Hi, I’m very new to MikroTik having used a lot of Ubiquiti devices in the past, I’m a little confused by the options.
I’m looking for an AP for very basic domestic use with outdoor range of about 120m.
Can anyone point me in the right direction and recommend suitable devices?
Thanks
while waiting for post to be approved I’ve narrowed it down to this…
https://linitx.com/product/mikrotik-routerboard-sxtg-2hnd-routeros-level-4-with-psu-and-gbit-poe/13672
A 60 degree sector appears to cover the required area.
2.4ghz should provide good range at adequate speeds.
A single port is all I need.
Any thoughts in agreement or disagreement very welcome.
Thanks
That model is seemingly EOL/discontinued:
RBSXTG-2HND
https://mikrotik.com/product/RBSXTG-2HnDr2-168
I have no experience with these systems but for other Mikrotik hardware I have seen a lot of people suggesting to avoid older systems (unless you really know what you are doing) because they are a bit “tight” in memory and this does not go well with recent
releases of ROS.
Thank you that’s very helpful to know.
I would definitely recommend AGAINST client serving wifi from Mikrotik. Particularly if the device is 120 Meters away.
At that distance in OPEN AIR… I would go Cambium XV2-2T.
I have 2 at an event space that cover 58,000 sq feet with ease.
But I was able to make a wifi call using my Pixel 6 from 1052 feet away. My laptop also connected at that distance.
Sweet performance!
Back when I “learned the hard way” about Mikrotik AC devices… I could connect a device to a wAP AC at maybe 110 feet. But the air better be completely clear of any other devices on that channel.
The event space I took over in October… had two UAP AC Mesh Pros. They were being asked way too much. Ended up in the trash 3 days after opening.
The point in the lower left, is the DJ Booth at the center of the midway. iPads and square devices are used all around the midway. That’s what I needed to cover.
The Barn at the upper right is where the ISP comes in. I was inside the barn connected to the North Facing WAP. Made a wifi call when I was outside on the West side.
Thank you, that’s very useful to know. The max distance is 110m and minimum 22m in not sure if that makes the Mikrotik more suitable though , I’ll have a look at your suggestion.
110 Meters = 360 feet. That’s roughly triple the useable distance I observed.
The only all in one model that might fit the bill is the mANTBox 52 15s (RBD22UGS-5HPacD2HnD-15S). If you rather have separate antenna, than there is it’s “twin” without antenna: NetMetal ac² (RBD23UGS-5HPacD2HnD-NM).
You do know that the wAP ac is for close range don’t you (like covering the terrace part of a restaurant with its 2.5 dBi gain antennas)? Practically the same is true for the UAP AC Mesh Pro which is for a bit larger terraces. For such a job as you have linked there is the mANTBox 52 15s in MikroTik’s portfolio with 12 and 15 dBi gain antennas or the NetMetal ac² with which one can mix and match separate high gain sector antennas (tough be mindful of the regulatory EIRP limit for the given band).
un9edsda
My "learning the hard way " references the months of trouble shooting. Finding out how Mikrotik proprietary WiFi driver had some serious quirks. Aside from being ACv1 they had some untenable problems with interference. So much so that not only could they not handle many clients at once. But in busy environments with competing radios… They just stop passing traffic.
After a lot of back and Forth with Mikrotik, they acknowledged it and promised to get back to me when they had a fix.
That email is from 2019.
As recently as 2023… That same driver was in use and there were actually posts from Mikrotik coping to the fact that their radios were probably the wrong choice for the job. This was in threads about people having issues with crowded environments.
Now as for my “knowing what it’s capable of”. Yes I know that it’s not meant for long range.
If you read my posts… I am staying that the best distance the wAP AC actually got, was around 110 feet. And that only worked when there was absolutely NOTHING AROUND IT. The OP is asking for a solution that works at 330+ feet. For which the Mikrotik wAP AC is ABSOLUTELY THE WRONG CHOICE, despite its performance as a client serving radio… It just “doesn’t go that far.”
My reference to the UAP AC Pro Mesh was what was in the event space when I got there. 2 of them couldn’t even cover the mid way. They were trashed and The Cambium XV2-2T (x2) replaced them. I provided the photo to show just how far away the Cambiums could actually maintain a link.
Finding out how Mikrotik proprietary WiFi driver had some serious quirks. Aside from being ACv1 they had some untenable problems with interference.
Some agreement here but as another thread on this subject has said, Mikrotik focus does seem to have been more in the enterprise router/switch space and the wireless side has long been the poor cousin.
I too had trouble with a small but interference heavy environment in a pub. Never fully understood if it’s the driver/software or hardware or both. They have done a lot of work recently in v7 on the wireless side so I’m hopeful that sleepless nights worrying about installing Mikrotik wireless are a thing of the past.
In your particular scenario, I’d be personally tempted to put a UBNT P2P NanoStation link in and a local access point. Only say UBNT because I have zero experience of Mikrotik’s PtP offerings and UBNT is rock solid and easy to set-up.
Ohh hang on, the picture isn’t the original poster is it? Still for 120m, I’d still be suggesting a PtP link. I’ve got a client with a caravan site with two UBNT external access points. Not really powerful enough and we’re considering more.
I would go Cambium XV2-2T.
Out of interest, that makes this such a good solution for wide area outside? Higher power? More antenna/chains? Polarised antenna?
we too in a tourist camp use cambium outdoor aps , and recently covered terraces and pools with their new line-up , so the xv2 series are great. the xv2-2t during testing range in production, we were able to connect to it from ~350-400m and it was able to hold a connection (slow, about 5mbit). going closer to 200m, it bumped that up to about 70-80. it works great in high density high interference places like hotel bars, pool area…
mikrotik we do use for ptp especially if you move them out of band so they don’t interfere with access wifi.
we tried to use mantbox-es (dualband) but they don’t work well, a lot of disconnects as soon you have more than 6-7 clients on them and even with good signal the speed is looooow. they’re not meant to be access APs, but for PTMP use and there they work OK, as long you use mikrotik CPE as clients on them. mantbox + lhg ac can do a nice 5-6-7km with 100mbit real speed.