Setup advice for summer house/cottage

Hardware MikroTik hardware general
1

Hi, I am looking to create a simple MikroTik setup to have internet access at my summer house. There is a good LTE coverage.

The requirements:

  • LTE/5G router as a main internet source, placed in the house. I will get the SIM card at my provider
  • Ideally no antenna installations on the roof
  • Some Wi-Fi extension points throughout the house and the garden, ideally wireless

Can you please recommend which models I should look at? Thanks!
Tomas

2

One of Chateaus:
https://mikrotik.com/products/group/lte-5g-products?filter&s=c&search=Chateau
https://mikrotik.com/products/group/wireless-for-home-and-office?filter&s=c&search=Chateau

s as main device.

Extension points are always tough as wireless ones consume traffic to talk to client & router.
Audience is designed for mesh interconnectivity for such situations
https://mikrotik.com/product/audience

3

The Chateau search filter only shows LTE6 device. https://mikrotik.com/products/group/lte-5g-products

4

Crazy.
Go here:
https://mikrotik.com/products/?filter&s=c&search=chat
and then click “Reset Filter” to list all the Chateau models.

Now, which of the various models makes sense in this case?

I.e. does the 20 category/speed of the Chateau 5G R17 ax compared to the 12 of the Chateau LTE12 (2025) justify the US$349-179=US$170 difference (i.e. almost double or the price of an Audience)?

5

it depends. AX vs AC wave2. 5G vs LTE. Better hardware specs overall.

6

Yep, but it depends on how much (real, not what the local ISP says in ads and brochures) speed is available from the cellular network in the specific area and if the “distribution” goes through two Audiences, it will be anyway (largely) “Ac”.

7

Thanks! So if I understand correctly, I could have, for example, the Chateau with SIM card in one part of the house, and then, for example, 2 individual Audience devices, 1 in the garden and 1 in the other part of the house, and these 3 things would work together, being centrally managed from the Chateau?

8

Any configuration of main LTE router + additional APs + CAPSMan can do the job but Audiences have dedicated 5GHz radio for mesh communication so you do not loose throughput for that traffic.
Frankly speaking there are endless options for holiday house setup as CAPSMan can be installed on any MT and it lets you share the Internet. I’d reccomend connecting APs with cables but if it’s not an option then I’d recommend Audiences.
Setup also depends on the speeds you want to achieve.
Remeber that if you “jump over” WiFi repeaters then half of the speed is lost so if you connect with 2 repeaters then effectively the speed is 1/4 of the original one.

BTW: Once, as it was needed immediately on a construction site, I set a setup where I used a spare mobile WiFi modem/router from operator to access Internet via 5G and local hAP was connected to that router via 5Ghz line and shared Internet on ethenet ports and 2.4GHz for the office. That solution lasted for 2 years as such a makeshift is the most durable as it is just effective.

9

Yes, that is the general idea.
The Audience has three radios, 2 at 5Ghz and 1 at 2.4 GHz, and it is usually setup with one 5 GHz radio connecting to the uplink (the Chateau in your case) and distribute internet with the other 5 GHz and the 2.4 GHz one.
The “limit” is that since the uplink is on 5 GHz (that has not a high penetration) the placement of the Audience(s) needs to be tested so that it has a good wireless connection to the Chateau and, at the same time, cover the intended area.