I am trying to set up (2) AWB3010 bridges with external antennas. Tried with and without a 10’ RP-SMA extension cable. They are line of sight at around 75 meters (~250’). I have a 1769-L33ER on the AP side and a 1769-AENTR on the Client side. I set RPI to 70ms and still get communication loss. I am getting RSSI value of -76 to -87. It fluctuates up and down. I set the units 10’ apart and get -47, set them 40’ apart and get -66. I run a ping test and get 3ms response and then next next time145ms response at the 75 meter distance. I have (2) AWB3000 on another location running at 120 meters (400’) with 4 bars of signal and no issues. Does the external antenna reduce the signal? I am using the antenna that comes with the AWB3010. Could there be an issue with one of the units? Is there a higher gain antenna approved for this unit? I tried a metal plate behind both units and didn’t seem to help.
If the devices are stationary, it may be best to use the internal antenna, which is semi-directional.
Is there a clear line of sight?
You may want to test each of them individually with another WiFi device to see if one of them has a problem.
Using the metal plate is only recommended when using the internal antenna. Typically you shouldn’t need another antenna for this distance.
There is a clear line of sight. The internal antenna device is not outdoor rated, correct? I used the external antenna so that the unit could be inside the electrical rooms and the antennas were the only thing outside. I will see if I can test the WIFI on another source.
Was the extension antenna you used purchased with the AWB?
I tried with and without the extension cable. It seemed to make no difference. Without the extension cable, I just placed the units outside while testing. I have always used the antenna that comes with the AWB. This is the first time using the external antenna devices, so I am just trying to determine if they will work at 250’ line of sight, or if I have a defective unit, or if I need to use a different device. I tested both units on our office WIFI and found no difference between the 2 units. I get 1 ms to 40 ms response times on a ping request. However, this is only at 30’ from AP. Not sure if this is typical or not. Just swapped the antennas out for antennas that come with an EWON Flexy WIFI expansion card, set one up in our shop and one in our office. Probably 8’ apart with 2 walls between them. I had -89 RSSI with AWB antennas. Get -78 RSSI with the EWON antennas and did not fault the PLC out at 20 ms RPI. It did fault with AWB antennas.
The AWB30x0 is IP65 rated so it can be used outdoors. The AWB2030 (Bolt) is IP67. Our AB5142 is also IP67.
When using an extension cable the strength of the signal does tend to degrade pretty fast as the cable gets longer. For that distance, you are probably better off using the AWB3000 (internal antenna), or at least an antenna without a long extension cable.