Small Microwave Options

[k7bpg]

Good Morning,

I am trying to do some equipment option comparisons for smaller POE microwave units. The organization I work for needs to make a link from our tower to one of our buildings. It's only 8 miles and is a single data path that is needed. We typically use Aviat, and I personally like them. They offer a nice small one unit that would work great for this. However Ubiquity now offers an 11 gig licenses product and I have been asked to look at this option. Looks good, but concerned about how well long term it will work verses other more robust competitors. Tower is on a site with snow and ice in the winter and gets windy.

Any one have much experience with ubiquity mw for commercial use in harsher conditions?

Thanks

 

[bharvey2]

Good Morning,

I am trying to do some equipment option comparisons for smaller POE microwave units. The organization I work for needs to make a link from our tower to one of our buildings. It's only 8 miles and is a single data path that is needed. We typically use Aviat, and I personally like them. They offer a nice small one unit that would work great for this. However Ubiquity now offers an 11 gig licenses product and I have been asked to look at this option. Looks good, but concerned about how well long term it will work verses other more robust competitors. Tower is on a site with snow and ice in the winter and gets windy.

Any one have much experience with ubiquity mw for commercial use in harsher conditions?

Thanks

I've been using the Ubiquiti Airfiber 24 for several years for a connection between two of our sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. No snow or ice but we're not far from the bay so I suppose we would qualify for a "marine air" environment. Physically, they seen to hold up pretty well. They're fully self contained so you wire shielded CAT5/6 cable to the antenna housing and naturally, ground it well. The weak spot seems to be the PoE injector as I've had a few go bad over the years. They're easy to replace or you could build up your own. They are 48-50VDC PoE so not standard but if you've got some DIY skills you could fab up an alternative. I went that route. I've also used a few of their access points and have had a good deal of success with them as well. Given the number of Ubiquiti products I have, I think the success rate is pretty good so far.

 

[mmckenna]

I've got a pair of AirFiber's also, one of them is about 100 yards from the Pacific Ocean. POE powered, have worked fine. I think the link is only 2 or 3 miles, though.

 

[70cutlass442]

How much bandwidth do you need? the AF24 is capable of alot of bandwidth but will be very prone to rain fade and issues in fog. 8 miles You could run some UBNT AC equipment and get decent bandwidth. I would look at the Power Beam ISO which has build in radome.

 

[lmrtek]

Ubiquity products are hard to beat.
Plenty of bang for the buck and cheap enough to install redundant back ups.

 

[speedway_navigator]

I've had good luck with Nano stations from Ubiquity.
Another option is https://mikrotik.com/

 

[speedway_navigator]

I've had good luck with Nano stations from Ubiquity.
Another option is https://mikrotik.com/

this is small for what it does but is hard to mount
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/a2....jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF

 

[mmckenna]

this is small for what it does but is hard to mount
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/a2....jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF

Yeah, just bypass the interlock and leave the door open, works great.

 

[k7bpg]

Thank you guys for the responses. Looks like Ubiquity is doing a decent job, heard decent reviews from some of the wireless guys in the area as well.

The link will be an 8 mile hop from a hill to a valley below. I can stand and look straight up at the tower, also the link calculator I have says its very clear of any issues.

Thinking 11ghz will be best for this base off the calculations as well. Only need to realistically pass up to 200mbps. Might have internet access at the hilltop, if so it will only be 20mbps. Its just to provide internet connectivity so our remote site can vpn back to the main office. They have only three computers at this site.

If it looks like Ubiquity could hold up to the ice and snow, Im up for giving it a try. For the price im not opposed. If it doesn't work, I could put that hardware some where else and upgrade to something better for this link down the road i guess.

 

[krokus]

Is there a clear line of sight between the tower and remote building?

Sent using Tapatalk

 

[Project25_MASTR]

Thank you guys for the responses. Looks like Ubiquity is doing a decent job, heard decent reviews from some of the wireless guys in the area as well.

The link will be an 8 mile hop from a hill to a valley below. I can stand and look straight up at the tower, also the link calculator I have says its very clear of any issues.

Thinking 11ghz will be best for this base off the calculations as well. Only need to realistically pass up to 200mbps. Might have internet access at the hilltop, if so it will only be 20mbps. Its just to provide internet connectivity so our remote site can vpn back to the main office. They have only three computers at this site.

If it looks like Ubiquity could hold up to the ice and snow, Im up for giving it a try. For the price im not opposed. If it doesn't work, I could put that hardware some where else and upgrade to something better for this link down the road i guess.

For 11 GHz, my suggestion would actually be Mimosoa's B11. I have had many issues with Ubiquiti products in the past (I've also had many issues with Cambium as well). I will clarify that my issues with Ubiquiti are centered around their AirMAX line and the lack of basic grounding points which is an issue in areas with blowing dust and lightning. The AirFiber line on the other hand, was initially engineered by former Motorola Canopy engineers and as to be expected of those guys, have proper grounding points. Those radios are fairly solid radios. My other quip about the AirMax line is the radios receivers aren't as good as other manufacturers products (7-9 dB less) in the same price range. The only AirFiber shot I currently have running is a 4 mile licensed shot which doesn't even trump the 45 mile shot I have with Aviat gear. The other thing I really like about Mimosa's B11 is the 2.4GHz alignment radio onboard which allows the tower tech to directly visualize the alignment in the air versus the info needing to be relayed to him/her via radio or local audio tap.

Just my opinion through experience and as always, YMMV.

 

[bharvey2]

For 11 GHz, my suggestion would actually be Mimosoa's B11. I have had many issues with Ubiquiti products in the past (I've also had many issues with Cambium as well). I will clarify that my issues with Ubiquiti are centered around their AirMAX line and the lack of basic grounding points which is an issue in areas with blowing dust and lightning. The AirFiber line on the other hand, was initially engineered by former Motorola Canopy engineers and as to be expected of those guys, have proper grounding points. Those radios are fairly solid radios. My other quip about the AirMax line is the radios receivers aren't as good as other manufacturers products (7-9 dB less) in the same price range. The only AirFiber shot I currently have running is a 4 mile licensed shot which doesn't even trump the 45 mile shot I have with Aviat gear. The other thing I really like about Mimosa's B11 is the 2.4GHz alignment radio onboard which allows the tower tech to directly visualize the alignment in the air versus the info needing to be relayed to him/her via radio or local audio tap.

Just my opinion through experience and as always, YMMV.

I've noticed the lack of grounding on the Airmax line as well. Although I have used them outside for short distances (100 yds or so) without any problems, they've never struck me as an industrial/commercial rated product. ( They work great inside warehouses ). That being said, I see them in place all over the Bay Area.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I've noticed the lack of grounding on the Airmax line as well. Although I have used them outside for short distances (100 yds or so) without any problems, they've never struck me as an industrial/commercial rated product. ( They work great inside warehouses ). That being said, I see them in place all over the Bay Area.

Nice thing about West Texas, low population density and it's "so flat you can watch your dog run away for two weeks" so you can typically have long shots on 5 GHz. I've deployed a lot of Rockets (M and AC series for backhauls, APs and CPEs), Nanostations (original, M series and some ACs mainly for CPEs and APs), and PowerBeams (for both CPEs and backhauls). One of the things I've come to realize, UBNT's F/B ratio isn't always what they claim when it comes to actual deployment (and it may be a lack of shielding on the equipment).

For the most part, I've been having to phase out Rocket Dishes as I can't get stability with the links using them. It was a real eye opener when I had a 4 mile link using a Rocket dish and a 6 mile link using an old single pole L-Com dish that was outperforming the Rocket dish in both throughput and stability. Currently my go do dish has been L-Com's dual pole offerings for 5 GHz. I will say, I've been contemplating re-creating the setup Mimosa has been using for a 52 mile shot over Monterrey Bay using one of their radios, an RF Elements 90 degree horn and a C-band dish as a reflector but that's another story since we don't have those types of shots in Texas typically.

 

[12dbsinad]

First I have to ask, is this a mission critical link? Make sure you can make the shot with 11 GHz, have you done a RF study?

I'd stay away from Cambium, cheap junk IMO.

 

[k7bpg]

First I have to ask, is this a mission critical link? Make sure you can make the shot with 11 GHz, have you done a RF study?

I'd stay away from Cambium, cheap junk IMO.

This will not be a mission critical link, just getting internet to a remote workstation at a landfill for access back for email and work server access.

I like those little Mimosas, neat looking product. Thanks for the tip on grounding for the ubiquity stuff.

I do have line of site and the path study is good, and recommends, 11ghz.