An SMA extender might be suitable depending on your specific needs.
An SMA extender might be suitable depending on your specific needs.
So i have 2 asus ac66u, one acting as the router, the other as a repeater. I did use a powerline adapter to set it in AP mode, but the speeds werent good enough (cant change channel on repeater mode). They are running identical settings, SSID passwords and such. Most of the devices using wifi are IOS, which tend to have a horrible time jumping between the two routers. I could run an SMA extention cable outside and place an antenna on this extention from this router in an ideal spot. Would be a cheap and easy solutopn if it works. As there is no jumping between networks, would this be more seamless than two entire router units? Especially in regard to the IOS devices? Would this limit the bandwith in any meaningfull way as one antenna is in a totally different spot? (We have a 400/400 connection) Some say that an SMA extender would create som power loss. Im planning on using 10-15M would this make it too weak?
Depends heavily on the cable type in the extension. A typical 15m RG58 cable cuts the antenna range by roughly four times in the 2.4GHz band and nearly eliminates it at 5.8GHz. It’s better to place the AP where you need the signal rather than relying on the antennas alone. You’ll also need a mesh system that handles transitions between APs properly. The current method creates problems because simply using two unmanaged APs won’t let them release control until they lose all signal, even if another AP has a stronger connection nearby.
It would be perfect if we could install power nearby, but I’m considering PoE—it might be costly and need a new access point. I adjusted the configuration, tweaking antenna power and RSSI thresholds. The Wi-Fi signals overlap little, which works well on Android and Windows laptops. SMA adapters seem to cause issues. Thanks for helping me avoid a lot of trouble. Is a mesh network really offering smoother connectivity? I thought they were just separate APs with a backhaul channel. If it delivers true roaming, it might be worth the investment.
The backhaul handles data transfer, either through wireless or wired connections. The focus is on coordinating discussions about which clients are being served, and when a client experiences weaker signal on one side compared to the other, the system automatically switches them.
Most routers and access points use 12 volts, converters for PoE to 12V 2A are easy to find, while 12V 3A options exist but are usually pricier and rarer (especially since PoE+ is common). It’s unclear how much cheaper they’d be compared to a PoE access point, but it could be similar or even lower. Using something like the Ubiquiti nanoHD with its built-in PoE injector might simplify the setup.