Mesh Routers for Decent Range - ~50m

pdtmathieson on 08/11/2023 - 20:59

Hi everyone, I am looking at sorting out a mesh router set up for my cricket club. I have three locations which I want to put nodes, which are almost 50 metres apart but have open air between them. One will be inside a scoreboard (probably have the 5G modem connected directly here), one inside a shipping container (about 50m away), one inside the clubrooms (another 50m or so away).

Can anyone recommend a set up that is going to be under about $300?

Ethernet would have been ideal but I can't get a trench dug at the moment - maybe in the future.

Thanks all

Computing Wireless Router

Comments

  • elgrande on 08/11/2023 - 21:22

    one inside a shipping container

    What are you streaming in there?

    • JimmyF on 08/11/2023 - 22:02

      What are you streaming in from there?

      There fixed it for you :)

      • Protractor on 08/11/2023 - 22:13

        What are you streaming in from there?
        Fixed it for you (properly)

    • pdtmathieson on 08/11/2023 - 22:39
      +1

      Streaming a cricket match from the scoreboard, but also need the internet signal to the clubrooms - they're about 100m apart, with the container in between

  • GordonD on 08/11/2023 - 21:23

    All the wifi routers I've ever had had a line of sight range of at least 50m in open air. With the router in the window I could walk down the street, or most of the way to the local shopping centre before my phone told me it had lost the router's signal. Its solid and multiple intervening walls that reduce useful receiving distances to far less than that.

    Just did a google to see if the all-knowing internet agrees. It says the range for wifi in open air is about 300 feet. 90 metres.

  • scrimshaw on 08/11/2023 - 21:44

    Most ASUS routers have AI Mesh feature, I'd deploy one / two and see if the range is sufficient, if not you can just buy another one and mesh them together.

    Wifi 6 is significantly faster than Wifi 5, and is much better at handling network congestion. You don't have to pay much for a Wifi 6 router either, most start at $100 for AX1800.

    Just note that mesh wifi is not super great in commercial use cases. You can lose up to 50% of your speed for each hop in this network since you're using wireless for backhaul and you'd ideally be running ethernet between high power access points like ubiquiti u6-lr

    • JimmyF on 08/11/2023 - 22:08

      Just note that mesh wifi is not super great in commercial use cases. You can lose up to 50% of your speed for each hop in this network since you're using wireless for backhaul and you'd ideally be running ethernet between high power access points like ubiquiti u6-lr

      You're thinking of a repeater or very low end mesh product. Most mesh products are now dual/tri band mesh units that have its own backhaul channels to provide full speed.

      • scrimshaw on 08/11/2023 - 22:20

        The mesh routers that most people are buying tend to be low-end though. Especially when your budget is as low as $300, a 3-pack router is going to dual-band & AX1800 at the most.

        If you want to avoid the speed penalties with using mesh you'll have to be shopping at much higher budgets and looking at tri-band options, e.g TP-Link Deco X68, ASUS RT-AX92U, eero Pro 6, those quite pricey

        I did some testing with my ASUS AX-88U and a AX-55U, the PHY rate is something around 721 / 721 (receive, transmit) on the secondary node. That's quite a lot lower than directly connecting to the first (which maxes at 1200 / 1200, the maximum speeds my Samsung Galaxy S23 supports)

        • JimmyF on 08/11/2023 - 22:29

          I did some testing with my ASUS AX-88U and a AX-55U, the PHY rate is something around 721 / 721 (receive, transmit) on the secondary node. That's quite a lot lower than directly connecting to the first.

          Ok sure, lets say they do get hit with the speed penalties from the cheap mesh units, the OP is sharing a single 5G modem connection. I don't really see much of an issue with wifi speeds in 300+ mbps range for them.

      • rumblytangara on 09/11/2023 - 09:20
        +2

        Those 'dedicated backhauls' tend to be on 5GHz, which isn't going to be of much use to the OP trying to get signal across 50M into a giant steel box.

    • pdtmathieson on 08/11/2023 - 22:40

      Not really commercial capacity required, just for streaming a cricket match, maintaining scoreboard (very limited requirements), and the odd person connecting to it. Maybe running a stream on a TV as well

      • scrimshaw on 08/11/2023 - 22:42

        Do you have clear line of sight between where you're placing the nodes? you mentioned the first node is inside scoreboard, is that scoreboard basically a metal box?

        Clear LOS is important since any obstruction (especially metal, like fences) will completely block wifi signals.

        • pdtmathieson on 08/11/2023 - 22:46

          Scoreboard is a wooden box, but with windows - don't expect that will be an issue.

          Club room end can be near a window, or 10 metres closer but behind a brick wall. Would need to speed test which is best there.

          The container would be the one between and likely the problem, as it's solid metal. Another comment suggested an external antenna, which might work. Placing the router there might be my best bet for servicing the whole area without using a mesh

  • pc007 on 08/11/2023 - 21:51

    I got TP-Link Deco S4. Using from past 2 years. Going quite strong.

  • JimmyF on 08/11/2023 - 22:07

    TP-Link or any decent 'home' mesh product like google mesh etc will do what you ask.

    If you want to step up a level, look at the Ubiquiti line of hardware but will blow that $300 budget.

    My only issue is the shipping container. Any doors/windows? Being solid metal, you will struggle to get a signal inside the container for the mesh to work.

    An option would be something that can have an external antenna on it might work, if you can drill a hole and mount it outside. So maybe the ASUS routers above would be better or you can look at doing Omada Mesh with say the TP-Link EAP225 units for example if you are a bit more tech savvy.

    Being its a club, you could see if you can 'borrow' a TP-Link Deco mesh setup from someone to see if it will work?

  • Morien on 08/11/2023 - 23:03
    +3

    50m into a shipping container and your budget is $300? Not sure, man. You might need to look for a different solution.

  • rumblytangara on 08/11/2023 - 23:10
    +3

    one inside a shipping container (about 50m away)

    Inside a giant steel box- this is far from ideal.

    Look at TP Link outdoor directional APs or Ubiquiti point to point gear. This will blow past $300 though. 300 will barely even get you a decent mesh pack for inside a house.

    At a guess, at 50M the comms between APs will be slow- hugely degraded 5GHz or reliant on 2.4 which carries further.

    • netjock on 09/11/2023 - 09:17
      +2

      Look at TP Link outdoor directional APs or Ubiquiti point to point gear.

      TPE210 from TP link is $80 each or there about. 2 which I use to send Starlink to a second house 300m away

      • Chandler on 10/11/2023 - 14:49
        -1

        send Starlink

        Don't need huge throughput then, do you? Huh. Actually not too shabby. Even the latency isn't terrible (excluding gaming… but even then it's not too terrible).

        • netjock on 10/11/2023 - 18:37
          +1

          It is on a farm which the other options is paying through the nose for Fixed Wireless which is worse reliability than Starlink.

        • rumblytangara on 10/11/2023 - 19:21

          When the alternatives a dial up, single digit download speeds, or nothing, Starlink is by far the best option.

  • jv on 09/11/2023 - 12:04
    +1

    one inside a shipping container

    lookup Faraday cage…

  • PumaPuma on 09/11/2023 - 12:32

    Asus works for me.

    Wait for black Friday deals, you could snap 3 for less than $300.

  • geekcohen on 09/11/2023 - 17:04

    Need an MS Paint Diagram as well with a layout.

  • frugalferret on 10/11/2023 - 18:03
    +1

    I've installed a few of these TP-link outdoor directional antennas to link a friends house to their shed.

    https://www.umart.com.au/product/tp-link-cpe210-2-4ghz-300mb…

    Works great with several CCTV cameras streaming over the link.

    Might be an option depending on your layout. One access point can send wifi to 2 receivers if they're in a similar direction.

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