Ok in need of help on this one

RouterBOARD 532 for APs and 112 for client ends. Use CM9 radio cards as they can do both 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz, have a good output power and receive sensitivity and are very reliable.

There is a weatherproof metal case option for these which includes pole mounting hardware and is very rugged (it's also nice and small).

There are also weatherproof RJ45 connectors available, these are handy as you dont have to open the box to connect anything once you put it on a mast.

Antennas will depend on distance and area you want to cover. Rootennas are cool for client sites but invlove a small amount of work getting everything mounted inside.

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Jeremy

Marlborough WiFi Project

Cheers man
Now I should have things sorted by next week.
How easy are they to setup, and what type of options are there on them?

Seeing as I'm so newb at all this, and you've used them before, what connectors, cables, and antennae do you recommend for those models?
For 5.8Ghz.

For access points, grab a RB532 part number RB532-4 from WISP Router. At the bottom of the item page you can choose the option of indoor or outdoor cases, use the PoE 48v PSU option (cheaper and more practical), and a CM9 radio card and PT-UFL6-NFB-1. If you buy this way they will ship it pre-assembled.

Also grab a weatherproof RJ45 connector for US$6 to use with the outdoor case, it means you don't have to open the case to install/remove any cables.

If you want to have multiple access points at one site, buy a single RB532 and case and buy a CM9 & pigtail for every access point you want to run. The RouterBOARD can run up to four cards together, although more than two will require a RB502 mini PCI daughterboard.

For 5.8GHz omni antennas, see Dale's website www.gowifi.co.nz. WISP-Router have nice sector antennas but they are damn expensive. For point-to-point backhaul, the grid antennas are excellent.

For clients I'd suggest a RouterBOARD 112/CM9 in a RooTenna. Choose the u.fl pigtail option for these and they will fit directly to the CM9 card without any extra cables. Bear in mind you will have to mount the RB112 inside it yourself, no provisions for this are included. Once again the weatherproof RJ45 connectors will help save time in the field.

As far as cabling antennas to the access points go, use short runs of microwave RG-8 cable, such as Times LMR400, Belden 9913 or Commscope. You will also need N male connectors on each end. If you intend on setting up a few access points I'd recommend buying a hex crimp tool and making your own leads to suit your installations. Dale sells all the bits you need and is cheaper than importing them from WISP Router.

As far as config goes, Mikrotik has a nice Windows based tool you can use for this if you don't feel comfortable with the command line interface. The web admin side of it totally sucks so avoid using it if possible. I'm happy to help you get it running once you get the gear.

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Jeremy

Marlborough WiFi Project

Thanks heaps man
I should be fine with the CLI. Used to DOS and Linux.
Any idea what the best way to connect to the net is. I have to ring some ISPs again, cause they haven't got back to me. I've heard about some kind of vampire tap for fibre optic cables. If there's one nearby, I will see about something like that. Otherwise I had the thought of bouncing to the nearest exchange, and from there it should be possible to have some sort of connection to the ISP, seeing as they have a few different types of data connections going through the exchanges.

Ok just to recap... can people please list the top 5 models they would recommend taking into consideration range, security, and I guess ease of use. Cheers

Well so far I'm leaning towards the Mikrotik stuff... but any good pre-n stuff you recommend would be good.
I don't have the net at home, so it's rather hard to keep up with things

No such thing yet

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Jeremy

Marlborough WiFi Project

Ok last I read it was out there... just not widely.
Or at least I'm sure it's pre-N. The 400mbps equipment. Or is that WiMAX?
Ok 802.11n specification.

Ooooh "good" pre-n stuff

Sorry. I use the RouterBOARD 500 series; it doesn't suffer from the performance issues of the 100 series but still provides bang for buckand the advantages of an embedded system.

Also for general purpose radio cards, go with Wistron Neweb CM9 or Mikrotik's own R52 if you want good, reliable performance.

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Jeremy

Marlborough WiFi Project

How well does it work with VoIP?
Like does it have any special features, QoS configuration to allow VoIP to be processed first?
Because I'm looking at VoIP as a major feature of my network.