I have to admit this higher end wireless stuff is new to me. I purchased a few grooves Ah5n to test in wireless bridge mode, then realized that they couldnt be adjusted outside of the 5ghz range (Im sure that is a much desired function by others as well).

What would be the best mikrotik wireless router to pair with the groove so that it can read a 5ghz n signal, and re-broadcast at b/g at the least, at 2.4ghz range?

I originally planned on mapping the effective range of an omnidirectional antenna on the groove, and determining the best layout for the map (attached below). But now if I use the groove + additional re-broadcasting routers that would also be a bit different. Ideally this would cover all outdoor areas, as well as have enough power to be used in the apartments.

Any help or input appreciated, I hope to learn enough about these products to be a contributor to the forums in the future.

Thanks
Bryan

then realized that they couldnt be adjusted outside of the 5ghz range

what do you mean by this? name an example

What would be the best mikrotik wireless router to pair with the groove so that it can read a 5ghz n signal, and re-broadcast at b/g at the least, at 2.4ghz range?

This is unclear. Why do you need to rebroadcast anything? Maybe you mean that you want to interconnect your routers with 5GHz, and setup local APs in the 2GHz frequency? In that case, Groove was not the device you need. You need a router with two wireless card slots. One for connecting to other APs, the other to serve clients.

A wild stab in the dark, is that nigh on every hotspot provider that uses Mikrotik products wants to use 2.4 range, not 5. The Groove and Omnitik would be ideal for Hotspot coverage, simple meshing except for the problem that the majority of clients cannot connect to them.

Building a 2.4 Mikrotik solution in an external case is way,way more expensive than the groove ;-(

2.4GHz products are coming too.

The Omnitik is a great AP for SXT and Groove devices. Not specifically for laptop clients.

What would be the best mikrotik wireless router to pair with the groove so that it can read a 5ghz n signal, and re-broadcast at b/g at the least, at 2.4ghz range?

This is unclear. Why do you need to rebroadcast anything? Maybe you mean that you want to interconnect your routers with 5GHz, and setup local APs in the 2GHz frequency? In that case, Groove was not the device you need. You need a router with two wireless card slots. One for connecting to other APs, the other to serve clients.

Sorry I will try to be more clear.

My goal is to have wireless available on the map below, with the internet source being located where the orange X is near the center of the map. Wireless should be available in the buildings, and a plus would be having it available outside as well.

I wanted to set up the groove to be a AP-bridge, that could extend the signal farther out, in multiple nodes, with an omni-antenna, as well as serving the connection to anyone in proximity of the groove.

I realized to do this I would need wireless adapters on each computer laptop that could read 5ghz, or else additional access points that would interconnect with the groove at 5ghz, and serve up 2.4ghz as access point.

The reason I purchased the groove to experiment with, is that it is small, easily mountable, and outdoor rated.

Ah, you're in Jacksonville.

What you want to do is a bit more involved than you realize. You have a good contact IM/email/number? I did an apartment complex setup for a friend not too long ago.

Yeah I use dxkj21 , gmail address.

Someone higher up is planning this out and already has a list of equipment they were going to buy, as they have done this before. I started this as an exercise in learning more, and if I come up with a better/cheaper solution in the end that is what we will go with.

Not asking anyone to do my work for me, just trying to get a handle on the best way, been trying to search the forums to find useful threads to read to learn a bit more.

ty

You could run a simple, single radio HMWP mesh setup and just plug your APs into the groove. We have plenty of such setups and for general wifi internet access it works very well, despite the bandwidth tradeoff associated with single radio.

You could run a simple, single radio HMWP mesh setup and just plug your APs into the groove. We have plenty of such setups and for general wifi internet access it works very well, despite the bandwidth tradeoff associated with single radio.

His requirements are a bit more complex as the end goal is to provide a high speed connection to every apartment. It's the equivalent of building a 350+ customer WISP in a small footprint with the resulting issues. The 2.4ghz noise levels are going to be high since most people will have wireless routers.

You could run a simple, single radio HMWP mesh setup and just plug your APs into the groove. We have plenty of such setups and for general wifi internet access it works very well, despite the bandwidth tradeoff associated with single radio.

His requirements are a bit more complex as the end goal is to provide a high speed connection to every apartment. It's the equivalent of building a 350+ customer WISP in a small footprint with the resulting issues. The 2.4ghz noise levels are going to be high since most people will have wireless routers.

Ah, i assumed as he was using Groove's with Omni's he was looking for a more basic solution.

Hi richedav,

Your solution sound interesting. Can you give me more detail?