WIFI Coax AP

[heather.hitchler]

I am looking for suggestions for an AP connected to coax. Suggestions?????

 

[kanewolf]

What connected to coax? The antenna? The input network?

 

[vmfantom]

I am looking for suggestions for an AP connected to coax. Suggestions?????

I guess there are 3 possibilities, not sure which one you're looking for:

• 
  A router with HomePNA over coax (CenturyLink has used these), or a router with a built-in MoCA controller (Comcast and Verizon FiOS have these)
  A router with an integrated cable modem that connects to a coax line (most cablecos use these)
  A router with detachable antennas that can be connected to coax for wifi distribution

In the latter case, it's a bit tricky if you really need an enterprise AP. Take EnGenius for example, they have N female antennas and RP-TNC along with the more standard RP-SMA connector. The only consolidated list I found is here and those routers appear to all have RP-SMA connectors, or you can search on WikiDevi. N connectors would be more useful on outdoor APs where you need the connector to lock in place and stand up to more abuse, and maybe even add a lightning arrestor between the antenna, coax jumper, and AP for good measure. Also, the larger diameter LMR cables used for wifi and cell towers don't crimp well to SMA connectors and are very rigid so N is more common. RP-SMA is what you'd find with indoor routers/APs.

 

[heather.hitchler]

I am looking for suggestions for an AP connected to coax. Suggestions?????

I guess there are 3 possibilities, not sure which one you're looking for:

• 
  A router with HomePNA over coax (CenturyLink has used these), or a router with a built-in MoCA controller (Comcast and Verizon FiOS have these)
  A router with an integrated cable modem that connects to a coax line (most cablecos use these)
  A router with detachable antennas that can be connected to coax for wifi distribution

In the latter case, it's a bit tricky if you really need an enterprise AP. Take EnGenius for example, they have N female antennas and RP-TNC along with the more standard RP-SMA connector. The only consolidated list I found is here and those routers appear to all have RP-SMA connectors, or you can search on WikiDevi. N connectors would be more useful on outdoor APs where you need the connector to lock in place and stand up to more abuse, and maybe even add a lightning arrestor between the antenna, coax jumper, and AP for good measure. Also, the larger diameter LMR cables used for wifi and cell towers don't crimp well to SMA connectors and are very rigid so N is more common. RP-SMA is what you'd find with indoor routers/APs.

I am looking for an enterprise solution that will utilize my customers current COAX cable installation. I have found a vendor "WIFIMUNDO" they make a coax access point but I am looking for more of a rugged outdoor.

 

[vmfantom]

I am looking for suggestions for an AP connected to coax. Suggestions?????

I guess there are 3 possibilities, not sure which one you're looking for:

• 
  A router with HomePNA over coax (CenturyLink has used these), or a router with a built-in MoCA controller (Comcast and Verizon FiOS have these)
  A router with an integrated cable modem that connects to a coax line (most cablecos use these)
  A router with detachable antennas that can be connected to coax for wifi distribution

In the latter case, it's a bit tricky if you really need an enterprise AP. Take EnGenius for example, they have N female antennas and RP-TNC along with the more standard RP-SMA connector. The only consolidated list I found is here and those routers appear to all have RP-SMA connectors, or you can search on WikiDevi. N connectors would be more useful on outdoor APs where you need the connector to lock in place and stand up to more abuse, and maybe even add a lightning arrestor between the antenna, coax jumper, and AP for good measure. Also, the larger diameter LMR cables used for wifi and cell towers don't crimp well to SMA connectors and are very rigid so N is more common. RP-SMA is what you'd find with indoor routers/APs.

I am looking for an enterprise solution that will utilize my customers current COAX cable installation. I have found a vendor "WIFIMUNDO" they make a coax access point but I am looking for more of a rugged outdoor.

Do you know which type of coax they have in place, and which type of connector it uses? That could narrow things down.

 

[kanewolf]

It may be cost effective, but it is definitely non-standard. By being tied to a single supplier, your customer is at risk. The better answer is to pull ethernet cable.

But, good luck.

 

[vmfantom]

I am looking for suggestions for an AP connected to coax. Suggestions?????

I guess there are 3 possibilities, not sure which one you're looking for:

• 
  A router with HomePNA over coax (CenturyLink has used these), or a router with a built-in MoCA controller (Comcast and Verizon FiOS have these)
  A router with an integrated cable modem that connects to a coax line (most cablecos use these)
  A router with detachable antennas that can be connected to coax for wifi distribution

In the latter case, it's a bit tricky if you really need an enterprise AP. Take EnGenius for example, they have N female antennas and RP-TNC along with the more standard RP-SMA connector. The only consolidated list I found is here and those routers appear to all have RP-SMA connectors, or you can search on WikiDevi. N connectors would be more useful on outdoor APs where you need the connector to lock in place and stand up to more abuse, and maybe even add a lightning arrestor between the antenna, coax jumper, and AP for good measure. Also, the larger diameter LMR cables used for wifi and cell towers don't crimp well to SMA connectors and are very rigid so N is more common. RP-SMA is what you'd find with indoor routers/APs.

I am looking for an enterprise solution that will utilize my customers current COAX cable installation. I have found a vendor "WIFIMUNDO" they make a coax access point but I am looking for more of a rugged outdoor.

Ultimately, any AP that has detachable antennas would work fine. After you find that out, the only non-obvious detail to check is whether the AP interleaves 2.4 and 5 GHz on the same antennas, or has separate bands going to separate antennas. L-Com's catalog has outdoor diplexers to deal with that (just keep in mind that diplexers need to be paired if you're going that route).

As an example, EnGenius' ENH1750EXT has 3 5 dBi antennas on 2.4 GHz and 3 7 dBi antennas on 5 GHz. They all detach, but you wouldn't want to mux together multiple radio chains on the same coax cable or you'd have reflectivity to worry about. But these APs are made for the exact purpose you described.

I'd agree that WiFi Mundo isn't the way to go in the long run. Not just because that's designed for indoors, but because it's self-contained and integrated. You can't upgrade the antennas or the radio modules down the road without needing to replace everything, whereas if you're using coax for wifi, you can upgrade to better APs or better antennas later on without needing to gut everything. WiFiTel looks like it can only do 802.11n max, so there's no 802.11ac or ax support and who knows if/when they plan to release new hardware. You'd be locked in with that vendor.

You'd need to figure out your link budget based on total cable assembly loss for each cabling length. Other than that, if you aren't using 50 ohm cabling, you'd need impedance converters, but those are cheap thanks to China and ham radio enthusiasts.