Discussion
I'm a member of a small club which has a club house in the middle of a camping field. At the moment we have a 4g dongle which(when we're allowed) just about gives WiFi to the club house. We'd like a big enough router to cover the whole field, but don't know enough about it ourselves. I've had a look but don't know enough about the technology to know about signal strength, dB etc.
We're not big enough for a commercial provider to be interested (no profit for them) but if anyone could give me some pointers or hardware recommendations we could figure out the rest ourselves! Open to either 4/5g depending on which network and wind direction or, wired as the site may now have fibre past the gate.
We're not big enough for a commercial provider to be interested (no profit for them) but if anyone could give me some pointers or hardware recommendations we could figure out the rest ourselves! Open to either 4/5g depending on which network and wind direction or, wired as the site may now have fibre past the gate.
You need to consider two issues.
1. How you get you broadband and which router you use. If you can get a decent wired connection (BT Line) then that would be the most stable, if you can get good speeds. 4G/5G will work, but you'll need unlimited data and a stable signal, you can get routes with outdoor antennas to help.
2. How you get WiFi around the field. You can get outdoor Wifi Access Points (AP), omni-directional so it covers the field. Depending on coverage area a Unifi Outdoor AP would work, if you need more gain you can add an antenna to it. You could also have an AP inside the club , the Unifi system works well as it will mesh the APs. The Unifi controller will allow you to set up a 'guest' network and isolate it from your other networks. It will also allow you to set up a guest 'portal' to control access and available speeds etc. Depends on budget really.
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/27503-ubiq...
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/23765-ubiq...
1. How you get you broadband and which router you use. If you can get a decent wired connection (BT Line) then that would be the most stable, if you can get good speeds. 4G/5G will work, but you'll need unlimited data and a stable signal, you can get routes with outdoor antennas to help.
2. How you get WiFi around the field. You can get outdoor Wifi Access Points (AP), omni-directional so it covers the field. Depending on coverage area a Unifi Outdoor AP would work, if you need more gain you can add an antenna to it. You could also have an AP inside the club , the Unifi system works well as it will mesh the APs. The Unifi controller will allow you to set up a 'guest' network and isolate it from your other networks. It will also allow you to set up a guest 'portal' to control access and available speeds etc. Depends on budget really.
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/27503-ubiq...
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/23765-ubiq...
Edited by megaphone on Sunday 7th February 10:40
Edited by megaphone on Sunday 7th February 10:42
Be wary of what you offer
I know a campsite that signed up to a very expensive system of Wi-Fi aerials all over the campsite
The underlying problem was the internet connection speed. Being rural it was only something like 2 to 4 mb which you can imagine wont go very far in a populated campsite.
Reviews on various online places were poor as the promised Wi-Fi was useless.
In the end they ripped it out, offered a very basic service in the clubhouse, with a disclaimer on their website and other listings that broadband was not available owing to geography.
I know a campsite that signed up to a very expensive system of Wi-Fi aerials all over the campsite
The underlying problem was the internet connection speed. Being rural it was only something like 2 to 4 mb which you can imagine wont go very far in a populated campsite.
Reviews on various online places were poor as the promised Wi-Fi was useless.
In the end they ripped it out, offered a very basic service in the clubhouse, with a disclaimer on their website and other listings that broadband was not available owing to geography.
megaphone said:
You need to consider two issues.
1. How you get you broadband and which router you use. If you can get a decent wired connection (BT Line) then that would be the most stable, if you can get good speeds. 4G/5G will work, but you'll need unlimited data and a stable signal, you can get routes with outdoor antennas to help.
2. How you get WiFi around the field. You can get outdoor Wifi Access Points (AP), omni-directional so it covers the field. Depending on coverage area a Unifi Outdoor AP would work, if you need more gain you can add an antenna to it. You could also have an AP inside the club , the Unifi system works well as it will mesh the APs. The Unifi controller will allow you to set up a 'guest' network and isolate it from your other networks. It will also allow you to set up a guest 'portal' to control access and available speeds etc. Depends on budget really.
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/27503-ubiq...
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/23765-ubiq...
Ace thanks, that looks useful. Is there a way to work out the range of the antennas and is the cloud deployment stuff useful?1. How you get you broadband and which router you use. If you can get a decent wired connection (BT Line) then that would be the most stable, if you can get good speeds. 4G/5G will work, but you'll need unlimited data and a stable signal, you can get routes with outdoor antennas to help.
2. How you get WiFi around the field. You can get outdoor Wifi Access Points (AP), omni-directional so it covers the field. Depending on coverage area a Unifi Outdoor AP would work, if you need more gain you can add an antenna to it. You could also have an AP inside the club , the Unifi system works well as it will mesh the APs. The Unifi controller will allow you to set up a 'guest' network and isolate it from your other networks. It will also allow you to set up a guest 'portal' to control access and available speeds etc. Depends on budget really.
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/27503-ubiq...
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/23765-ubiq...
Edited by megaphone on Sunday 7th February 10:40
Edited by megaphone on Sunday 7th February 10:42
Fortunately it's not a campsite as such do we don't have to worry about reviews!
As well as the technology consider the commercial and compliance obligations of providing guest WiFi access. I won't bore you with it but in essence it comes down to a good usage policy and probably the use of a captive portal (a thing that looks like when you log in to hotels/starbucks etc. free wifi). This will ensure if people do bad things while connected to your club's WiFi that the club isn't liable. Most technology solutions you're likely to be recommended will support a captive portal of some sort. The Ubiquiti controller that looks after the solution mentioned above does for example.
As for range, my outdoor Ubiquiti Access Points will give >50Mbps at 30-40m with no obstructions in the way outdoors. That's the boundary of my property. If I go further afield the signal clings on but tails off at 100m (and not sure how usable it is) but then there's trees, hedgerows, outbuildings and undulating terrain by the time I am that far away. Spec sheet says 183m but I don't know what speed you'd get at that distance and it must be under ideal conditions with flat land and clear line-of-sight https://dl.ubnt.com/datasheets/unifi/UniFi_AP_DS.p...
As for range, my outdoor Ubiquiti Access Points will give >50Mbps at 30-40m with no obstructions in the way outdoors. That's the boundary of my property. If I go further afield the signal clings on but tails off at 100m (and not sure how usable it is) but then there's trees, hedgerows, outbuildings and undulating terrain by the time I am that far away. Spec sheet says 183m but I don't know what speed you'd get at that distance and it must be under ideal conditions with flat land and clear line-of-sight https://dl.ubnt.com/datasheets/unifi/UniFi_AP_DS.p...
Edited by BigTZ4M on Monday 8th February 11:52
Thats great thanks, it looks like one of the long range things will mroe than do us....the site is 140m to the furtherest corners with the building not quite in the middle.
Now I just have to get open reach to add the site address to their list- its either got the wrong name or is the only place in the village with out fibre to the property potential.
Now I just have to get open reach to add the site address to their list- its either got the wrong name or is the only place in the village with out fibre to the property potential.
Hi
I run a business with expertise in this area happy to chat through your options, no obligations.
please get in contact via https://labyrinthnetworks.co.uk/contact-us
cheers
I run a business with expertise in this area happy to chat through your options, no obligations.
please get in contact via https://labyrinthnetworks.co.uk/contact-us
cheers
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff