Extending WiFi 600+ feet

DogFather

DogFather

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Hit me up with ideas on how to extend my WiFi network into the far corners of back yard so I can have a camera or two on my outbuilding. The building has power on a separate meter so power line network is off the table. Cellular stinks so that really isn't an option either.

I have two different ideas in mind, not sure if either will work or maybe go with something else. Already have a Unifi network in place and would like to stay with that system as it works well.

A) Maybe one of these? Clear and direct line of sight is possible with power at both ends. What realistic speeds can I expect? House has a 400Mps connection from Spectrum - reality is more like 200.

LiteBeam AC 5 GHz Bridge​


B) WiFi repeater in the middle - would need a solar power source as no power in the middle. Small solar panel on bird house and battery backup for nighttime. Seems a bit Rube Goldberg... Sure I could trench a power line a couple hundred feet but if that is the case I'll just run fiber optic the entire 600.
 
DogFather said:
Hit me up with ideas on how to extend my WiFi network into the far corners of back yard so I can have a camera or two on my outbuilding. The building has power on a separate meter so power line network is off the table. Cellular stinks so that really isn't an option either.

I have two different ideas in mind, not sure if either will work or maybe go with something else. Already have a Unifi network in place and would like to stay with that system as it works well.

A) Maybe one of these? Clear and direct line of sight is possible with power at both ends. What realistic speeds can I expect? House has a 400Mps connection from Spectrum - reality is more like 200.

LiteBeam AC 5 GHz Bridge​


B) WiFi repeater in the middle - would need a solar power source as no power in the middle. Small solar panel on bird house and battery backup for nighttime. Seems a bit Rube Goldberg... Sure I could trench a power line a couple hundred feet but if that is the case I'll just run fiber optic the entire 600.
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The litebeam would work but because itā€™s a wireless ISP device youā€™ll need at least ten other devices from ubiquiti for them to allow you a site.

What you need is the ubiquiti building to building bridge. If you have line of sight and power at both ends you can get 1.5gig speeds. I installed mine and Iā€™m getting the max my isp speed that Iā€™d get at the modem. 950mb without any issues with storms. Shoot me a pm and Iā€™ll give you my number if you want to chat through this.
 
I used a couple of Cambium ePMP force 180s to do a ā€œwireless bridgeā€ which is what youā€™re looking for, just like your looking to do. Contact the guys at Double Radius in Charlotte to see what the current product is as it looks like the 180 may be EOL.
 
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We use the ubiquity gear to deliver a gig, but not for anything as short as you need. In your application, short distance and you control the property, Iā€™d trench. Poly conduit will allow you to pull whatever cable you want.
 
hp468 said:
If you trench, go fiber. You already have seperate electrical service there, no reason to add a path for lightening from there to your home.
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This...

A lightning strike nearby will cause enough ground potential difference to induce current flow across the distance.

It doesn't need to be a direct hit. The massive energy dump into the ground cannot dissipate fast enough; as it hits points a distance apart will be at different voltage potentials inducing current flow.

I have had IC chips blown off the motherboard of gear 150 feet apart with copper cable between them.

Go fiber.
 
I would also pull fiber, but thatā€™s because I pay people who know how. Pulling is easy, fiber is shielded and rather hard to damage, but the terminations are more delicate and require special knowledge and equipment. You can purchase pre-terminated fiber cable (I would suggest 3 pair) but it must be pulled from the shielded part of the cable and not the more flexible last few feet. Always test before pulling.

You can buy direct-bury fiber cable as well. We put fiber in conduit to facilitate future repairs and upgrades, but if you bury it deep enough to avoid the annual aeration you may never need to touch it again. We do use it to get from the road to the house in some cases.

It doesnā€™t work for most, but you can also purchase aerial fiber if you have a place to string it. I suggested that @amnesia try it along his fence, but as I recall he needed a solution that crossed a public road and at that point wireless is about the only viable solution for an individual. This stuff is tough, had a buddy telling me about some guys cutting telephone lines and tying them to their bumper to pull the copper out of the sheath. They cut and tied onto a piece of fiber and it took the bumper off their car, it was found where it fell, tied to the cable with the license plate intact.

Copper has itā€™s own issues. Pulling Cat 6a isnā€™t difficult, but the spec is limited to 90 meters for all unshielded twisted pair (UTP) including Cat 5, 6, 7 etc, less than half what you need. Cat 6a gets you 10gbps, and if you use a high quality cable (solid conductor 22awg) youā€™ll probably be fine, probably. Grounding is a challenge, best to think of the terminating equipment in a residential installation as sacrificial. Do the best you can with grounding, and use wireless to air-gap to the rest of the equipment if itā€™s expensive.

The challenges with fiber and copper are what make wireless attractive for most, weā€™ve had great success with the commercial Ubiquity products.

The cantenna (pringle can) always intrigued me as a great cheap hack, but it was common a couple decades back when wifi was running mostly in lower frequency bands and delivering 10mbps. As weā€™ve moved up band and have higher bandwidth requirements I donā€™t know how the thing will perform. Surely there are high gain directional 2.4 or 5 ghz antennas, but I donā€™t know if there are residential access points that can use them.

I wonder if your best bet wouldnā€™t be to look for some local residential network installations guys. Have them come out to look at the project and prepare an estimate. You know enough to be dangerous, and the techs will be happy to chat while you play dumb. By the time you talk to 2 or 3 youā€™ll be ready to make a decision.
 
amnesia said:
The litebeam would work but because itā€™s a wireless ISP device youā€™ll need at least ten other devices from ubiquiti for them to allow you a site.

What you need is the ubiquiti building to building bridge. If you have line of sight and power at both ends you can get 1.5gig speeds. I installed mine and Iā€™m getting the max my isp speed that Iā€™d get at the modem. 950mb without any issues with storms. Shoot me a pm and Iā€™ll give you my number if you want to chat through this.
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I'll also note that I purchased the litebeam first and found out first hand about the 10 devices. The building to building bridge has been wonderful so far.
 
Appreciate the insight. I don't want to do the trench for two reasons.

1) the trench would end up crossing what my plot plan says is a buried utility easement.

2) It would quickly grow into a huge project. That is I would end up saying well, mind as well run a water line too. Then it would become "aww heck, we need an emergency access tunnel and a fake rock in the middle with a manhole for a sniper look out"

Soooo the building to building bridge will be best compromise.
 
DogFather said:
. Then it would become "aww heck, we need an emergency access tunnel and a fake rock in the middle with a manhole for a sniper look out"
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Wait.... what?

Doesn't everyone have those already?

SMH... noobs...
 
Ubiquiti air max 5AC loco is what you seek. Theyā€™re cheap, will do all you need for cameras, and are easy to install if you can follow directions. Thereā€™s even an app to setup and align them. Iā€™ve used a ton of them and never had an issue.
 
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