Datenklo

[1] The original Datenklo or CCC-Modem was an acoustic coupler modem in the early 1980s for which the Chaos Computer Club made plans and schematics available.

[2] The moniker 'loo' refers to an ingenious idea in the construction of the device: The use of rubber cuffs, commonly available as plumbing supplies, to connect the audio transducers to a normal telephone receiver.

[3] The Datenklo name was subsequently repurposed to describe the use of rented portable toilet cubicles to host communications infrastructure at hacker camps:[4] The most striking thing entering the old military airfield where the Chaos Communication Camp is being held this week is the cables stretched everywhere, across fields, hung from bunkers, most obviously leading into blue porta-potty containers scattered throughout the grounds, retooled to serve as network hubs stuffed with switches and fiber connections instead of semi-sanitary facilities.The Datenklo provides a temporary wiring closet for the networking equipment required to deliver pervasive connectivity to hacker camp attendees:[5] Switches furred with wire sit in neat stacks on top of toilet seats, and a wireless access point in the roof broadcasts a local wifi network too.

As one of the network administrators explained to me, toilets are the perfect spot for outdoor data hubs – they are weatherproof, mobile, and can easily be locked to keep out drunken party-goers.

Hacker camps are generally organized and run by volunteers known as angels, and the Network Operation Centre angels not only create the network as part of site build-up and tear it down afterwards, but also connect attendees' cables to the switches in the Datenklo:[6]Just leave your cables in an obvious position outside the door so we can see them, and someone will be around to connect them up regularly.