Fun with Wireless

Last August I met with an expert on point-to-point wireless networks. Ron at Dluxlink was gracious enough to give me some pointers on connecting our main campus to a building that the church recently purchased on Emma St. This new building, formerly Waco Title Company, will be used for The Bread of Life ministry. Google Earth calculates the distance to be 604 feet from roof to roof.

Since TBOL’s data is stored on our servers and they need access to our shared drives as well as color network printers we decided to move forward with our wireless bridge. After calling Ron again in December he informed me of a new product out by Ubiquiti Networks, Inc., the NanoStation Loco 5. This product is a waterproof 13 dBi antenna and access point operating solely on the 5 GHz wireless spectrum. (There is a 2.4 GHz version available as well). The best part is that box includes a POE injector for power as well as some zipties to mount the device to a bracket, all for $70!! So if you are keeping track at home that is a complete point-to-point wireless network for $140 plus mounting hardware.

Configuring the devices is incredibly easy using the AirOS webpage. Each unit includes 4 LEDs that display the connection quality. This was helpful in determining the best position for the AP and the Station. The values of these LEDs can even be adjusted using the admin page. All standard security options are available. Antenna gain can be adjusted. Firmware is easy to upgrade and Ubiquiti’s customer service is excellent (sent me a second power adapter for free after I broke the first one).

As of this post, the devices have been operating for 6 days without ANY problems. I am extremely satisfied and would highly recommend this product.