What's Warviewing? If you're familiar with the pursuit of looking for wireless LAN 802.11 (WiFi) networks you've already got part of the idea. Known as Wardriving, Warwalking, Warchalking or collectively as WarXing the idea is to cruise around with a WiFi enabled laptop looking for signals from various 802.11 networks. All kinds of interesting endeavors have sprung from WarXing.

But the problem with WarXing is that it's rational. It's practical. It's useful. It almost makes sense. Warviewing on the other hand is a completely useless, completely recreational undertaking that's great fun - at least for those of us inclined to find amusement in such arcane activities.

After doing a bit of WarXing I realized that there are other signals in the 2.4GHz band - analog video signals. Signals from cameras that people have placed everywhere from the cash register of their convenience store to the window looking into the bathroom of the hot babe next door (as one is encouraged to do by the ads for the X10 wireless camera). It occurred to me that with the proper equipment one should be able to cruise around looking for these signals and actually see the wireless transmissions from these cameras. I call it Warviewing!

I began a search for the proper equipment. Ideally the 2.4GHz receiver and the TV monitor should be in one package. The receiver should be capable of receiving all four video channels in the 2.4GHz band. The equipment should be operable from 12V DC for mobile operations. There should be an external antenna connector so various antennas can be used. And the equipment should be cheap.

After a long search I settled on the Lorex SG6231. This unit is offered in a kit that includes a TV monitor with a built in scanning four channel video receiver, a 2.4GHz wireless camera (of no interest to us for the application of Warviewing), power supplies for both and even a little mount for the camera. Everything runs on 12V DC. And the whole kit is remarkably inexpensive. The only problem is that the Lorex receiver does not have an external antenna connector. But I figured I could add one.

The Lorex SG6231 can be had for prices below $150 from many on-line vendors. A Google search will turn them up.

And by the way, don't kid yourself. You'll never get a picture as good as the one in the ad above.

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