The subject says it all. Upgrade an SXT to L4, and put it 30~70m on a tower.

Has anyone done this?

Aside from the weak plastic connectors, what else can go wrong with this?

SXT is more of a PTP or CPE antenna. I don't think this would be a good idea. For PTMP you need a sector and a board with a little more guts.

you can use it that way so long as all the other connecting cep's are within the beamwidth both vertical and horizontal

you can use it that way so long as all the other connecting cep's are within the beamwidth both vertical and horizontal

Yea but not recommended.

Please support with a reason why it is not recommended, it all depends on what one needs to achieve, why should i put a sector antenna when i have all cpe's within the beamwidth 25º of the sxt situated at the tower. Infact i would recommend this than a sector antenna which start with beam width of 60º-120º as you have chances of collecting more noise from the surrounding as opposed to the 25º of the SXT

you can use it that way so long as all the other connecting cep's are within the beamwidth both vertical and horizontal

Yea but not recommended.

Why?

The SXT has the same 32MB RAM and a 400 MHz CPU just as the OmniTik. And of course L4 ROS (after upgrade).
What constitutes "a little more guts"?

So long as all CPE's fit in the relatively narrow beam width, why is it not recommended?

it all depends on what one needs to achieve

Agreed

Infact i would recommend this than a sector antenna which start with beam width of 60º-120º as you have chances of collecting more noise from the surrounding as opposed to the 25º of the SXT

I Disagree. The SXT is in a completely plastic enclosure and has no protection from interference (even from behind). Any other AP anywhere near the SXT will hurt performance. If the SXT is the only antenna on the tower this is not a big deal.

Using the SXT as an AP requires a level 4 license which cost $45. For the price difference you can get a different board plus an antenna. Also the current SXT has only a 10/100 port so even if you can get 200mbps throughput between antennas you can't get 200mbps in one direction through the ethernet port. Now you can get 100mpbs up and down at the same time (Full Duplex) through the ethernet interface. The SXT is also not nearly as rugged as other enclosures and antennas and there have been reports of water in the SXTs. We have personally not run into this issue but is has happened. If this is something that is not critical I would consider using the SXT as an AP if in a pinch, otherwise I absolutely wouldn't.

For the price difference I would consider using a GrooveA5Hn (if you don't need MIMO) then you can pick an antenna to suit your needs.

I hope this helps and sorry for not explaining more earlier.

For the price difference I would consider using a GrooveA5Hn (if you don't need MIMO) then you can pick an antenna to suit your needs.

I hope this helps and sorry for not explaining more earlier.

The Groove caues a lot of interference too. it is also a plastic piece and moreover where ever i have a Groove i get its signal in the opposite direction as well and for quite a few miles.

You can build a small metal(tin) box and have ur sxt covered and put the slider clamp over it making a good fixture. Leave the antenna part open.
But yes you can always have the 7115hnd with a panel antenna which will cost same compared to a license upgrade on a SXT.
If u have a piece up their n u want to use it for a few more client u may consider upgrading but it i not a very recommended suggestion.SXT in its plastic box is prone to interference. it does get affected and affects others too.

Give Karma if I Help

You can build a small metal(tin) box and have ur sxt covered and put the slider clamp over it making a good fixture. Leave the antenna part open.

That's really neat. Can you buy them anywhere?

I agree with the 711 and the panels. We use the 711GA-5HnD with panels and sectors.

I have never taken the Groove apart. Is it really not shielded?

i have never seen the inside of a Groove but some post here showed and it did not look shielded. and although the Groove is a gr8 piece of hardwaRE but yes it is good as a CPE. On my base it does create interference. Long distance links have gr8 signal but poor CCQ's

we make the metal shields ourselves. but some MFM showed they r available in market.

the sxt now has a gigabit port sxt g , mind you all antennas would collect noise the aurgument is the larger the beamwidth the more noise you hear eg like in an omni etc as you say if you to you can always shield it and endpoint what do want to achieve with using the sxt as an ap for
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I need to get signal to a few buildings that are close to each other, but don't have LOS to each other.
They can all see the tower.

A 25 degree beam is adequate to cover them all. That's ~0.5 mile diameter at 1 mile from the radio.

I'm curious about the shielding comments. Do you put the RB711 in a metal case?
I looked at MFM for the metal box, but no luck.

The SXT seems to have significant side lobes in the antenna patterns.

My main goal was cost and simplicity. I can't see how another $45 in L4 license pays for box, antennas, labor.
Unless it is an integrated solution with everything prebuilt. But those are mostly plastic boxes from what I can see.

The tower labor to install a box, 2 antennas, rf cables will be more than $45.

http://cn24.net/SXT-Shield-50.jpg
ANTENNA reflector for sxt.
But we make it a little differently which even covers the sides of the SXT. havent taken a pic of that.

http://cn24.net/SXT-Shield-50.jpg
ANTENNA reflector for sxt.
But we make it a little differently which even covers the sides of the SXT. havent taken a pic of that.

I get a 404 error. Is there another uri?