Need microwave link from Whangaparoa Peninsula north to Tawharanui Peninsula

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kiwijohn

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#177496 4-Aug-2015 16:29

I'm moving to the Tawharanui Peninsula (out from Matakana on the coast opposite Kawau Island). I understand the existing ADSL1 is terrible. The trade-off of life-style and fast Internet is looming!

On Google Earth, I have line of sight to SkyTower (53km) but much better would be to Whangaparoa (30km). Does anyone know of a North facing site on Whangaparoa that has fibre where I could put one end of a microwave link (app. 600mm antenna)? This could be a UFB location perhaps although the full UFB roll-out hasn't really started yet? Are there any towers?

I don't move there until early September so haven't personally tested for ADSL speeds or 3G/4G coverage yet. I suspect the download caps on RBI etc will be blah. I currently enjoy Netflix / Hulu streaming in Auckland city so would like to replicate this if possible - I figure the only way is to do a Microwave hop.

Any ideas would be most appreciated. Thanks

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#1358807 4-Aug-2015 16:41

Whats your budget?

kiwijohn

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#1358818 4-Aug-2015 16:47

Unsure.

I have been offered the microwave kit but need a good "city" end location. I can organise ISP & backhaul etc from there okay I believe. I've costed locating in SkyTower - its expensive and a long way hence why I'm trying to find somewhere on Whangaparoa.

sbiddle

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#1358846 4-Aug-2015 17:04

I'm curious as to the sort of equipment are you planning to use for a 30km link over water, and how you're planning to get the elevation you'll need to for such a link to work.

nitrotech

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#1358864 4-Aug-2015 17:36

If budget is not a problem I'd get Kordia to design a solution for you - they can push some pretty good speeds over their links.

kiwijohn

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#1358866 4-Aug-2015 17:42

I'm at 70m above sea level at the "rural" end with clear line of sight south to Whangaparoa and well over Whangaparoa to SkyTower.

Plan to use suitable Ubiquiti kit with the 600mm antennas.

kiwijohn

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#1358869 4-Aug-2015 17:46

Thanks re Kordia. Yes, I'm thinking of Kordia but may be too expensive - also suspect using a lot of Gb might cost an arm and a leg.

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Jase2985

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#1358876 4-Aug-2015 18:02

moves to rural location, wants fast internet and heaps of data, not willing to pay heaps for it.

quickymart

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#1358885 4-Aug-2015 18:26

Have you checked? I found wireless RBI is available there.

RunningMan

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#1358893 4-Aug-2015 18:45

Jase2985: moves to rural location, wants fast internet and heaps of data, not willing to pay heaps for it.

Doesn't seem to be the case, just looking for the most cost effective solution. Looking at options like a point-to-point link isn't a bad idea if you can work out the details.

sbiddle

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#1358929 4-Aug-2015 20:09

When you talk of a 600mm antenna I assume you're meaning a 5Ghz link, not proper DMR kit?

Good luck with a stable 5Ghz link over 30km of water with only 70m of elevation. That's not a lot of fresnel zone clearance and is very likely to cause issues. I won't say it will cause issues, but there is every likelihood you'll struggle to get a stable link with any sort of decent throughput.

nitrotech

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#1358977 4-Aug-2015 21:32

sbiddle: When you talk of a 600mm antenna I assume you're meaning a 5Ghz link, not proper DMR kit?

Good luck with a stable 5Ghz link over 30km of water with only 70m of elevation. That's not a lot of fresnel zone clearance and is very likely to cause issues. I won't say it will cause issues, but there is every likelihood you'll struggle to get a stable link with any sort of decent throughput.

+1 , I also wonder how you'll be able to RX above the noise floor with the amount of 5ghz in the Auckland CBD

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kiwijohn

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#1359117 5-Aug-2015 10:00

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions Jase2985, quickymart, RunningMan, Nitrotech & sbiddle.

quickymart: Have you checked? I found wireless RBI is available there.

Yep, RBI is there but the download speeds and caps are low. Cost okay but .....

RunningMan:
Jase2985: moves to rural location, wants fast internet and heaps of data, not willing to pay heaps for it.

Doesn't seem to be the case, just looking for the most cost effective solution. Looking at options like a point-to-point link isn't a bad idea if you can work out the details.

Agree with both of you. I'm moving to a rural location and, if possible, I want fast Internet and heaps of data and I'd rather not pay a lot for it. I'm trying to find if there is a way to have "city" Internet service at my rural location without having to pay heaps. If it is going to cost too much then I'll have to scale back my ambitions and possibly kill my streaming habits. Microwave seemed to be a possible solution that I thought I'd see what Geekzone members thought - "crowdsourcing" (excuse the terminology) ideas and warnings of tech gotchas I guess.

nitrotech:
sbiddle: When you talk of a 600mm antenna I assume you're meaning a 5Ghz link, not proper DMR kit?

Good luck with a stable 5Ghz link over 30km of water with only 70m of elevation. That's not a lot of fresnel zone clearance and is very likely to cause issues. I won't say it will cause issues, but there is every likelihood you'll struggle to get a stable link with any sort of decent throughput.

+1 , I also wonder how you'll be able to RX above the noise floor with the amount of 5ghz in the Auckland CBD

Valid points on the Fresnel zone and CBD noise floor - thanks. We are doing some link budgets today. Advice is that it might be more a case of minimising reflections over water and less about the Fresnel zone but .... working on it.

I was just pointed to Ubernet wireless so will check what coverage they have. Also having a test run on the copper line to see what predicted ADSL speed might result. Long way from the nearest E1 fed old Conklin cabinet but ... worth checking.

sbiddle

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#1359210 5-Aug-2015 11:48

RBI wireless speeds are in the vicinity of 40-80Mbps down and 20-30Mbps up with 80GB for $99 - I think that's pretty reasonable. The only difference is higher latency.

Jase2985

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#1359228 5-Aug-2015 11:59

http://www.ultimatebroadband.co.nz/rbi-wireless.html

$140/month, 100gb peak, 50gb off peak, and $90 for an extra 100gb. pretty reasonable i think. and you would see the speeds Steve mentioned above.

knoydart

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#1359247 5-Aug-2015 12:16

Wearing my semi work hat on, the list of Radio Engineers for New Zealand is here. I suggest you have a look at what people / companies offer and if you want to use licensed spectrum, they are the people to talk to.

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