Point to Point Wireless Bridge Recomendations

jwadsley

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I know, I know...don't use wireless for a camera setup. However I've got a 45m gap where running a cable is just impossible, so I will need to run a Point to Point Wireless bridge. Both Bridges will have POE capability fed from an NVR and a 110v POE adapter. Just looking for recommendations and any persona experieinces. I need to put up a camera at a far corner of the property..
 

wittaj

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This is different than using a wifi router!

What you are proposing is acceptable.

@TonyR is our resident expert on this and will jump in soon with his recommendations.
 

jwadsley

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This is different than using a wifi router!

What you are proposing is acceptable.

@TonyR is our resident expert on this and will jump in soon with his recommendations.
Good, glad that its not like wifi :)
Looking for his recommendations...
 

Mike A.

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At the cheaper end, I'm using the TP-Link CPE210. They're OK for what they are. Cheap, easy enough to set up and they've worked fine for 3 cams running over them for a while now. They also have a 5g version and some larger units for longer range but you wouldn't need that.

Tony, et. al., can give you more info on the Ubiquiti point-to-point products. Better but more expensive.
 

tangent

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Ubiquiti, Engenius, and TP-Link are the bands I'd consider.

Compared to the others, TP-Link is super cheap, starting around $80 for a pair.
 

jwadsley

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At the cheaper end, I'm using the TP-Link CPE210. They're OK for what they are. Cheap, easy enough to set up and they've worked fine for 3 cams running over them for a while now. They also have a 5g version and some larger units for longer range but you wouldn't need that.

Tony, et. al., can give you more info on the Ubiquiti point-to-point products. Better but more expensive.
Saw this but was concerned with only one Ethernet port? So it would have to go into a POE switch.
 

tangent

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Any particular Engenius models you would recommend?
No, I'd probably go Tp Link or Ubiquiti, Engenius is fine it's just been a while since I've used any of their products . Compared to some of the no-name stuff on amazon those 3 bands are fairly safe choices though I do recall seeing some reviews having issues with the longevity of the tp link (could have been lightning). I don't have any particularly strong recommendations for you, but will say distance, terrain, and what you plan to hook to it / how much bandwidth you need are all worth considering.

Do you have power at "the far corner of the property" or are you planning to go solar? If it's fed from the house, HomePlug AV2 adapters are worth trying.

Are there other things at this location that need internet? eg. you're adding wifi and cameras to a tree house or shed-office? How many cameras at this location (determines link bandwidth needed)?
 
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TonyR

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I installed about a dozen Engenius bridges early on, between 2006 and 2010 but it's been Ubiquiti for me since then.

If there is Line Of Sight (LOS) between the 2 points to be spanned I'd go with a Ubiquiti Layer 2 Transparent Bridge ==>> airMAX - Guide to Configure a Point-to-Point Link (Layer 2, Transparent Bridge)

I've installed over a dozen of them in the last several years and all are still working great but the Nanostations and Loco's of both 2.4 and 5GHz flavor have been hard to get or VERY expensive this past year or so. About the only one in stock right now is this one for $60, quite overkill for your distance but you can dial back the transmit power==>> Ubiquiti airMAX LiteBeam Gen 2 5AC 5GHz 23dBi CPE US

I hesitate to recommend a pair of the TP-LINK CPE210 radios even though I put one in 2 weeks ago on 1/28/23 and it's working great BUT....all my Ubiquiti installs have been running with no hiccups for over 8 years now...time will tell about the TP-LINK wireless bridge. I was between a rock and a hard place so I had to go with it.

EDIT 4/4/23 2040 hrs CT: Over 2 months now for the budget TP-LINK CPE210's mentioned above and they've been rock steady according to the client. I'm pleased but still hope the Ubiquiti radios, especially the Nanostations, become more available and prices comes down.

If set up correctly the Ubiquiti Layer 2 Transp. Bridge will be like a CAT-5e cable, but without the distance limitations, will be a dielectric media that won't attract or conduct ESD / lightning damage but of course, cannot carry POE voltage.

Here's the schema I've used the last several years. The above Litebeams are different as far as configuration terms but the instructions above to the Ubiquiti airMAX Guide will make that distinction between "AC" devices (like the Litebeam above) and "M" devices (the type in my image below) when configuring.


Ubiquiti_layer2_bridge-cams.jpg
 
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Mike A.

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Saw this but was concerned with only one Ethernet port? So it would have to go into a POE switch.
Yes, just one and it's 10/100. I needed more switched ports anyway in my case so going to a switch was fine.

I had another with a POE port on it but it was an oddball brand device and I wouldn't recommend it.
 

TonyR

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Saw this but was concerned with only one Ethernet port? So it would have to go into a POE switch.
Just be aware that the TP-LINK CPE210 uses a passive 24VDC POE injector and is not POE 802.3af/at spec as are typical POE switches and POE NVR ports.

There are POE splitters available that take the 802.3af/at voltage (nominal 48-52VDC) and provide the passive 24VDC the TP-LINK and some Ubiquiti units require.

Ubiquiti makes one and there are others. This one can provide up to .5A @ 24VDC. ==>> Ubiquiti INS-3AF-I-G Indoor Gigabit Adapter . There's an outdoor version as well.
 
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TonyR

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What if no line of sight? Anything else that you'd recommend without buying old beat up M900's? (~300ft in my case)
900's would have better vegetation penetration as long as its not extremely dense, as higher frequency has better bandwidth but lower vegetation penetration and lower the frequency, lower bandwidth but better penetration....but they'd likely be older, removed-from-service radios.

I'd perform a site survey and see what the noise floor is, if not a lot of ambient 2.4 GHz I'd try that using a higher power/higher sensitivity radio like the Nanostation M2 which is rated 23 dB minimum. BTW, just saw them in stock at Ubiquiti for $89 which will NOT last long if it is, in fact, in stock and at that price.
 

Coltect

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I have been using Mikrotik radios for point to point links for years. I have one on our farm that is around 2km away and has no LOS. Its LOS passes through about 10 metres of a hilltop. I was very surprised when I first set it up that it worked at all. The remote site is a solar powered system with a Dahua DH-SD29204UE-GN and also an OpenWRT wifi AP, just in case the cattle, kangaroos, feral pigs, crows, parrots, etc need wifi access. Do get some great captures from there. Line of sight is about where the red dot in the red circle is. When I first started to use Mikrotik around 12 years ago, they were much cheaper than anything else. Ubiquity work just as well, I believe.
1680703971546.png
 

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jwadsley

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No, I'd probably go Tp Link or Ubiquiti, Engenius is fine it's just been a while since I've used any of their products . Compared to some of the no-name stuff on amazon those 3 bands are fairly safe choices though I do recall seeing some reviews having issues with the longevity of the tp link (could have been lightning). I don't have any particularly strong recommendations for you, but will say distance, terrain, and what you plan to hook to it / how much bandwidth you need are all worth considering.

Do you have power at "the far corner of the property" or are you planning to go solar? If it's fed from the house, HomePlug AV2 adapters are worth trying.

Are there other things at this location that need internet? eg. you're adding wifi and cameras to a tree house or shed-office? How many cameras at this location (determines link bandwidth needed)?
Only one camera that will be fed by a POE switch on the "other side" of the road.
 

jwadsley

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I installed about a dozen Engenius bridges early on, between 2006 and 2010 but it's been Ubiquiti for me since then.

If there is Line Of Sight (LOS) between the 2 points to be spanned I'd go with a Ubiquiti Layer 2 Transparent Bridge ==>> airMAX - Guide to Configure a Point-to-Point Link (Layer 2, Transparent Bridge)

I've installed over a dozen of them in the last several years and all are still working great but the Nanostations and Loco's of both 2.4 and 5GHz flavor have been hard to get or VERY expensive this past year or so. About the only one in stock right now is this one for $60, quite overkill for your distance but you can dial back the transmit power==>> Ubiquiti airMAX LiteBeam Gen 2 5AC 5GHz 23dBi CPE US

I hesitate to recommend a pair of the TP-LINK CPE210 radios even though I put one in 2 weeks ago on 1/28/23 and it's working great BUT....all my Ubiquiti installs have been running with no hiccups for over 8 years now...time will tell about the TP-LINK wireless bridge. I was between a rock and a hard place so I had to go with it.

EDIT 4/4/23 2040 hrs CT: Over 2 months now for the budget TP-LINK CPE210's mentioned above and they've been rock steady according to the client. I'm pleased but still hope the Ubiquiti radios, especially the Nanostations, become more available and prices comes down.

If set up correctly the Ubiquiti Layer 2 Transp. Bridge will be like a CAT-5e cable, but without the distance limitations, will be a dielectric media that won't attract or conduct ESD / lightning damage but of course, cannot carry POE voltage.

Here's the schema I've used the last several years. The above Litebeams are different as far as configuration terms but the instructions above to the Ubiquiti airMAX Guide will make that distinction between "AC" devices (like the Litebeam above) and "M" devices (the type in my image below) when configuring.


Ubiquiti_layer2_bridge-cams.jpg
Are these the devices you are referring to?
 
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TonyR

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jwadsley

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Yes, but not sure how well they'd perform in your situtauion without VERY good LOS.
A short distance might be OK.
Except for the occasional Amazon / UPS truck stopping right between the two antennas I should have no issues with LOS
 
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