Tech Forum

Our stake went through the installation of wireless Internet and for the most part it's been working fine. The solution was to use a wireless bridge with a stronger output signal.

The hardware we chose was the Engenius ECB3610S. These bridges put out around 600mw of power. This is approximately 10x that of a standard wireless router.

We surveyed each building in advance to decide how many bridges we needed. This varied depending upon the layout of the building and the number of walls we had to deal with.

These bridges are not inexpensive and if you can run CAT5 then you'd definitely save some money. But, the job of routing cables, especially in a new building, can be very difficult when you have to deal with firewalls, etc that are up in the attic.

The bridges were installed in key locations, one at the modem/firewall and the others in locations around the building to provide the "bridge" around the building.

A wireless connection to each PC is handled by a small wireless USB.

So far, it's been working just grand.

Resolution:

OK, what the GSD told me and what reality is seem to differ. There was a breakdown in communication someplace along the line. I was told to have my FHC Director call or contact Donna Miller and request a Piggyback off of the FHC internet for the Stake Center. Unfortunately, that program no longer exists. Which is good and bad. Good because we now have direct control over equipment and placement, bad because it comes from the budget.

I just thought I would give the resolution to the FHC piggy back request, so others would know that the GSD is not giving out up to date info on "this" topic. Though they have been very helpful to me.

So, if they tell you to that it is possible for you to request a piggy back off the FHC, if you have one for Field House Internet to extend to the rest of the building, they no longer send out the equipment for this. The Local Unit will buy what they want and need.

So now, we are going to see what a local contractor will tell us about his recommendations.

WE8U wrote:That is what the help desk told me anyways. I do not know if it is the mos appropriate solution. I am going to give them a call today and try to figure that end of it out before I proceed. I know my President wants several areas of the Stake Center to have access. And if the Aironet 1200 only give us 2 access points with the older technology, I do not believe it will be enough. We might have to rethink it. Those cinder block walls are tough on radio signals and its a good sized stake center. Obviously, the FHC has to have priority so they would get 1 of the units, that leaves only 1 unit remaining, not enough to cover the other areas. So, we shall see. It was recommended from the support desk that we use N technology anyways.

We have installed a WiFi system into the 3 buildings in our stake with excellent results in two of the buildings, and reasonably good results in the third. If you are interested in the report you can email me or simply respond to this post and I'll send you a link where you can download the documentation, including signal coverage reports. It may help you to know what steps you need to take.

Eric