Any hands on experience - Net Metal 3x3 chain

RouterOS Wireless Networking
1

Hello,
Does anybody got a chance to try the triple chain Netmetal with RF-element 3chain antenna 5GHz https://www.ispsupplies.com/RF-Elements-SEC-CC-5-16-HHV?
The CPE will be the regular SXT, LHG or …
Do you expect more throughput?
Thanks in advance,

2

Guys,
Nobody is using Netmetal 3x3 with any antenna?
What do we expect in terms of performance with CPE such as sxt or lhg

I wonder if anybody is using the triple chain with any experience that could be shared.

3

With 2 chain CPE’s there is no benefit

4

So why Mikrotik produce the Netmetal Triple chain?
I see multiple antenna manufacturers have antennas and I see Netmetal 3x3, but not sure if it adds any value or it is nothing. I heard that it could double the download speed, no clue if that is true.

5

Yeah, I’d like to find a triple chain 30 db antenna as well. I have proven that ubiquiti LTU stuff does not compare to the Mikrotik Net Metal. BUT I still want to upgrade and get better speeds. so I have 2x2 now, and would liek to go to the 3x3, but cant find antennas…

Wanna manually modify the feedhorn on a rocket dish anyone? put one on a slant? What are the chances of getting this done right the first time and having it work good enough to benifit from the third chain?

Also, if I have a PtMP, and the AP is 3x3 and one client is 3x3, will the other one still as 2x2 still work properly? but with lower speeds I would guess,

6

3x3 antennas aren’t common because it’s hard to make them. For 2 chains it’s easy, you have two polarizations. But for 3, adding another “slanted” element will not work well. There needs to be some difference between all chains, either by different polarizations or spatially. Proper way is to use circular polarization for extra chains, ie. V/H/LHCP/RHCP for 4x4 as that will still have some isolation between each other. That is pretty much only way how to do it correctly for long links using large dishes. For shorter links you can also use another antenna for 3rd chain (linearly or circularly polarized) and put it on the side off the main antenna, as far as possible so there is some difference, even if it’s same polarization.
As for the clients, 2x2 clients will still work just fine, using only two chains… it’s same as with 1x1 and 2x2 clients on one AP. There might be some advantage if AP is 3x3 and can receive transmissions from 2x2 clients on more antennas increasing SNR (this really depends on how clever the radio is, if it can combine signals from different antennas properly etc.).