't mean you have to observe the rules while COMING to PN, just during the game.

Past that, it's every man, woman and team for themselves. Good hunting everyone.

 

Q: What's the prize man?
A: We are working on the prizes. Because it is a single round contest, we have one player or team as a winner, and a bunch of losers. Ahem.

Q: Will everyone in my crew get one?
A: Yes. We limited the teams to 4 members, so that we could adequately line up prizes. You might have to decide amongst yourselves who gets what, but we'll try to have 4 of each prize if we can.

Q: What if I want to see some of the panels that are going on during the day?
A: Hey, it's entirely up to you. If you have a team, you might work in shifts. The team that finds the FOX the fastest wins.

Q: Can I use my Cantenna made from a Bush(tm) Bean can with the parabolic reflector made from a shoe sole covered with aluminum foil?
A: Whatever rocks your boat man. You don't want to use anything that exceeds the FCC guidelines, or that may cause damage to your own equipment. Improperly tuned antennas will destroy your hardware. Keep that in mind.

Q: How will I know that I found the FOX? There has to be tons of AP's in Nashville!
A: True. The name of the FOX will be unique and you will have the MAC address to verify. Imitators may surface, but only the FOX has the information you need.

Q: If I find the FOX, and I get to the webserver, then what do I do?
A: Do we have to spell it out for you? The webserver has the passhrase and the contact information you need to win.

Q: When will we know the winners?
A: We will try to announce the winners Saturday evening. It will be short and sweet, so that we don't delay the fun.

Q: What if I have more questions?
A: Email skydog@wifirace.com

Q: Can I bribe any of the staff?
A: Probably not. If you have enough cash for that, you could probably buy your own swag.

Q: I'm new to this wireless stuff. Where do I get the software to do this with?
A: Well, if you're a Noob to wireless, we assume you have a wireless card. Goto http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/ to get the software for windows. Check out http://www.netstumbler.org for plenty of useful information on netstumbling. In the event you use a different OS, try Googling for Kismet or Dstumbler. These are two great utilities for finding, well, shall we say 'liberated' access points. Your mileage may vary.

You might also look into software and a GPS to track your location, if you're not from Nashville. If you have a tom tom, or a magellan, then you may be able to utilize it for directions. I recommend USA PhotoMaps from http://www.jdmcox.com/.

Q: What if I still don't understand?
A: Try the web, or other geek friends. If that doesn't pan out, You're coming to the second longest running convention of geeks in the US. When you get there Friday night, find someone and ask them. I am sure that you will find a kind soul that will help you out. Of course, they will probably be inebriated (Exhilarated or stupefied by or as if by alcohol; intoxicated.) and their speech may be slurred, but they will give you a hand. You might hook up with a team and help out in the navigation department. The possibilities are endless. Well, maybe not endless, but there are possibilities.