Realistic expectation of distance from sector to laptop

RouterOS Wireless Networking
1

Having never used sectors before, i wondered if someone could provide rough expectations on the distance I could expect to get from a 120deg sector or panel (circa 16-20db) to a client laptop in clear sight, over a beach. No interference from other wifi service.

I realise the laptop/smart phone is the weak point, and am just looking for rough ideas - 100meter, 400 meters?

Using a 433ah (256mb) and an XR2 wifi card, am i really limited to 20 or so users?

This is for a low bandwidth (25kb) free hotspot service.

many thanks

2

In a free space, you can get up to 800 meter, I have got clients connecting from 2-3 km but at the same height with my sector. But every body under 1km in a clear space will work.

You are not really limited to 20 users. 20 users using cpe is quite different from 20 users using laptops, you can have as much as 50 or so especially with the low bandwidth you are offering them.

3

depends on the laptops too. some have weak cards and small antennas.