Quad stack 360 2.4Ghz

I had this question posted on a forum, and here are the replies i got..


Hello,
I am planning on installing a Value Point SuperAP 510g 500mw unit with a Quad stack MP12 at a camp ground, the antenna hieght will be around 100ft.
There are areas with moderate to heavy tree coverage and other areas that are wide open.
What kind of coverage can I expect for users of laptops with a standard Dell or Gateway WIFI card. Also users will have SIP WIFI hand held handsets.

Mike


TECHdept714 post sJul 5, 200610:20 AM

Pure estimate...1/4-1/2 mile...Height of Base station antenna matters a lot; 10' above the top of the trees is miminimum optimally desired height and every 30' difference in height makes a substantial change in performance.

see:http://www.wifi-plus.shoppingcartsplus.com/releases/release/975741/3207.htm

jacobsstcg1 post Aug 6, 200610:54 PM

I work for a University in Central California and we just deployed an Quad Stack 360 in small 14 unit housing development that we use for dorm rooms. Our intention was to allow approximately 20 students from 7 or 8 of the units (the farthest being about 500' away)to connect through the Quad Stack. Our Quad Stack is mounted to the eve of the house on a 10 foot antenna pole which puts the antenna at about 2 feet above the roof line, and 18 feet above the ground. The antenna is connected to an Aruba AP70 with 40' of LMR400 cable and one 8' N - RPSMA pigtail.

The AP70 is set to output 250mW and we are only utilizing the B/G channels. Anyways in our testing with a standard Intel 2915AG card built into a Dell laptop we are only able to obtain a link from about 200' feet away with only one tree obstructing the line of sight (no walls).

Anyways has anyone else had a similar problem, or know how to increase range? What can we try to adjust to increase range?

TECHdept721 post sAug 7, 20066:28 AM

Raise the antenna (with the white radomes facing down).
Turn the Aruba down to 100mW and add a 500mW -to- 1 Watt amp/pre-amp.
Let us know here of your then success.

jacobsstcg2 post sAug 7, 200611:20 AM

Thanks. How high would you recommend that we raise the antenna? Also do you have any recommendation on a good amp?

jacobsstcg3 post sAug 7, 200612:00 PM

Sorry about all the questions, being new to these antennas I want to get a much info as possible. I am looking into getting one of the 500mW Luxul Smart Amps, however based upon my calculation with a 500mW amp and the 12 dBi Quad Stack antenna minus our cable loss from the 40' of LMR400 we end up with approximately 35.2 dBm which is just under the maximum EIRP of 36 dBm. Based upon the opinion of the people with experience with these antennas do you think that will be enough to cover 400 - 500 feet with light trees and going through some regular home walls? I am tempted to go with the Luxul 1W Smart Amp just to be safe but then I will be up to about 38.2 dBm which is over the FCC limit which if possible I would like to stay under. So do I need the 1W amp, or do you think the 500mW will work fine.

TECHdept722 post sAug 7, 200612:55 PM

Sorry about all the questions, being new to these antennas I want to get a much info as possible. I am looking into getting one of the 500mW Luxul Smart Amps, however based upon my calculation with a 500mW amp and the 12 dBi Quad Stack antenna minus our cable loss from the 40' of LMR400 we end up with approximately 35.2 dBm which is just under the maximum EIRP of 36 dBm.[Good news...Actually the anechoic laboratory chamber measured gain of the antenna is 7dBi ...with significant additional EFFECTIVE gain in the obstructed environment. Therfore, you may use a full one watt amp with minimal jumper/connector loss.That said, it would be best to use the (1-watt) amp/pre-amp up at the antenna BEFORE jumper losses are seen (transmit AND receive).]

Based upon the opinion of the people with experience with these antennas do you think that will be enough to cover 400 - 500 feet with light trees and going through some regular home walls?[YES.]

I am tempted to go with the Luxul 1W Smart Amp just to be safe but then I will be up to about 38.2 dBm which is over the FCC limit which if possible I would like to stay under. So do I need the 1W amp, or do you think the 500mW will work fine. [See above.Luxul is good....RFLINX is highly recommended.]

TECHdept723 post sAug 7, 200612:57 PM

Of course, 10' (+) above the trees is minimum for highly effective HeadEnd deployment for a WMAN/WWAN.HOWEVER, here it would be good to see 50' above ground (HAAAT)...at least 30' !! lol.. :)

jacobsstcg4 post sOct 2, 200610:39 AM

We have the Quad Stack now installed 45' off the ground with a 2 watt RFLinx amp (2400LGX-2W). Most of the students that will be connected to this are about 75-200' feet away from the antenna with a wall and some medium to light trees between their computer and the quad stack. We have set the Aruba to every available power output, and have insured that the channel it is on (11) is not being used by any other devices nearby. We are still only recieving unusable signal at approximately 100-125' feet however. I would have thought our range would have been a lot greater out of this setup. When we disconnect the Aruba from the antenna we lose signal completely so we know that the Aruba is transmitting/recieving through the Quad-Stack antenna. Any ideas on what the problem may be?

TECHdept733 post sOct 3, 20069:41 AM

Hmmm...Something is wrong...Do you have another AP/wireless router you can try (Another Aruba may or may not yield similar results; do you have another brand AP/Wireless router if needed..even an off-the-shelf Linksys?)?

After that, only if needed, do you have another type of antenna from us, such as our MP-Tech. Single Sector antenna??...Maybe you would do better in this scenario with a beam-directional antenna rather than an omni-directional type.