Ubiquiti Nanobeams Range

[HCHTech]

I am working up a quote to get internet to a guest house on a client's property, about 175 feet from the main house. Looking at Ubiquiti Nanobeams, I'm thinking I can get away with the little ones, the NanoBeam M NBE-M5-16 units. They are inexpensive at a bit less than $60 ea. my cost, and there are window mounts available cheaply, so I won't even have to deal with outdoor installation.

In looking at the specs for the various models, I found this:



So my first reaction to the range spec is one of disbelief. 10+km? as in 10 Kilometers? 6.2 miles!?!

These things are less than 6" across, how in heck could they push a signal for 6 miles? (if that's true, I don't think I want to stand in front of one for long!) How would you even aim the thing accurately at this distance? If that range spec is actually true, it looks like they would do 175 feet without breaking a sweat. Even at that "short" range, though, I have some concerns about the aiming process.

Can anyone who has installed these guys attest to their performance? I've got a pine tree or two in between the main house and guest house, but there is line-of-site - do you think that will work?

 

[backwoodsman]

The specs say 13dbi gain; that makes a beam width of something like 60 degrees at the half power point, so aiming really isn't a problem. If you get it in the middle 1/3 or so of that, you're good. 6 miles is entirely believable; at that range you'd want it lined up pretty well, but that's what the signal strength LEDs are for.

Keep in mind that if the windows have low-E glass, those coatings are metallic and will block most of the signal. Not really a problem for 175 ft.; plenty of signal will go through the non-metallic part of the window frame, or just through the wall. Just use the signal strength LEDs to find a good spot.

 

[HCHTech]

Just a reply to confirm this install went without a hitch. No low-E glass, the aiming was very simple, and they work essentially without configuration. This is a rural client with DSL as the only option, the service at the main house was 15/3 and we got 12/2 at the guest house over the single access point. That's a definite win. There was a single line of pine trees to go through, but it doesn't look like they impeded things at all. The report after 3 weeks is that the service has been solid. Simple, low-dollar solution!

 

[SAFCasper]

Glad to hear it all went well. NanoBeams are awesome for the cost - but take that 10Km rating with a huge pinch of salt.

10Km is under perfect conditions using narrow channel widths and low data rates. You won't be pushing 450Mb/s over that 10Km link. You won't even be pushing 45Mb/s

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Missed this post back then.
The little Nano's or Loco's (small oval white units) are the lowest cost....certainly fine for links of a few hundred feet.
Else we use those Gen2's often....
I like the IsoStations for higher noise environments.....esp with the optional 30* horns.