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1.5 mile AP to WGB connection questions

bcanon73644
Level 1
Level 1

Hello all.  I am new to the forum and have just enough networking skills to be dangerous. A+ and Net+ Certs in 2000.  Self taught on my AP's and I am now finally to the point that I need help.  Bare with me.

I have 2 Cisco 1200 G AP's connecting 2 different locations.  Location A ( La ) I have a RVO82 router connected to a 50Mbit cable connection.  I have an AP setup there using a 1 Watt booster and a 24db wire grid directional antenna. Only one antenna here, the other disabled. 

At Location B  (Lb ), about 1.5 miles away, with good to excellent line of site, i have the other setup as a WGB with a 15db wire grid directional antenna with a 1 Watt booster.  Also only one antenna here, the other disabled.

WGB feeds a simple 8 port switch and in that switch i have a simple belkin wireless router setup as an AP for Lb's wireless access, which is the most used segment.  (i will usually take all the freebies i can get, lol)

The signal strenght between the two locations is -49 to -52 db, depending on what time of day I check it.

I have had this setup for a couple of years now.  I recently switched from a 3Mbit DSL connection to the 50Mbit cable connection hoping to increase my bandwidth with no luck.

.

When I first set this up i had a 6Mbit cable connection and it maxxed out at 5 Mbit at Lb.  I thought i would be able to add more boosters and antennas as time went on to go from half duplex to full duplex (the way i think of it is one antenna receiving and the other sending, at both locations) so that when our ISP had faster rates available, i could upgrade. I recently read somewhere on the net that it is not possible to run full duplex in the AP to WGB setup i have.  Is that true?

My main concern is increasing bandwidth on the WGB side Lb.  When i upgraded to 50Mbit, i still only max out at 5mbit at Lb.  Before i thought it was due to not being full duplex or weaker signal strengths (I've always had the 1watt booster at Lb, then i added one later to La with no benefit noticed except signal strength is better and uploads seem faster from Lb....)  I always use speedtest.net to test the speeds.  Pings from Lb to speedtest is 37ms.  Websites are pretty fast and i have been very happy at Lb.  I wanted to ask everyone here if its possible with what i have to increase bandwidth or not, or ask for other options to achieve it.  Like i said, i am happy with 5Mbit.  But i am paying for 50 and want to see how far that rabbit hole will go.  Any ideas?

And i have more questions as well, leading into multiple routers and subnets spurring from Lb with their own AP's, but that is more for play and my own curiosity...  12 years later i have a great job and finally have some play money to use a tad of that Net+ but i've forgotten most of it.

....but thats it for now as i will wait to see if everyone calls me retarded or not before posting again.  Thanks in advance ALL.

7 Replies 7

Scott Fella
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Here is my 2cents:). You have a 12xx 802.11bg access point, and your getting -49 to -52 rssi.. That's not bad and I'm guessing your SNR is -20 or better? The most you would see end to end is half of what the AP agrees on the modulation type. So if you were seeing a 54mbps connection, you should have a throughput around 27mbps at best. Now from end to end, not end to Internet, what is your tested throughput. Take some readings with jperf and see. Test your connection end to end first. I'm not going to talk about amplifiers, but you know, amplifiers will also increase your noise. With that great of an rssi, boosting it more will not increase throughput. Test with jperf... It's free just need java jre to run it and two machines on each end.

Thanks,

Scott Fella

Sent from my iPhone

-Scott
*** Please rate helpful posts ***

Hello again!

Thank you for your 2 cents Scott, sorry it has taken me so long to reply back.  I have been away on business for a long time now and have returned home.  I will try your suggestion and let you know something hopefully within the next few days.  Thanks again.

Tony Rosolek
Level 1
Level 1

do you think this configuration is legal?

1 watt amplifier = 30dbm + 24dbi antenna = 54dbm = 25 watt

in europe (etsi) you can use up to 20dbm and in fcc regulatory domain i googled around 6 Watt -> 48dbm

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tonyffo86 wrote:

do you think this configuration is legal?

1 watt amplifier = 30dbm + 24dbi antenna = 54dbm = 25 watt

in europe (etsi) you can use up to 20dbm and in fcc regulatory domain i googled around 6 Watt -> 48db,

Tony, according to this http://www.dslreports.com/faq/14091 you are absolutely correct in that I don't know my head from my a$$ when it comes to dB, dBi, etc...  The antennas and boosters were freebies, so I looked them up on the net the best i could to find what those ratings were.  When I had a HAM friend helping me out with being compliant with the FCC he said that i was barely legal.  I think the legal limit for a normal civilian is 1.2 watts in the 2.4ghz range and i fell in at 1.1.  Anything over that i was told that you had to get an amateur license, which the base level goes up to 3 watts?  Again i am unsure on that but i did check that i was legal before i ever attempted any of this.

Leo Laohoo
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
I have an AP setup there using a 1 Watt booster and a 24db wire grid directional antenna.

Oh my gosh.   I have seen something like this.  You say you have an amplifier/booster?  How is this connected to your WAP?  How LONG is the antenna cable (total) from your WAP to your booster and your booster to the antenna?

When i upgraded to 50Mbit, i still only max out at 5mbit at Lb.

Sorry, I don't want to sound so brash, but how did you measure this?  Did you by any chance measure this from WAP to WAP of from LAN-A to LAN-B?

One of these days i will learn how to do that cool quote box thingy...

leolaohoo wrote:

I have an AP setup there using a 1 Watt booster and a 24db wire grid directional antenna.

Oh my gosh.   I have seen something like this.  You say you have an amplifier/booster?  How is this connected to your WAP?  How LONG is the antenna cable (total) from your WAP to your booster and your booster to the antenna?

I have an 8 inch pigtail connected between the AP and Booster.   It converts TNC from AP side to Type N on booster side.  Then a 50 coax cable running from booster to antenna

When i upgraded to 50Mbit, i still only max out at 5mbit at Lb.

Sorry, I don't want to sound so brash, but how did you measure this?  Did you by any chance measure this from WAP to WAP of from LAN-A to LAN-B?

I simply tested the speed at Location A and at location B separately with speedtest.net, with the same laptop, testing to the same server on speedtest.

Cable Modem > RVO42 Router > Laptop for test at location A

Cable Modem > RVO42 Router > 1200 AP > Antennas and all that invisible stuff > 1200 WGB > SG100D-08 Switch > Laptop for test at location B

I have an 8 inch pigtail connected between the AP and Booster.   It converts TNC from AP side to Type N on booster side.  Then a 50 coax cable running from booster to antenna

Talk about cable loss.  This one will top it all.  50 "feet"?

I simply tested the speed at Location A and at location B separately with speedtest.net, with the same laptop, testing to the same server on speedtest.

Can I ask if you can ping from WAP < --- > WAP and Laptop-WAP < --- > WAP-Laptop?

I want to determine where the slowdown is coming from: WAP to WAP or Laptop to Laptop (no LAN switches involved here).

Again, no offense to you but I seriously doubt a RV-grade modem can push 50 Mbps of full duplex traffic.  I am suspecting the router is the bottleneck.

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