Wifi Hotspot Setup

[MG Kelly]

I've been researching hardware for setting up a wifi hotspot area outdoors, so far i got THIS NEXXT ANTENNA to test it, but my routers can't fit the connection as it's too small. I've also looked at CISCO MERAKI but it would be to expensive just for testing.

Need suggestions for outdoor Access Points available locally and reasonable for testing the possibilities...............

[jahman182]

http://www.etecxs.com/wirelessaccesspoint/ If you need more information on setting up a hotspot gimme a link. I can point you in the right direction.

[MG Kelly]

http://www.etecxs.com/wirelessaccesspoint/ If you need more information on setting up a hotspot gimme a link. I can point you in the right direction.

Respect Jahman182, checking the link out now.

[MG Kelly]

Yow Jahman, i have a NEXXT ANTENNA and connected to a NEXXT SOLARIS 300 but the signal is weak. Based on my blackberry reading the signal strength even in the same room is -45dbm. I've concluded that the router is seemingly too weak to power the antenna to it's maximum 24dbi any ideas as to how to boost the signal ?

[jahman182]

That equipment won't do much for what you want to do.
The antenna is a directional unit and is better suited for a CPE (Customer premises equipment).
The router is MIMO the antenna is not so only a single chain would be used. It is also consumer grade.
All in all the signal strength is on the hot side -45dbi is very hot.
I would avoid the Use of an amplifier

Numerically low -45dbi is considered a high signal
Numerically high -90 is considered a poor signal

[MG Kelly]

hmmmm.... definitely learning something new, Thanks Jahman182. So, 1) I need a bi-directional antenna and a router supporting MIMO and readings i've been getting is actually good in all concerns. I also found out the router supports up to 7dbi and doesn't support the parabolic antenna. I'm still going to use it to test the reactions but in going forward will need to change out the equipment.

[jahman182]

What you would need is an omni-directional antenna like this.

The radio of choice would be the Ubiquiti Bullet m2 as shown below

The below kit is the typical equipment you would need to setup an inexpensive Hotspot


That would give you a wireless network for you to start with.

An even less expensive setup would be to use a Ubiquiti PicoStation as shown below


Below is the typical inexpensive Wireless HotSpot network you want to setup be it with the Bullet M2 or PicoStation as starters. It wont break the bank and has plenty of potential for network growth. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

[jahman182]

This is basically what your wireless hotspot network should look like when you are all done setting up without the server of course.

Modem/Router ------- switch (optional)--------Access Point(AP)


If you need clarification on any of the above just ask.

[MG Kelly]

I'll chew on it, first i'm gonna test the appreciation of the hotspot to see if it's worth it, even though it's gonna be free anyway. Does the Ubiquiti PicoStation comes with its own built in GUI to manage bandwidth usage, block MAC ID's etc., which router would you recommend and can these be bought locally ?

[jahman182]

The Pico won't do any of what you require but all that can be implemented with third party software. The Ubiquiti Unifi outdoor 2.4ghz does allow for user management albeit a bit more expensive than the Pico. With the Unifi outdoor you get a lot of features. Do a bit of research and you will see it fits your requirements.
I don't think you will have a problem in discovering how popular free wifi will be in Jamaica. Remember free is not a business plan.