Summertime blues

Lots of changes at Netgate this Summer, some fantastic and some tragic.

First the fantastic news: we have moved our headquarters and our warehouse operation back to Austin, Texas. We started Netgate in Dallas in 1992 writing packet filtering firewall technology, moved to Austin and wound up also selling high power wireless parts you couldn’t find anywhere else, and we’ve been rolling along ever since. We’ve moved a few times over the years, always into larger locations in order to improve our customer service and manage our inventory in a more efficient manner. We’re certainly happy to be back “home”, closer to friends and family, Tex-Mex and BBQ. The joy of life!

Now for the completely unfantastic and tragic news: Our dear brother Ken Thompson passed away suddenly on August 1. He was managing our Las Vegas warehouse operations, talking with customers on the phone, tinkering with his 1994 Z-1 Corvette, keeping all the balls in the air and then some. We miss him so much and still can’t believe he’s gone from our lives.

We’ve heard from many of our customers about how helpful Ken was, always cheerful and ready to listen and to chat. Thank you for your condolences – it means a lot to us to hear that he was well liked and touched so many lives.

Aloha Ken, Mahalo Nui Loa.

Plays with Bricks

I just realized we’ve been eerily silent for several months now!   Lots of good work is still happening in the Netgate sub-basement below our secret HQ hideout in an undisclosed tropical location.  (Ok, maybe it’s not that secret a location, but it sounds good.)

One very exciting thing we should mention is we’re pretty darn happy on behalf of our sister company SmallWorks, which has produced a iPhone 4 case that is compatible with LEGO® bricks. So if you’re a LEGO fan, or have an iPhone 4, or soon an iPod Touch (current 4th gen) then you’ll definitely want to check it out! www.SmallWorks.com

Plays with Bricks!

New and Improved Routerstation Pro Indoor case

Deep in the bowels of the Netgate design lab, we’ve been toiling for many months to bring you the successor to our popular Routerstation Pro indoor enclosure.  It’s been nearly a year since we launched our first RS-Pro case.  You told us what you liked and what you disliked and we’ve been listening… closely!  Well, the time has arrived to unveil our new design.  We hope you like it!

Read on for a list of the many improvements:

Color:The first and most obvious change is the exterior!  Red and black powder coated housings contrast sharply with silver anodized faceplates. Custom powder coated colors are now available.

Fine Details: The new anodized faceplates sport laser etched labeling and chamfered screw holes for a refined appearance.

 

 

Status Indicator Lights: New faceplate design and improved lightguide design provide accurate identification of board status.

Mounting Bracket: Laser-cut steel mounting bracket provides a precision fit inside the re-designed aluminum extrusion. No shifting or board alignment issues.

 

 

Interior Clearance: Taller housing provides clearance for mPCI cards with MMCX connectors in all three slots.

 

 

more product details here:
http://tiny.cc/RS-PRO
www.netgate.com

We’re up to our eyeballs in Antennas! So we’re having a sale! Get ‘em while they last!

We’re having a sale and we’ve slashed the price on our most popular High-Gain 7dBi Outdoor Antenna (Part No. SAA04-22008A.) These 2.4/5GHz dual-band antennas are really fantastic! AND, for a limited time, you can get these outdoor antennas at an equally fantastic price… only $17 each! No minimum quantity! Stock up on these while you can!

This is our most popular, rugged and recommended antenna! Not to be confused with the typical “rubber duck” antenna, this antenna utilizes a printed antenna circuit to achieve true dual band coverage in a very compact form factor. The rugged ABS body makes this antenna suitable for use in a wide variety of applications, including office LAN environments, factory floors, remote telemetry and harsh outdoor environments. These are really well made antennas at any price!  More info or buy them here.

• Peak gain 7 dBi @ 5 GHz
• Peak gain 4.5 dBi @ 2.4 GHz
• Waterproof design for outdoor use
• Straight N Male connector

Check out our brand new Store!

Netgate has a new storefront and e-commerce system!

It’s been in the works for a while and after months of hard work, we’re ready to go!  We’re excited and hopeful this new store will make your shopping experience a better one.  Check it out here (http://store.netgate.com) and let us know what you think!

If you are an existing customer your basic account information has already been loaded to our new store. You will, however, need to use your login id (your email) and click on the “Forgot User Name or Password?” link to create new password. You should receive an email with a link to set up a new password. Should you not receive such an email, please check your SPAM filters and if you still don’t see the email, contact us at sales@netgate.com so we can help .

New customers should create your new account.

Special Sale! Our most popular High-Gain 7dBi Outdoor Antenna!

We bought a quantity of these awesome 2.4/5GHz dual-band antennas at a really great price and we’re passing the savings on to you!!! For a limited time, you can get these really great outdoor antennas at a fantastic price… only $19 each.  That is 20% off!

This is our most popular, rugged and recommended antenna! Not to be confused with the typical “rubber duck” antenna, this antenna utilizes a printed antenna circuit to achieve true dual band coverage in a very compact form factor.   The rugged ABS body makes this antenna suitable for use in a wide variety of applications, including office LAN environments, factory floors, remote telemetry and harsh outdoor environments.  These are really well made antennas!

• Peak gain 7 dBi @ 5 GHz
• Peak gain 4.5 dBi @ 2.4 GHz
• Waterproof design for outdoor use
• Straight N Male connector

Netgate Routerstation Pro case deploys to Afghanistan.

In the spirit of our Independence Day holiday we bring to you the story of one special RS-Pro system and it’s owner John.

John is a helicopter pilot serving in Afghanistan with the Army.  John uses his Routerstation Pro system (housed in a Netgate indoor case) to manage a satellite communications link that keeps 36 soldiers connected with their families back home.

We want to give a big shout out to John for providing us with a glimpse into his tour of duty in Afghanistan.  John and all the members of our Armed Forces past and present are the big reason Americans enjoy such freedom and liberty.  Thanks John!

Here is what John says:

“I’m a U.S. Army CH-47D Chinook pilot serving in Afghanistan.  My company, stationed out of Germany, is B Company, 5-158th Aviation Regiment – more appropriately  known as “Big Windy.”  My Routerstation Pro (inside a Netgate case!) is keeping 36 soldiers connected with their families back in Germany and the U.S.

We’re at a small FOB (Forward Operating Base) out west where there isn’t anything to do but work, eat, sleep, and play on the internet.  The fact that we’re able to stay in touch with loved ones and distract ourselves with news from the outside world makes an incredible difference.

I have both a Ubiquiti SR2 and TP-LINK TL-WN861N card in my RSPRO running the latest trunk version of Openwrt.  Some folks prefer the GigE LAN connections (like myself with a desktop machine and my NAS) but most enjoy the mobility of WIFI.  The Netgate RSPRO case has protected this router throughout all the initial buildup, constant moving, and from all the dust that settles on everything here.  I am amazed at how customizable, yet simple, this indoor enclosure actually is.  Thank you, Netgate, for such a great product!”

John also provided some photos of life on base:

John in front of the satellite dishes.

Netgate Rs-Pro case customized with “Big Windy” sticker.

Surfing “at home”

“the office”

Pickin Up

“Haulin”

Busy Landing

view out the side door.

home again.

Steak for dinner 🙂

A solemn oath.

No Pizza!!!

Doughnuts instead.

know when to hold ’em

Home Sweet Home

Another Day

Thanks John!

Hope all of you had a really great 4th of July!

Spin Top Alix Indoor Enclosure

Antennas and wi-fi radio cards are the top items most folks want to add to their Alix 2C/2D board and indoor case. Long ago, we recognized drilling holes in a pretty anodized case is no fun at all. We designed a line of indoor enclosures to fit the Alix 2C & 2D boards with d-shaped SMA sized antenna holes punched in the metal.  We call ’em “Wireless-Ready.” Don’t want to add antennas?  No Worries!  Just spin the lid around 180 degrees and cover the holes.

New WiFi standards

There is a good overview of what may be coming over the next few years for WiFi in a Network World article by John Cox posted yesterday.  The full article is here: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/051310-wireless-changes.html?hpg1=bn

Naturally we’d all like a Moore’s Law for WiFi, but it takes a while to gain consensus in the industry and even longer to achieve final publication of IEEE standards.  One of the most interesting ideas circulating is a proposal to jump WiFi to the 60 GHz band, which would make it possible to deliver upto 7 Gbps over a very short range vs. 802.11n which can reach 300Mbps.

The Wi-Fi Alliance is also circulating a specification called Wi-Fi Direct, which will allow bluetooth-like device to device connections.   This should give IT / Security departments more fits than a rogue AP in the building.

Check out John Cox’s article for a full rundown on all the new ideas and the 802.11 working group alphabet soup.

More great products on sale in April!

You’ve seen our great April Fool’s day sale… well, we’ve added even more products to the list, so don’t waste another minute!

Act now to get great deals on the following:

Metageek – WiSpy  USB spectrum analyzers

PC Engines  – ALIX.2D2 & 3D3 small board computers

Wistron – CM9  Atheros mini-Pci radio cards & radio card kits

Engenius – EUB-862 EXT2  USB 2.0 802.11 adapters with dual antennas

Wistron – DCMA82 Industrial Temp Version (EU certified only)

These prices are good until 4/30/10.