[Battlemesh] recommendations for 40Km Link

Joseph Bonicioli nettraptor at awmn.net
Thu Jul 4 08:00:59 UTC 2013


Links of that distance are very common in our network (AWMN). Attika in
Greece is not flat resulting to many links that are over 10 20 or even 50Km.
Moreover since we got access to TV channel installations we have a lot of
long distance links to other areas of Greece and with other wireless
communities . It will be pointless to point some out. They are many and I
own a couple of them. 

Do not over analyze. Maths never fail you (FSL calculations)  and rocket
dishes are fine for 40Km. With 34dbi dishes at both ends you will get -71db
signal with no Tx power at all. If you add 5-10db Tx power you will be well
in the good performance zone of -61 to -66.
If you are in a noiseless environment you will be thrilled to find that the
performance will be "just" as good as in your test room. 
You can also find cheaper alternatives. Get yourself a couple of good solid
reliable 120cm offset dishes, a couple of feeders that we can provide you if
you need to and you are ready.

On the other hand don't consider anything less than the biggest gain
(biggest dishes) and most reliable hardware you can get. You will have to
compensate for bad weather in the winter making the link harder due to
conditions, harsh environment may punish hard you equipment and of course
unreliable hardware/software will make you travel a lot. The difference
between some extra cash for something a bit more reliable and traveling
expenses is big.

And don't worry about details like alignment. Those things nowadays if you
have not broken something in your equipment are a breeze with the tools that
you get.
Plan for other details if you are going somewhere far or on a mountain.
Cables, extra tools, insulation material, things that make your life and the
experience pleasurable, communication equipment, ropes, toolboxes, people :)

Go play, take some pictures and let us know the results! Good luck!!!!

-----Original Message-----
From: battlemesh-bounces at ml.ninux.org
[mailto:battlemesh-bounces at ml.ninux.org] On Behalf Of NicoEchaniz
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 4:41 AM
To: Battle of the Mesh Mailing List
Subject: [Battlemesh] recommendations for 40Km Link

Hi guys,

Here in Quintana (Argentina) we are planning a 40Km link to connect three
community networks in the region to the nearest Internet Exchange in Cordoba
City.
Our longest link so far is 16Km and it works very well (40Mbps) using
AirGrid M5 27dbi.

For this occasion we are planning to use Ubiquiti Rocket M5 + 34dbi dishes.
There is clear LOS between both ends; link calculation seems fine but I'd
like to ask about your experience with this kind of long shot high
performance links.

Any recommendations based on real-world deployments?
Are you using these Rocket routers for long links?


Cheers,
Nico
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