5Ghz AP recommendations?

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ubergeeknz

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#154314 24-Oct-2014 00:13

Happy with my current router/modem, but I want to add 5Ghz capability.

Any recommendations for an inexpensive, reliable and compact 5Ghz AP? Seems like most of them are outdoor models.

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#1161112 24-Oct-2014 05:34

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=66&topicid=142987

big thread on them there

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ubergeeknz

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#1161166 24-Oct-2014 09:14

Hm, not really recommendations for cheap 5Ghz APs though. Unifi, Ruckus etc are fairly big bikkies. I am looking at more like $100-$150 tops.

1101

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#1161244 24-Oct-2014 10:59

You do realise that you'll need 5Ghz receivers as well , dongles or PC cards.
And 5Ghz is less likely to go through walls etc, so be of less use inside many houses anyway

sbiddle

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#1161245 24-Oct-2014 11:01

ubergeeknz: Hm, not really recommendations for cheap 5Ghz APs though. Unifi, Ruckus etc are fairly big bikkies. I am looking at more like $100-$150 tops.

Have no recommendations in that price range - for a good standalone unit you'll pay a lot more.

If you only want to spend that much your best bet is looking around for something such as 2nd hand router that you can configure as an AP.

ubergeeknz

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#1161252 24-Oct-2014 11:09

1101: You do realise that you'll need 5Ghz receivers as well , dongles or PC cards.
And 5Ghz is less likely to go through walls etc, so be of less use inside many houses anyway

Good points both, however, we live in a small, timber house... so there shouldn't be any coverage issues. And most of our devices have dual band wifi. Aside from which we would still maintain the 2.4Ghz for those which don't.

ubergeeknz

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#1161256 24-Oct-2014 11:17

sbiddle:
ubergeeknz: Hm, not really recommendations for cheap 5Ghz APs though. Unifi, Ruckus etc are fairly big bikkies. I am looking at more like $100-$150 tops.

Have no recommendations in that price range - for a good standalone unit you'll pay a lot more.

If you only want to spend that much your best bet is looking around for something such as 2nd hand router that you can configure as an AP

boo

What about these: http://www.gowifi.co.nz/access-points-802.11/outdoor-wireless-access-points/mikrotik-omnitik-u-5hnd-802.11a/n-400mw-access-point.html

or do they not work standalone? It's a little bulkier than I'd like but I could hide it somewhere probably

fizzychicken

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#1161258 24-Oct-2014 11:19

I bought an ea6500 specifically to load DD-WRT on it and poke around,
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=162802
became very configurable, dual band to run 2.4 and 5 at the same time, lots of stuff in the custom firmware, gigabit ethernet too. Found under-clocking it made it more stable. was fun while it lasted but ended up getting new router and a switch as wifi became less important, now it actually sits on my desk as a large paperweight.
I guess my message is really, you can get some good stuff for cheap/second hand and put custom firmware on it to get features better than some of the more expensive options.

https://keybase.io/fizzychicken

sbiddle

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#1161275 24-Oct-2014 11:21

I'd assumed you wanted a single device to do 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz - if you just want 5Ghz there are a number of options, incl building your own Mikrotik device which will be cost effective.

ubergeeknz

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#1161293 24-Oct-2014 11:51

sbiddle: I'd assumed you wanted a single device to do 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz - if you just want 5Ghz there are a number of options, incl building your own Mikrotik device which will be cost effective.

Ah :) Yeah, mikrotik might be the go. Just wasn't sure how good their wireless stuff was...

coffeebaron

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#1161295 24-Oct-2014 11:54

Would be great to see some USB stick size wireless AP's powered with PoE. Then you could plug these into RJ45 sockets around the place.

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jnimmo

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#1161310 24-Oct-2014 12:14

Apple Airport Express or Extreme - refurbished http://store.apple.com/nz/browse/home/specialdeals

$108 / $269 delivered

sbiddle

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#1161326 24-Oct-2014 12:42

coffeebaron: Would be great to see some USB stick size wireless AP's powered with PoE. Then you could plug these into RJ45 sockets around the place.

While they're not quite USB sized and are only 2.4Ghz, the new Mikrotik mAP fits those requirements pretty well.

richms

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#1162524 26-Oct-2014 18:24

Outdoor ones are usually highly directional. Another vote on the airport express as they seem to work pretty well once all set up with the horrid software.

Richard rich.ms

ubergeeknz

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#1163319 28-Oct-2014 09:33

Thanks for the pointers guys :) I've decided to roll the dice on one of these:

http://www.dx.com/p/dual-band-2-4-5ghz-300mbps-ieee-802-3u-a-n-b-g-wireless-ap-wi-fi-repeater-white-au-plug-355234#.VE6rkvmUeyA

because its dirt cheap, and if it doesn't work, I'll just send it back. I'll be sure to post about my experience...

Next port of call will probably be a Mikrotik or maybe the Airport.

deadlyllama

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#1163398 28-Oct-2014 10:46

TP-Link do a dual band router for $95 on pricespy (TL-WDR3600). It can run OpenWRT and friends, too.

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