XPost: alt.home.repair   
   From: _arlen.george@halder.edu   
      
   On Sun, 27 Oct 2019 16:41:44 -0700, Mike Easter wrote:   
      
   >> Why do they omit those critical Wi-Fi specs?   
   >> o I don't know why   
   >   
   > For me, it is better for me to keep my router and my access point   
   > 'separate'.   
      
   Hi Mike Easter,   
      
   You're not a troll so it won't irk anyone for me to respond in detail to   
   you, where I don't disagree that almost all (many?) tools are best bought   
   separately for best performance and functionality (IMHO), I agree.   
      
   For example, you can purchase the fastest router (or switch) you can find   
   at whatever price is your price point, and then add the best access point   
   you can find at the best price point.   
      
   This has a HUGE advantage that the access point is connected by cat5, so it   
   can be located, oh, I don't know, hundreds of feet away, can't it?   
       
      
   That gives you optimal placement of both the router & the access point.   
   o Plus, you can buy the most powerful access point allowed by law.   
      
   As you know from this recent thread, the AP will almost certainly be able   
   to shoot at the legal limit, which means it's as powerful as you can get   
   it, and all you have to do is plug it into the back of the fastest router   
   (or switch) you can find, and voila!   
      
   Instant (a) fastest router plus instant (b) most powerful access point,   
   each of which is (c) placed at the optimum location for your specific   
   needs.   
      
   What could be a more perfect situation?   
      
   o Just curious how far your Wi-Fi access point is from your desktop computer   
      
      
   > I generally am shopping price primarily, and I look at the specs   
   > 'secondarily' so that I don't buy something which is 'cheap'   
   > (economical) and inferior.  I would rather have economical and sufficient.   
      
   What you wrote makes general sense, Mike, but I have a logical   
   philosophical practical "issue" with that common sense approach.   
      
   As you know from the prior thread on WiFi range, the price of consumer   
   stuff is about the same as the price for the pro stuff (ever since Ubiquiti   
   got into the business anyway), where for $100 you can buy an anemic home   
   access point or for $100 you can buy the most powerful home access point   
   that the law allows.   
      
   The price doesn't seem to matter (all that much).   
   o And availability isn't an issue either (as Amazon carries it all)   
      
   What's needed is the knowledge.   
   o For example, the knowledge of the transmit power of your device.   
      
   At least when you buy the $100 pro stuff, you get clear, open, and obvious   
   Tx & Rx power specifications, extremely clearly noted, down to the plus or   
   minus in the measurements and down to the differences at each frequency   
   range.   
      
   You don't get ANY of those specifications (AFAIK) in the anemic home stuff,   
   which, kind of, sort of, is my main point.   
      
   The home stuff, IMHO, Tx & Rx power is utter crap (in most cases) compared   
   to the pro stuff, and yet, it costs about the same.   
      
   My point is that buying by separate components seems to make a lot of   
   sense, as does buying by the spec, but not by price since price doesn't   
   seem to track performance.   
      
   > My cable service is 200 Mbs as opposed to gigabit.  It is best for me to   
   > have a gigabit router, but its wifi capabilities aren't very important   
   > because its 'physical' location for wifi distribution for my needs is   
   > terrible.   
      
   Wow.   
      
   Your situation is probably common, where your speeds are 10 times what mine   
   are since my Internet comes over the air, but what you just explained,   
   seems to me, to be a perfect candidate for something like this setup:   
      
      
   1. You buy the FASTEST router (or dumb switch) you can afford   
   2. You tack on any access point that can Tx at the legal limits   
   3. You place that access point anywhere you want (hundreds of feet away)   
      
   > Generally one can't get a 'good deal' on a router w/o wifi   
   > these days because they ALL have wifi of various capabilities.   
      
   Yes. But.   
      
   The Ubiquiti devices can be easily set up to be routers:   
      
      
   I'm not suggesting you do this, but I'm just saying you "can".   
   o You get the best of three worlds in terms of speed & power & placement   
   o At about the same price you pay now for consumer crap   
      
   I'm not suggesting you do this simply because we'd have to think it through   
   more thoroughly; but I am constantly reminding people that the consumer   
   stuff they pay for is crap in terms of its WiFi Tx power.   
      
   I suspect (but don't know this for a fact) that the REASON they don't tell   
   you the Tx specs on the box is that they KNOW it's crap.   
      
   Consumer stuff is probably crap in terms of Rx power too (but I haven't   
   checked that).   
      
   > So, I also need a separate access point that I can connect by gigabit   
   > ethernet to locate the AP in a much much better place w/in easy ethernet   
   > connectivity to the router (or a gigabit switch which is located not   
   > very far from the router to give me more ethernet ports, as on-sale   
   > routers don't usually have enough ethernet ports for my needs, but one   
   > economical router and one economical switch and one access point fills   
   > the bill best and still costs less than $100 on sale.   
      
   Methinks you should, at least theoretically, consider three things:   
   1. The fastest router (or just a dumb switch) you like   
   2. Any access point that transmits to the legal limit   
   3. Placed within a few hundred feet of the router/switch (by cat5)   
      
   At least theoretically, doesn't that give you the best of 3 worlds?   
      
   Even though it's work, you're worth it, so I just snapped this picture for   
   you, which shows that I'm doing exactly that, where my router is nowhere   
   near my switch and where the access points are nowhere near the switch.   
      
      
   Note that you do NOT need such a huge access point, and also note that I   
   brought that access point from where it was, to this location, to put it in   
   the picture along with the switch, but rest assured, that access point is   
   working perfectly and tied to the switch you see in that picture.   
      
   Obviously with such a huge antenna dish, that access point has stellar   
   reception of even the weakest mobile devices (usually the anemic iOS   
   devices), which is why it's being used inside the house.   
      
   You don't need anything near that, and, in fact, you can easily get to the   
   legal limit on transmit power with just the small horn of these devices:   
      
      
   > It is easy to find an economical gigabit ethernet wifi AP w/ 300 Mbps   
   > wifi for less than $25 and free shipping.  The spec sheet provides EIRP   
   > values which don't mean much to me.   
      
   I'd LOVE to see those spec sheets for the EIRP of those $25 routers!   
   o I'm expecting something really crappy, like less than 20 decibels.   
      
   Notice that, at least theoretically, you seem to be a perfect candidate for   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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