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Questions about setting up a WA7210N

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Questions about setting up a WA7210N

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Questions about setting up a WA7210N
Questions about setting up a WA7210N
2017-01-16 05:47:36
Model : TL-WA7210N

Hardware Version :

Firmware Version : 3.19.0 Build 140730 Rel.58003n

ISP : Cox

It would not let me enter the HW version, so I'll put it here:
WA7210N v2 00000000

I have a 50mbs cable connection from Cox into the house. I have it distributed via an Asus RT AC87U router, which works great for the house and yard. But I want to distribute that signal to a building about 200', through one brick wall. I purchased the subject antenna, WA7210N, and another Asus router (RT-AC1900P) to receive the signal from the 7210. I cannot run a cable to the other building. The 7210 will be used as a receiver of the WISP signal, mounted outside at the other building. Devices in the other building can see my AC87U signal, but just barely.

I got it all working by choosing the AP Client Router on the 7210, but it's very unstable as far as signal strength. One day it was 32mbs, the first day, and 3 days later the best I see is 2 or 3mbs, after multiple reboots and reconfigures. And even when the signal is good, the wifi side of the router only produces ~1/2 the speed that the lan side has. I have an old Netgear range extender in that building that is more consistent only (pulls about 5mbs, but all the time). I put the Beta Firmware update on the 7210, and things got worse. So I've gone back to the version listed above.

I've tried the Repeater/Range Extender mode but that did not work. After doing some reading in the User Guide and searching around this forum, Youtube, etc, it seems like the Client mode is what I need. So I reset the router (which I've done at least 10-15 times now!) and tried that. And the setup steps all seem to work the way they're suppose to, but I'm never able to get a connection to the internet after setting up that mode. I'm doing the setup work right next to the primary router, in the house, so a strong signal. I reset the LAN ipv4 properties to auto and leave the cable plugged into my laptop after the router reboots from the setup, but I never get connected. I hard coded the IP/subnet back in to ipv4 settings, but still no joy. I tried using a different ip address once, used WDS mode both ways, etc.

Here's the process I use to setup the Client Mode:
-Choose Client mode
-Click Survey button and choose the wifi signal I want
-Choose United States, accept user agreement (19dbm transmission power, Most Secure security mode)
-Enter the Wireless PW
-Leave everything defaulted (tried DHCP server both ways and tweaked the IP address once, no difference)
-reboot
-No connection

Any help would be appreciated as to what I may be doing wrong setting up the Client mode. It should get a connection with a Lan cable straight from the antenna to the computer, correct?

Thanks
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Re:Questions about setting up a WA7210N
2017-01-16 18:35:43

jeb wrote


I got it all working by choosing the AP Client Router on the 7210, but it's very unstable as far as signal strength. One day it was 32mbs, the first day, and 3 days later the best I see is 2 or 3mbs, after multiple reboots and reconfigures.


Depending on environment this is nothing unusual in the 2,4 GHz frequency band. AP Client Router mode is a variant of Client mode, so if that works, Client mode should work also.

But the 5 Ghz band would be better suited for directional radio links, so recommended devices are the CPE510/CPE520, which are successors to TL-WA7510 (the 5 Ghz variant of TL-WA7210).


And even when the signal is good, the wifi side of the router only produces ~1/2 the speed that the lan side has.


Also, nothing wrong here. Wireless speed is not the data speed. In 802.11b and g modes, protocol overhead for wireless transmission is 50%, so I'm sure you mistake the speed results somewhat. In fact, wireless speed is always nearly double the data speed you could measure in the LAN or the receiving side (which also has a LAN part - connected to the Ethernet port of the WA7210).

It should get a connection with a Lan cable straight from the antenna to the computer, correct?


No, it will get a connection if aligned properly, if both devices are in direct line of sight and if there are no obstacles in between. A brick wall will attenuate the signal considerably. This are the most important requirements.

It can further help to select the least used WiFi channel for the link and to set a fixed channel bandwidth of 20 MHz as well as a fixed mode (802.11g or 802.11n) instead of mixed mode. Also, restricting max. (wireless) speed can further improve quality of the link. There is no common recipe working well in each situation, you have to find out best settings by trial and error. But most important is antenna alignment in direct line of sight.
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Re:Questions about setting up a WA7210N
2017-01-16 22:29:19

R1D2 wrote

Depending on environment this is nothing unusual in the 2,4 GHz frequency band. AP Client Router mode is a variant of Client mode, so if that works, Client mode should work also.[/quote]
That's what I would think, but it does not.

Thanks for that info. If I go that way and get use the 5ghz signal, will devices using that connection through the router in the out building be able to use 2.4ghz also?
[quote]Also, nothing wrong here. Wireless speed is not the data speed. In 802.11b and g modes, protocol overhead for wireless transmission is 50%, so I'm sure you mistake the speed results somewhat. In fact, wireless speed is always nearly double the data speed you could measure in the LAN or the receiving side (which also has a LAN part - connected to the Ethernet port of the WA7210).

I'm using various websites to test the speeds. Beta.speedtest, speedof.me, etc. When I test it in the house close to the main router, I do not see a speed drop like I'm seeing in the other building.
It should get a connection with a Lan cable straight from the antenna to the computer, correct?

No, it will get a connection if aligned properly, if both devices are in direct line of sight and if there are no obstacles in between. A brick wall will attenuate the signal considerably. This are the most important requirements.[/quote]
For the Client mode testing, I'm only a few feet from the house router, with no walls between. Antenna is aimed right at it.
[quote]It can further help to select the least used WiFi channel for the link and to set a fixed channel bandwidth of 20 MHz as well as a fixed mode (802.11g or 802.11n) instead of mixed mode. Also, restricting max. (wireless) speed can further improve quality of the link. There is no common recipe working well in each situation, you have to find out best settings by trial and error. But most important is antenna alignment in direct line of sight.

I should have mentioned I did try other channels and bandwidths. I didn't play with fixed mode, though. I'll see if that is something I can do.

But I still don't understand why I can't get a connection in Client mode.

Thanks for your input!
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#3
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Re:Questions about setting up a WA7210N
2017-01-17 00:07:11

jeb wrote


Thanks for that info. If I go that way and get use the 5ghz signal, will devices using that connection through the router in the out building be able to use 2.4ghz also?


No, most devices for long-range radio links I know of just use on or the other frequency band, but not both.


I'm using various websites to test the speeds. Beta.speedtest, speedof.me, etc. When I test it in the house close to the main router, I do not see a speed drop like I'm seeing in the other building.


Speed depends to a great amount on the actual environment. I have two CPE210 (2.4 GHz like WA7210) and two CPE510 (5 GHz like WA7510) to link a building 600 meters apart in nearly complete line-of-sight (only a tree partially in between). With the 5 GHz CPE I get ~78 Mbps data speed, while the 2.4 GHz yields only ~3 Mbps. Reason for this is: there are only 4-5 foreign APs in the 5 GHz band in range of the CPE510, but as much as 104 foreign APs in the 2.4 GHz band, so the CPE210 clearly does not get enough AirTime to perform any better.

For the Client mode testing, I'm only a few feet from the house router, with no walls between. Antenna is aimed right at it.


Hm, I had no problem with AP and client mode with my pair of WA7210 when testing this setup (AP mode <-> client mode), but one of those devices has been sent to a customer, so I can't test the setup now. But I did used this mode too, and it worked when I did some tests with the WA7210.

But I still don't understand why I can't get a connection in Client mode.


Maybe some internal setting left over from previous mode settings prevents normal client function (shouldn't happen actually, but how knows for sure?). I would factory reset the client and set it up again with fixed channel and fixed channel width and also with g-only or n-only mode if possible - I don't remember all possible settings of WA7210. If the AP is listed in a survey at the client (it should), then client mode should be possible in general.

But you should pay attention to the so-called hidden node problem (see wikipedia). If local clients to the AP (SmartPhones?) use the channel, which are not seen by the client because of distance, the client might try to send a signal at the same time, which then could lead to reduced bandwidth or even a complete signal loss and re-transmissions at the (receiving) AP's side. This can be a serious problem for APs used locally to connect end-user devices while at the same time serving long-distance links. I would use an AP with omnidirectional antennas for local clients and a separate AP for the long-distance radio link if budget permits it.

Thanks for your input!


You're welcome - that's what the forum is for. ;)
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