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Outdoor WiFi Antenna

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Last Post by Majordennisbloodnok 3 years ago

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Mars

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Topic starter 24/06/2022 2:38 pm

We need to boost our WiFi outdoors to cover a growing number of outdoor WiFi connected products. Any suggestions or recommendations?

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Majordennisbloodnok

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24/06/2022 4:22 pm

Do these outdoor products plug into an outdoor power socket? Or do you have an outdoor power socket near where they're located?

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Mars

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Topic starter 24/06/2022 10:14 pm

@majordennisbloodnok, that’s the dilemma. Some are POE (power over ethernet), so it entails running a cable. I have access to power outside in a number of places, but getting the internet to it is a challenge.

The silver cavity insulation wreaks havoc with our WiFi outside.

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Majordennisbloodnok

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25/06/2022 9:23 am

In that case, powerline adapters may be a simple solution. Some will just provide an RJ45 ethernet socket, some will just act as wifi range extenders whilst some will do both.

The basic premise is simple; you plug two of them in, one close to your router. They will use your electrical cabling like a network cable and so communicate with each other.

It does assume your home electrical cabling is reasonably well done and isn’t so great with 3 phase (or at least across phases) but for most of us it’ll work fine.

"Semper in excretia; sumus solum profundum variat"

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Mars

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Topic starter 25/06/2022 9:53 am

@majordennisbloodnok, I've got the AV600 and it doesn't connect to our outdoor buildings – it has to be on the same electricity "loop" and for some reason it doesn't work in our studio or garage.

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Colin

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25/06/2022 10:43 am

Posted by: @editor

We need to boost our WiFi outdoors to cover a growing number of outdoor WiFi connected products. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Would highly recommend Ubiquiti Unifi Access points & Ubiquiti Airmax Nanobeams to get the data connection to the access point(s). Getting power to PoE devices isn't too much of a problem if you've got sockets nearby, you can just use a PoE injector.

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Mars

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Topic starter 25/06/2022 3:11 pm

@Colin, I have looked at Ubiquiti – it looks like really good quality. Good point about the PoE injectors. It's an easy workaround.

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Colin

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25/06/2022 4:47 pm

@editor Agreed, good quality gear. I've been running three of their access points for the past couple of years without missing a beat. One of their Long Range access points e.g. the AC-LR or U6-LR might be enough to do the job you need. Some of their Nanobeam gear can go up to 30km.

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prjohn

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27/06/2022 6:44 am

Have you looked at a TP-link N300 Wireless Outdoor Access point, 200m range for multiple connections and reasonably priced.

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Majordennisbloodnok

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28/06/2022 8:59 am

@editor, it's pretty clear now that there are details to your situation that will significantly influence any advice given on network kit. Is there any chance within the bounds of sensible privacy that you could give any more specifics?

There are a few questions in particular that spring to mind immediately:

Could you give a bit of a fuller idea of the layout and relative distances involved? You mentioned two outbuildings (a studio and a garage) that don't have any network equipment at the moment, but presumably both have power. How far away from your house and each other are they?
Are all the external devices you want to connect clustered in roughly one place or spread far and wide? And how far from the house and/or outbuildings is that?
Do you have any external power that isn't attached to the outbuildings or house? And is all external power on the same circuit?
Is there clear line of sight between the various locations involved? House <--> outbuildings, outbuildings <--> devices, devices <--> house etc.? If not, what obstacles are in the way?
How much data do you expect to be servicing? I'm guessing your internet-enabled external devices won't consume much, but if you get network to the studio, for instance, are you then likely to want to start working from there yourselves?

As always, there are plenty of potential solutions to your immediate problem - some better than others - and several limitations that aren't immediately obvious but a "right" answer will need a bit more info unless you're just happy with us throwing generic suggestions at you of what's good kit.

"Semper in excretia; sumus solum profundum variat"

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