The best 802n wireless accesspoint?
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@Hollander:
@cmb:
We use:
http://store.netgate.com/Ubiquiti-UniFi-Long-Range-Single-Unit-P1683C139.aspxGreat range. They work well and have the typical features in much costlier enterprise grade APs. And cheaper than some of the higher end consumer-grade routers.
Thank you, CMB, actually, a brand like that would be precisely what I would be looking for, it doesn't appear to be the cheap plastic I can buy in the retail stores over here. But it appears it is PoE (?) I don't have any gear that could give power to the AP (the V1910-16G switch I have isn't PoE), so that would be a problem. I will have to dig further ;D
http://dl.ubnt.com/guides/UniFi/UniFi_AP_AP-LR_User_Guide.pdf
Says the package contains a PoE-brick, which you would plug in between the unit and your switch. The switch used doesn't have to be PoE capable.
Even if it didn't, POE Injectors aren't too expensive, $20 - $25 on Newegg.
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i'm looking for an AP that can deliver wifi from the first floor of the typical townhouse to the second and third floor. how good the range of these Ubiquiti AP's in this situation?
waf wouldn't let me install any equipment on the second and third floor :( -
how good the range of these Ubiquiti AP's in this situation?
Probably depends on a number of factors including material between floors, interference from neighbours etc.
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Trying to hit three floors can be a problem depending on the antenna radiation pattern, some antenna setups give you a flattened dome pattern that sacrifices vertical coverage for extended range.
Putting the AP on the central floor can help but finding an AP with a more even signal distribution would help too. Using a WiFi signal strength meter (or app) and fiddling with router placement and antenna angles can help to even out the signal.
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the UniFi is OK but you would end up mounting it on the upper most floor in your house on the ceiling…
here again ive NEVER used a UniFi in a home enviroment. have used them in our commercial enviroment
at work but ended up using a different product in the end for Reliable AP's in our warehouses and office space.now there is a custom compiled version of AirOS (ubiquiti regular software) you can load on these to avoid the
Controller software situation, though i know it doesnt work on the UniFi Pro (dual band AP).now if you got the money to spend ($300ish) i wouldnt use anything OTHER than a Cisco 1252 AP.
range on this particular AP just BLOWS away the consumer stuff... i can get close to .9 mile away from mine
and still have signal and be able to surf and do my regular stuff.other ubiquiti products to consider Provided you DONT need dual band N capability is....
Nanostation M series.... there reasonably cheap and work great (yes usually the POE adapters come with these)
and DONT require the controller software.Good Luck
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how good the range of these Ubiquiti AP's in this situation?
Probably depends on a number of factors including material between floors, interference from neighbours etc.
wooden structure, insulation, some plastic water pipes in the walls
right now i'm using d-link dir-825 (open-wrt) as my ap and it's acceptable though i had to add wifi deflectors on each antena. i can even get 5ghz on the second floor, third floor only 2.4.
but this setup looks ugly and sometimes slow and i was wondering if i can get something with higher power and better looks. -
ASUS RT-N16 - A serious workhorse but only 2.4ghz ~$70 refurb
ASUS RT N66U - Dual Band workhorse ~140 refurb
ASUS RT AC66U Dual band plus 802.11ac technology (may be one of the fastest routers available right now) ~$180
would WAF allow you to place the WAP inside a 2nd floor closet above the door. That may get you the coverage you need.
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ASUS RT-N16 - A serious workhorse but only 2.4ghz ~$70 refurb
ASUS RT N66U - Dual Band workhorse ~140 refurb
ASUS RT N66AC Dual band plus 802.11ac technology (may be one of the fastest routers available right now) ~$180
would WAF allow you to place the WAP inside a 2nd floor closet above the door. That may get you the coverage you need.
I've owned many different wifi routers over the years of many differnent brands. None beats my last upgrade of the N66U. The range in my house is the best I've ever seen it, as well as performance. Also configuring as an access point is a breeze. I never knew it could be this good.
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ASUS RT-N16 - A serious workhorse but only 2.4ghz ~$70 refurb
ASUS RT N66U - Dual Band workhorse ~140 refurb
ASUS RT AC66U Dual band plus 802.11ac technology (may be one of the fastest routers available right now) ~$180
would WAF allow you to place the WAP inside a 2nd floor closet above the door. That may get you the coverage you need.
I've owned many different wifi routers over the years of many differnent brands. None beats my last upgrade of the N66U. The range in my house is the best I've ever seen it, as well as performance. Also configuring as an access point is a breeze. I never knew it could be this good.
And flexible . . . They will use tomatoUSB and DD-WRT and are FAST! I've only read specs and graphs on the AC66U but it looks amazing.
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with 32M of flash and 256M of RAM, I wonder if pfSense one day could run on the 66 ;D
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Thank you for your Asus-recommendations, I will look into that ;D
Meanwhile, I am running into a small problem.
With me not knowing too much about what I really need, I decided I need a 5 Ghz AP, mostly because this would have less interference problems. As I expect these to occur (I live in front of a shopping mall, where many wireless networks run, so tells me InSSider), I thought buying something simultaneously double band would be a wise decision (currently only my Lenovo supports 5 Ghz, so the tablet I am going to buy for my wife will be one that also needs to support 5 Ghz (my next cumbersome selection adventure :-X)).
So the ubiguiti recommended here gets many praises all over the internet, so it was sort of on my short list. Yet, with 5 Ghz it becomes expensive:
https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/315056/ubiquiti-unifi-ap-pro.html
Of course, I might try to find it cheaper on Amazon.com and have it shipped to me, but then you still have the import duties (so the government can give that to the 'poor banks in need' :P) as well as possible future warranty problems and - costs.
So a retailer advised me to instead take this:
http://www.wlanshop.nl/producten/access-point/access-points-indoor/engenius-ecb-350-high-power-wireless-n-gigabit-access-point_ecb-350.html
Would anybody be able to give me an opinion? What is wisdom?
Thank you very much in advance ;D
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You'll have to check availability where you are, but I'm presently liking EnGenius access points - specifically the ones that can be used outdoors, though none of mine are actually outdoors at present. ENH202 or ENH500. I've been able to get ENH202 nicely priced (US $70-ish) with a bit of shopping. I haven't wanted the 5GHz version enough to try one. You might look at the ECB9500 (poking around the price site you posted, that seems to be available there, for less than the ECB350.)
I tend to suspect that any lack of interference on 5MHz is going to be short-lived, and I definitely notice less range and lower actual connected data rates from 5GHz where I have it as compared to 2.4 GHz. The fact that you can see other networks does not mean that they will be a big factor if you are working short-range within your house where both your access point and computer are, while the other stuff is across the street. Think of it as similar to being able to hear your neighbors music when you are not playing any of your own, but mostly not being able to hear theirs if you all are playing some and nobody is at an absurd volume level…
I also have a Buffalo AirStation dual band router that I only use as an access point, which comes with DD-WRT as its software, which you mentioned at the head of the thread. It's been OK, and is actually gigabit on the ethernet ports (the EnGenius I mentioned are 10/100 single band, except the 9500, which is gigabit and singleband) and has other features that may be of more use "at home" such as a USB port for a mass storage drive. WZR-HP-AG300H, if it's still on the market...
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can some1 recommend a one that is tiny in size, similar to those usb powered wifi devices using realtek chipset but mainly i need a one with which i can attach a rubber duck antenna.
those usb powered ones r good to just get the job done, nothing fancy but problem is they r usb powered and need a computer to work as an access point, something similar to that but with a Ethernet port and a web gui would be great
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I've never used it but:
http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/?model=TL-WR702NThe TL-WR702N is the smallest wireless router in the world….
Steve
Edit: No external antenna connector though.
Edit: Maybe this: http://www.cnetusa.com/product_CQR-980.php
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it doesnt mention the power but i have those chinese usb wifi card with realtek chipset which provide around 1200mW of power
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Since you can only draw 250mW from a standard USB socket I have to question those claims. ;)
How about this: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/asus/wl-330n
It's tiny and, as you see, it can run OpenWRT so you can make it do what you want.Steve
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actually the usb cable they provide needs to use 2 usb ports if u need full power, works with one usb as well but might experience drops.
the asus one u mentioned doesn't have a antenna port and also no idea on how much wifi power it can pump out
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probably if not n then a b/g will do provided a small size and antenna port
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I'm talking rubbish! :-[
Clearly a standard USB port is 5V at 500mA but that's 2.5W. Clearly not enough coffee yet today! ::)There seem to be more options if you're prepared to get creative, e.g.
http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-mr3020#external.antenna.hackSteve
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i have soldering tools but never was comfortable with them at all so lets just stick to some ready made product if possible
