Ubiquiti sector antennas bleed quite a lot of back radiation. The Rockets bleed an enormous amount of radiation and more is leaked through the pigtails.
SOLUTIONS:
RF Armor is perhaps the most widely-known solution on the market, for the sectoral antennas front-to-back radiation problem. RF Armorshield kits for the sectoral antennas consists of a steel shield with wings that stick out on the left and right of the antenna. There is potential for a problem with wind-load if you live in a windy area: The shields catch wind and your wind-load will be vastly increased, even to the point that (in windy areas) your tower may need reinforcements or your tower colo cost may be increased due to the increase in wind-load.
K Performance Antennas also sells an enclosure-shield for the rockets and shielded pigtails, both of which correct the radiation-leakage of the Rockets.
Compatible antennas: At the bottom of each product page, we have “Related Items” with prices & links to compatible antennas, POEs and/or similar Ubiquiti items
AirMax 802.11n products: AirMax MIMO 2×2 technology & dual-polarity antenna technology enable much faster data-throughput & higher bandwidth: Therefore these technologies enable high concentrations of VOIP, streaming media, IP cameras, IPTV. AirMax products have a capital M in the sku or the name (example: NanoStationM2 sku NSM2). For maximum data-throughput & highest bandwidth: Use AirMax products that are MIMO / 2×2, and if an external antenna is required, combine with a dual-polarity antenna.
Ethernet port: Connect the LAN ethernet cable to the one on the side of the power.
Do not put any static ip address (use automatich IP addressing, receiving IP address information by DHCP) unless you are flashing it with new operating system.
If the tree(s) are not too thick or if your link is from a high point to a low point, 2.4GHz will probably suffice. But if 2.4GHz is over-crowded or the tree(s) are thick, 900MHz would be a better solution.
The following 900MHz options can pass through a single thick tree, or a small group of trees.
The lowest-cost option for a short link, to pass through trees, is LOCOM9
For long-distance links to pass through trees, use NanoBridge M9
Ubiquiti: All the hard-to-find items: You’ll find stock here
Data Alliance carries the most popular MikroTik Routers
Dual-Polarity antennas: Applications & MIMO characteristics
Mounts for Ubiquiti CPE, antennas, bridges, Access Points
POE adapters & Power Supplies
Marine-Grade waterproof 8dBi omni Antenna: $25.99
Legal & Illegal Frequencies & Channels
VOIP: GrandStream
Ubquiti & MikroTik: Use them together for their “best of breed” purpose
Waterproof your WiFi and LAN equipment
Wired routers for ISPs and enterprise
Silicone Grease waterproofing for electrical, USB, and coax connections: $3
Pole for roof-mount perfect for NanoBridge, Loco, NanoStation, AirGrid
VIRTUAL WAREHOUSE for Wireless ISPs:
Data Alliance serves as a “virtual warehouse” for several large WISPs:
Data Alliance maintains stock levels for the items that they need
Major cash flow benefit for the WISP: They order stock as they need it & only have to stock what they need this week
If stock are getting scarce, we give them preferential treatment: We’ll hold stock for them
Our shipping is always the same day
Volume pricing for all items that they purchase
We spend our time and resources to make sure that we have the stock on hand to anticipate their needs – so they don’t have to spend time trying to find who’s got stock.
One of our WISP customers credits Data Alliance for enabling them to expand their WISP much faster because they can depend on getting the equipment that they need without a wait, and without paying second day shipping fees because we are close by and always ship the same day.
The 64MB version does not work with an older version of the Open-WRT kernel: You have to download the latest kernel.
The 8MB version will work with ther older and the newer kernels.
If you use an older kernet, you will not be able to ping the router, and DHCP services will not be working.
Through the console cable, you will see errors like this:
VFS: Cannot open root device “(null)” or unknown-block(0,0)
Please append a correct “root=” boot option; here are the available partitions:
Kernel panic – not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)
AirMax 802.11n products: AirMax MIMO 2×2 technology & dual-polarity antenna technology enable much faster data-throughput & higher bandwidth: Therefore these technologies enable high concentrations of VOIP, streaming media, IP cameras, IPTV. AirMax products have a capital M in the sku or the name (example: NanoStationM2 sku NSM2). For
Data Alliance has almost all Ubiquiti items in stock
maximum data-throughput & highest bandwidth: Use AirMax products that are MIMO / 2×2, and if an external antenna is required, combine with a dual-polarity antenna.
Unlike standard WiFi protocol, Ubiquiti’s Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) airMAX protocol allows each client to send and receive data using pre-designated time slots scheduled by an intelligent AP controller. This “time slot” method eliminates hidden node collisions and maximizes airtime efficiency. It significantly improves performance in throughput, reduces latency, and increases scalability compared to all other outdoor systems in its class.
Intelligent QoS Priority is given to voice or video for seamless streaming.
Scalability High capacity and scalability.
Long Distance Capable of high-speed links up to 100+ km.
Latency Multiple features dramatically reduce noise.
I’ve got to say, that is excellent customer service. Thank you!
I’ll send an email once I am back in town.Best regards,
Ed
On Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 7:37 PM, Data Alliance wrote:
Hello,
Thank you for letting us know, we can most definitely initiate the process after you have returned, there won’t be any need for you to return the malfunctioning item.
If you can give us a heads up when you’re back in town so that we may ship you a new one.
-Anne
On Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 4:32 PM, Ed Koloski wrote:
Hello,
I recently placed an order, number 71699, for one antenna as well as a BNR2 magnetic mount. I have received both and verified that the antenna itself is functional, however the mount appears to have an issue.
The center conductor of the coax cable does not appear to be connected to the center pin of the antenna mount, I have verified this with an ohm meter. I have also tested the SWR of the antenna using this mount as well as another N connector mount I have on hand. When the antenna is connected to the new mount, its SWR is off the scale – when connected to my older mount, the SWR is at a reasonable 1.4.
I would like to return this antenna mount for a functional one as either the coax has a break, or it is not connected to the N connector.
One side note, the timing for this is somewhat unfortunate as I will be leaving the country on vacation on Friday 9-14-12 for just over a week. Would we be able to initiate the RMA process once I have returned?
There are multiple merchants currently selling counterfeit AWUS036H on Google Shopping / Google Product Search!! (Nov. 2012).We are working with Alfa to bring Google to eliminate those counterfeit items from their search site.
Data Alliance is working with Alfa to increase awareness of a proliferation of fake/counterfeit/phony, low-quality imitations of AWUS036H. The image below-left is an anti-counterfeiting sticker on Alfa AWUS036H-V5 shipped after Feb 12, 2010, to avoid rampant counterfeit of this item on online marketplaces and in Mexico.
Anti-counterfeiting sticker on Alfa AWUS036H WiFi adapter
Authentic AWUS036H: What the front of the box of AWUS036H should look like
Authentic AWUS036H: What the back of the box of AWUS036H should look like
During 2012, a company in Guadalajara, Mexico has been selling thousands of fake AWUS036H. In late 2009/early 2010, Alfa removed five online marketplace listings that were counterfeit Alfa AWUS036H wireless USB adapters. In most cases, the seller’s location was China or Hong Kong.
A fake Alfa product only looks very similar on the outside: On the inside the hardware is inferior, the performance is sub-par, and there is no warranty from Alfa. Here are some tips to help ensure you are buying a genuine Alfa product, and to help keep the market clear of pirated products.
1. Always be sure to purchase from an authorized reseller of Alfa products. Authorized resellers have passed a multi-faceted test with Alfa to ensure they give the best customer service and support, and it also confirms they buy the products directly from Alfa to ensure they are 100% genuine. Alfa will be launching a reseller verification page very soon, but in the meantime you can confirm if a seller is authorized by contacting Alfa directly via their web site.
2. Be cautious of “great deals.” If it is too good to be true, it probably is. All of the removed listings mentioned in paragraph one were selling well below the regular market price. Sellers of pirated items can sell them very cheap because they are not quality items and cost very little to make.
3. When in doubt, contact Alfa directly with a link to the advertisement or web page of the seller. If you have already received a product and want to make sure it is genuine, email Alfa with the name of the place you purchased the item, the date of the sale, the serial number, and MAC address of the item you received.
AWUS036H is the only Alfa model that has been replicated as a fake, as of Sept. 2012.
Counterfeiting of name-brands has been happening with all sorts of technical products. For example, this BusinessWeek article (June 2009) tells about a midsize office supply chain in the US caught selling pirated HP ink products: In this case, they were an otherwise legitimate business but their owner decided to buy from a new “distributor” that offered lower prices than HP direct.
Data Alliance is the authorized distributor for Alfa in the Americas, since January 2007.