Setting up CPE510 to extend wireless range.
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Hi Everyone,
I've just purchased a TP Link CPE510 that I'm hoping to use to extend my WiFi range to get to my son's flat located roughly 200 meters away.
I have been working with it hoping to get it all working but so far, I'm not having any luck at all. 
I've had no probelms at all connecting it to our network and I've been able to access the Pharos interface without any problems but, I've become terribly confused with trying to get the settings right. (Maybe I'm just getting way too old to comprehend what needs to be done)
Before going too far into it, I just wanted to confirm a few points that are causing me some confusion and driving me mad.........
a) Should I be plugging the CPE directly into an ethernet port on my PC for configuration, or is it OK just to have it connected to my router with the PoE injector powered up ?
b) When setting up a static IP for my PC's wireless adaptor, should I change it back to a dynamic IP once everything is set up and the CPE is behaving as it should ?
(The PC that I'm using doesn't have an ethernet connection but if it's an advantage, I can do the work on another PC that does use ethernet)
d) When reading the instructions online, I recall something about using the same AP name and password as the main AP that I'm taking the signal from but this does sound a little strange (to me) thinking that it may confuse the issue (and confuse me) by having two AP's on the network with identical names.
e) I do realise that the CPE510 is rated for 5GHz and 300Mbps and the signal transferred can only be received by another 5GHz unit, but does this also mean that I also have to connect the CPE to an AP or router in the 5Ghx mode as well ?
f) When using the CPE510 for my application would it be best to have it running in the Range Extender mode or would it do the trick if I had it running in one of the AP modes instead
g) If and when I'm successful in getting it all together should I be able to see the AP listed on my phone's Wi Fi settings and of course, connect to it ?
g) Last but not least have I picked the wrong device for the job that I'm trying to do and if so, is anyone able to suggest another (inexpensive) option that will get things working without causing to many problems or confusion with my geriatric brain (I really have quite enough gray hair already and would prefer not to get any more)
If anyone is able to assist and help out with any ideas or suggestions at all, I really would be extremely grateful.
Thanks so much and best wishes
Paul Lewis
Halo Paul,
a) you can connect the CPE's PoE adapter's LAN port to your network, but you need to set a static IP from the 192.168.0.0 address block on your PC in order to reach the CPE at 192.168.0.254. I recommend to set up the CPE using a wired connection, not wirelessly. You could also connect it directly to your PC for initial setup. First thing you do when deploying a CPE is to change its static IP address from 192.168.0.254 to a free (unused) one inside your network (e.g. 192.168.1.250). Then change back the IP of your PC to whatever its IP setting was before.
b) See a).
c) Missing. 
d) You definitively use another SSID for a different AP, but read on first.
e) CPEs are designed for directional (PtP or PtMP) links over very long distances. They are usually used pair-wise, albeit you can try to connect to other APs. But question then is whether the other AP can cover the same distance a CPE does – indoor APs usually can't do so over 100+ meters.
What's more: if you are inside the EU, some 5 GHz channels may not be used outdoors at all and your AP might or might not support outdoor channels.
Next is the antenna beam width of CPEs. It's 45º for CPE510 limiting the coverage to this angle. I recommend to set up two CPEs and to carefully align their antennas to get the best throughput.
f) You would operate one CPE in AP mode and the other one in Client mode to share the same network in a PtP scenario. You could also use AP Client Router mode on the remote CPE if you want to deploy a separate network at the remote location. CPEs can operate as routers.
g) (1) Depends. If the phone is inside the CPE antenna's beam width angle and it supports outdoor channels and you have a fresnel zone clearance at your location, then you could receive the SSID of the AP on your phone. If the phone is capable of sending something back over 105m with its »antenna« (almost always just a piece of metal), you could even exchange data between the phone and the CPE.
g) (2) You did choose the right device for a PtP link over 100m, but consider two of them for a PtP link. Any client always needs to cover the same distance as the CPE to get best out of the link because a client is sending data back to the CPE, too. People often oversea this.
PS) I'm also way too old, but you need to become old to acquire all this knowledge a youngtimer has no clue of. 