Wifi Powered Antenna

Captain Smollett · January 25, 2009, 07:36:14 PM

Got my Ubiquiti Nano Station last week and it is working great. This is a powered antenna that can also be configured as an access point. I've been told that this is the unit a lot of small towns and universities are using to put wifi out for 'the masses.' Price from Triton (you cannot order directly from Ubiquiti) was about $70. This antenna extends your wifi range from 200-300 ft to about 3 miles.

I learned of it from a dude here at the marina and have since passed it on to others. Last week, I took it over to another boat and did a demo for several folks. Without it, on the boat I can see 1-3 access points. With it, I can see over a dozen, and that was without even tuning and "searching" for other nets.

The antenna utilizes Power Over Ethernet, running on 12 V, and has weather proof connections. I have not yet, but I will be wiring directly into the 12 V system on the boat. We measured the power use utilizing the included 120V : 12 V transformer; draw was 4 watts, and that includes transformer losses.

AdriftAtSea · January 27, 2009, 07:37:49 AM

Capn Smollett—

If you're going to be wiring it directly into the boat's electrical system, you'll probably want to get a DC-to-DC voltage converter for it, as the unit is probably fairly sensitive to voltage, and the normal voltage variations (11.6–14.4 VDC) seen on a boat's electrical system may damage it.

Captain Smollett · January 27, 2009, 08:04:07 AM

Probably not much of a problem, since I know others who have been using their's wired thusly for quite a while.

AdriftAtSea · January 27, 2009, 10:35:52 AM

Good enough. Was just warning as some 12 VDC computer gear is very voltage sensitive. This doesn't sound to be one of them though.

maxiSwede · January 27, 2009, 03:21:45 PM

Hey, THAT seems like a veery neat product to have inboard!

I've never seen or heard of it before, but they seem to have a distributor here too.

May I ask if you checked the alternatives, and found this unit to be the best?

BTW, a grog to you for finding it and leting us know.... and for the story of your latest cruise :D

Captain Smollett · January 27, 2009, 09:14:38 PM

Quote from: maxiSwede on January 27, 2009, 03:21:45 PM

May I ask if you checked the alternatives, and found this unit to be the best?

I did some shopping around on the 'Net and was not too impressed with what I was seeing...db gain per dollar being my biggest gripe.

This one came HIGHLY recommended to me by a fellow here at the marina, so I figured for the price I'd take the chance.

I've been very pleased so far.

CapnK · January 28, 2009, 09:29:14 AM

Kewl, JR. Link to Triton? Grog! :)

Captain Smollett · January 28, 2009, 06:08:56 PM

Quote from: CapnK on January 28, 2009, 09:29:14 AM
Kewl, JR. Link to Triton? Grog! :)

Here Ya Go: Titan Wireless Search for the Nano Station 2.

(sorry, I called it Triton, it's Titan).

maxiSwede · January 29, 2009, 02:50:13 AM

Quote from: Captain Smollett on January 27, 2009, 09:14:38 PM
Quote from: maxiSwede on January 27, 2009, 03:21:45 PM

May I ask if you checked the alternatives, and found this unit to be the best?

I did some shopping around on the 'Net and was not too impressed with what I was seeing...db gain per dollar being my biggest gripe.

This one came HIGHLY recommended to me by a fellow here at the marina, so I figured for the price I'd take the chance.

I've been very pleased so far.

excellent first hand information. I'll order one during the next few days!

Thanks, and yes - Please enjoy another Grog! ;D

Bob23 · January 29, 2009, 03:37:30 AM

To all:
There is a good article on this in the recent Good Old Boat. Cheers!
Bob23

TJim · February 04, 2009, 07:31:53 PM

Got my nano2station Friday and have not been able to get it installed. They don´t answer the phone on Sat, Sun, Monday, Tuesday or today. Also they have not answered the email. I´m down here in La Paz and haven´t been able to find anyone who knows anything about it. I´ve followed the instructions for downloading on the box and on their web site. It is almost like their site is inactive... Are they in one of those areas in south east where they have no email or phone service... Something is sure funny.... Help anyone!!!....TJim

Captain Smollett · February 05, 2009, 12:05:44 AM

Quote from: TJim on February 04, 2009, 07:31:53 PM
Got my nano2station Friday and have not been able to get it installed. They don´t answer the phone on Sat, Sun, Monday, Tuesday or today. Also they have not answered the email. I´m down here in La Paz and haven´t been able to find anyone who knows anything about it. I´ve followed the instructions for downloading on the box and on their web site. It is almost like their site is inactive... Are they in one of those areas in south east where they have no email or phone service... Something is sure funny.... Help anyone!!!....TJim

What exactly are you having trouble with? PM me with details, and I might be able to help.

Joe Pyrat · February 10, 2009, 07:38:02 AM

I use an EnGenius EUB-362 Ext as my extended WiFi solution. It is USB 2.0, tiny so it's easily portable and amazingly powerful.

Data Sheet: http://www.engeniustech.com/resources/NUB-362%20EXT.pdf

polecat · February 10, 2009, 09:51:52 AM

Joe - Do you use Linux by any chance? Wondered if anyone tried their Linux fix. At $41 - looks like a good deal if your happy with it. Do you actually get the 2-3 miles range out of it?
jim

Joe Pyrat · February 26, 2009, 12:18:09 PM

Jim,

Sorry for the delay in responding. I do use Linux, but not onboard. Some quick research found this:

http://www.keenansystems.com/nub362_eub362_linux_ndiswrapper_driver_howto.htm

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=457709

You have made me curious, so I contacted EnGenius about this and will let you know what they have to say.

Hope that helps.

EDIT: The tech support people suggested you try searching for AR5523 (Atheros) chipset drivers.

Captain Smollett · February 27, 2009, 08:06:18 PM

I don't know if this applies to ALL Atheros chipset devices, but the one I have (not any of the devices discusses explicitly in this thread), the Atheros chipset USB devices require running the Windows driver that comes with the device via the ndis wrapper to get it to run on Linux.

This will generally require compiling the ndis kernel module, though depending on your kernel version, you MAY find someone has already compiled one for you.

For what it's worth, the powered antenna I started the thread with is completely OS neutral.

s/v necessity · April 24, 2009, 04:07:32 PM

I'm thinking of getting one of these and trying to use it to share internet (and save $60 a month) with a friend who lives about 2 blocks away. Line of sight will most likely be interrupted by a pair of large trees and a chain link fence or two, but not much else. (well two windows also, if I keep the stuff inside).

Any thoughts or opinions from you guys before I shell out $70 for this antenna, and who knows what else I'll end up needing to rig on his end (I am assuming a simple cheap wireless router might not be up to snuff, thoughts on this would be appreciated too if anyone has expertise in the matter).

I just Thought I would ask since it seems two members already have one. I thought it would be nice to save some $$ and then be able to use it on the boat!

AdriftAtSea · April 24, 2009, 07:31:18 PM

IT also avoids the typical buggy USB WiFi driver issues, since it uses a standard ethernet port to connect the machine to the antenna.

Quote from: Captain Smollett on February 27, 2009, 08:06:18 PM
I don't know if this applies to ALL Atheros chipset devices, but the one I have (not any of the devices discusses explicitly in this thread), the Atheros chipset USB devices require running the Windows driver that comes with the device via the ndis wrapper to get it to run on Linux.

This will generally require compiling the ndis kernel module, though depending on your kernel version, you MAY find someone has already compiled one for you.

For what it's worth, the powered antenna I started the thread with is completely OS neutral.

Captain Smollett · April 27, 2009, 09:19:38 AM

Quote from: s/v necessity on April 24, 2009, 04:07:32 PM
I'm thinking of getting one of these and trying to use it to share internet (and save $60 a month) with a friend who lives about 2 blocks away. Line of sight will most likely be interrupted by a pair of large trees and a chain link fence or two, but not much else. (well two windows also, if I keep the stuff inside).

Any thoughts or opinions from you guys before I shell out $70 for this antenna, and who knows what else I'll end up needing to rig on his end (I am assuming a simple cheap wireless router might not be up to snuff, thoughts on this would be appreciated too if anyone has expertise in the matter).

I just Thought I would ask since it seems two members already have one. I thought it would be nice to save some $$ and then be able to use it on the boat!

The Ubiquiti powered antennas are in use in LOTS of locations as access points - hotels, dorm rooms, apartment buildings, etc. It should work for your application.

One point, though. One antenna cannot act as both an access point and an antenna simultaneously - at least I've not been able to do that with mine.

So, if you have a router/modem on your end, connect the UBNT to it via an ethernet port and set it up to be an access point. Aim it in the right direction (it is directional) and your neighbor should be able to connect; you probably can, also. The range on this thing is quite unbelievable (as an antenna anyway).

If you want some more specifics, let me know.

AdriftAtSea · April 27, 2009, 12:11:31 PM

Quote from: s/v necessity on April 24, 2009, 04:07:32 PM
I'm thinking of getting one of these and trying to use it to share internet (and save $60 a month) with a friend who lives about 2 blocks away. Line of sight will most likely be interrupted by a pair of large trees and a chain link fence or two, but not much else. (well two windows also, if I keep the stuff inside).

Any thoughts or opinions from you guys before I shell out $70 for this antenna, and who knows what else I'll end up needing to rig on his end (I am assuming a simple cheap wireless router might not be up to snuff, thoughts on this would be appreciated too if anyone has expertise in the matter).

I just Thought I would ask since it seems two members already have one. I thought it would be nice to save some $$ and then be able to use it on the boat!

No, the NS2 can not be used as both a bridge and a router—it is either one or the other.

Also, it can only act as a WiFi router... If it is in router mode, the ethernet port is the WAN interface. In bridge mode, the ethernet port can have multiple clients, provided the WiFi router on the other end has the DHCP address space to handle them.

To simplify the setup, especially if your friend has multiple computers he wants to connect to your broadband connection is to have him get an NS2 as well as a Linksys WRT54G. Then he can setup the NS2 at his end as a WiFi bridge and use it to feed the WRT54G's WAN port, and have the WRT54G create a local WiFi network in his home.

Be aware that with 802.11b/g, you can really only use channels 1, 6, and 11 without interference. If you use any other combination there generally will be interference to some degree. So, you might use Channel 1 for the NS2 to NS2 link, and then have him use channel 6 or 11, with a different SSID for his home WiFi network. :)

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Wifi Powered Antenna

polecat