Long range directional wifi base station

[anonymous-user]

Anyone got any specific recommendations for a wifi base station that is good for long range - or do I just grab any old wifi unit and unscrew the 2.4Ghz antenna and screw in one of the flat directional antennas you can buy?

I need to go 90 metres, all outdoors, from a 3rd floor window (inside) down to an antenna mounted at around 6ft up. The signal will have to go through around 3 trees. It needs te be reliable, and keep enough badwidth for an IPCam.

[megaphone]

Look for an outdoor access point, something like a Ubiquiti Nanostation will do the trick, do you need it 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz?

https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/16594-ubiq...

They are PoE so all you need to do is run a CAT5 cable outside from your existing router.

What antenna do you have at the far end? Is it built into the camera? The problem you may have is the client device talking back to the AP, remember Wifi is both ways, the trees will not help.

Edited by megaphone on Friday 16th November 17:57

Edited by megaphone on Friday 16th November 17:59

[anonymous-user]

Cheers. Has to be indoors. Listed building. I could of course always mount that one indoors. I'm assuming I'd have to use a PoE injector of some sort.

I've read that the "client" end doesn't need boosting as high gain antennas focus their energy in a tighter cone, which means they are also more sensitive to receiving....

At the client end will be an iPcam, and a burglar alarm system. The IpCam will be outdoors. The alarm inside a container, with an external antenna. Both antennas can be swapped out if need be.

2.4 is fine. Greater range and plenty of bandwidth for the above.

[mikef]

90 meters through a wall or window with three trees in the way? Instinctively I'd say no way, but interested to see how you get on

[Edited to add] With a Ubiquiti 802.11ac Pro, which I reckon is a decent outdoor antenna, I get up to around 75m line of sight in good weather, maybe 50m through a clump of trees in leaf. Then there’s a fair degree of attenuation through glass ( see table 3)

Can you route POE out of the building to a location with a direct line of sight and use an outdoor antenna?

Edited by mikef on Friday 16th November 22:46

[anonymous-user]

I can do PoE outdoors. I'll just have to be subtle. Defo want 2.4 not 5ghz. Read reviews by plenty of folk using 2.4ghz with a panel antenna going 200m with no issues. I'll be beaming down from above so the tree foliage should not be a huge problem. I'll update when I have done it. Might not be for a couple of months.

[megaphone]

The Nanostation usually comes with a PoE injector, there is also a window mounting kit available.

A better solution may be, set two up in a point to point WDS Bridge mode, then run you IP stuff off that. I have links running at 2Km with line of sight, radios are turned down low.

[anonymous-user]

Cheers. I reckon I'll try one on its own first, then if it's not enough then I'll get a second. The reason I want to try one first, is that the receiving end will be battery powered, with the help of solar, so I want to add as little kit as possible at that end that will be a drain. Currently (boom boom!) I'm looking at an alarm system (a few 100ma) and one IPcam. Adding another access point will add around 8w on the above model. Which is a lot.

[megaphone]

I'm assuming you cannot run a cat 5 cable down there? Along a fence or similar?

[anonymous-user]

Nope - across a car park :-)

I'd run power over too otherwise :-)